Summary: Participants develop positive messages for morning/afternoon announcements to share with the school/program.
Target Grades: 6th grade and above
Length of Activity: Approx. 15-20 minutes
Materials: Paper and pencils/pens
Connection to bullying: A hallmark of Homeroom is the morning/school announcements. In this exercise, groups of students can create an anti-bullying message for the school to include in the morning announcements for the next week (or to be read in the classroom after the school announcement).
Instructions: Assign students to groups, and have the groups work together to come up with a message that reinforces supportive, non-bullying behavior.
Some examples:
- Come up with five ways to stand up to bullying, and read one each day. Some examples can be found at: http://besmartbewell.com/bullying/slideshow.htm
- Read a bullying pledge each day (see examples from Activity 4)
- Identify myths about bullying such as the following from http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/toolkits/classroom/bullying-101.asp:
- Words will never hurt you. Reality check: Words may not leave bruises or broken bones, but they can leave scars on the inside.
- Bullying is a natural part of childhood. Reality check: There is nothing natural about being bullied.
- Bullying will make students tougher. Reality check: Bullying can negatively affect how someone feels about his or herself.
ADAPTATION : Participants can make drawings, news articles, or other features of a newsletter
Download:
Activity Feedback:
“Students did an educational announcement every day and set the tone for the day.”