What Can I Do About Teasing? The following resource was used in developing this lesson: “But I Was Only Joking” by Eric Henry The following websites were used to provide visual support to this lesson: www.wikipedia.org www.responsiveclassroom.org

What is Teasing? Words or actions that cause others to doubt their worth Put downs Pointing out differences Calling someone names Use this slide to define teasing and start to talk about situations when individual students have felt they were being teased. From: “But I Was Only Joking” by Eric Henry at www.responsiveclassroom.org

Teasing: Is it Friendly? Or Unfriendly? Laughing with you not at you People that are good friends People that can accept teasing from you Respect you if you ask them to stop Laughing at you or at something you said or did People that you don’t know very well Keep it up even if it makes you feel bad Discuss the differences between friendly teasing and unfriendly teasing.

How do I know if it’s really unfriendly teasing? Use these pictures to talk about situations where students may misread the intentions of others. Describe the first picture as two friends whispering with each other – the boy seems to be looking in your direction. The actual conversation is the girl telling him about a present she bought for another friend. (This could be perceived as teasing when it really isn’t). Describe the second picture as a boy talking on the phone and looking directly at you. He is talking loudly and you hear your name. He is talking about you and laughing at you. (This really is teasing).

How do I know if it’s really unfriendly teasing? Use these pictures to talk about situations where students may misread the intentions of others. Describe the first picture as two kids that you don’t know very well pointing at you and laughing. (This is unfriendly teasing). Describe the second picture as a good friend that has been playing video games with you. After a good long game, she has won. She is laughing with you. (This is friendly teasing).

“I’m still not sure if it’s friendly or not” Talk it out with an adult or friend that you really trust

Responding to Teasing: Friendly? Or Unfriendly? Smile – It’s a joke Shrug it off Joke back Stay calm Tell an adult if it is threatening or repeated often Decide: Ignore or Respond? The way you respond to teasing will be different if the teasing is friendly, than if it is unfriendly. Use this slide to give suggestions about ways to respond to different types of teasing.

Decide: Ignore or Respond??? If you decide to ignore: Walk away Look away Join a group of friends Talk to someone else

Decide: Ignore or Respond? If you decide to respond - Be Assertive Hold your head up high Look at the other person Go over this information. The next slide will elaborate on the “I” statement.

Responding to Unfriendly Teasing That was a good one – HA HA! Responding to Unfriendly Teasing Funny – Can I use that line? Use humor Give a neutral response WHATEVER! If you decide to respond, this slide introduces some ways to respond to unfriendly teasing. Talk about the tone of voice and body language to use as you respond. Role play the use of these responses in an appropriate tone of voice. So? more

Responding to Unfriendly Teasing Cut it out! Tell them to STOP in a firm, calm voice Use mild sarcasm Go away and stop bothering me! If you decide to respond, this slide introduces some ways to respond to unfriendly teasing. Talk about the tone of voice and body language to use as you respond. Activity Sheet 1 gives some samples situations of unfriendly teasing. Have students match the situation with one of the responses by drawing a line. Role play the use of these responses in an appropriate tone of voice using the situations and responses from Activity Sheet 1. Give me a break Real mature! Like I would care

After You Respond: Walk away Look away Join a group of friends Talk to someone else

One Easy Solution If you are being teased in the same situation each day, ask a friend or a teacher to walk or sit with you for a few days. Describe a situation where a student may be experiencing unfriendly teasing on a daily basis. (i.e., walking home from school, on the way to the cafeteria, while getting things from your locker). Sometimes students may not realize that they can simply change their routine to get out of the situation, or ask an adult for help in that situation. Role play some ways to ask for help.

“But, sometimes it really makes me feel bad and I can’t stop thinking about it.” Let it Bounce off – think about the words bouncing right off of you Think to yourself “the opinions of this one person are not important” Help students to discuss some ways to feel better when they have been teased. Let it bounce off Self talk Get Help from an adult GET HELP – Tell your parents, teacher or other adult – talk it out!

“How do I know when I need to get help from an adult?” When you are being teased many times each day When you have been threatened in any way When you are feeling very bad about yourself When you just don’t know what else to do

Don’t Forget the Good Stuff Help students to identify “good stuff” – friendly comments or remarks from peers or friendly greetings from peers. Help them see that friendly greetings and comments may be happening more often than the unfriendly teasing, but because the teasing makes us feel bad, it is hard to stop thinking about it.

What should you do if you see someone else being teased? So, what do you think? What should you do if you see someone else being teased? Use this slide to lead a discussion on today’s lesson. www.wikipedia.org

Responding to Teasing Decide if it’s friendly or unfriendly “Social Power” Point Responding to Teasing Decide if it’s friendly or unfriendly Decide whether you want to ignore it or respond Respond assertively Get help when you need it Don’t forget the good stuff! This visual is a good summary of the information in this lesson. This slide has been made into a format that can be printed on card stock to give to each student (“Social Power Point Card). You may also want to laminate the cards and place a magnet on the back as a visual that could be hung in the student’s home as a reminder of the lesson.