Summary: A moving game that demonstrates how people all share some similarities and some differences.
Target Grades: 1st grade and above
Minimum time needed: 20 minutes
Connection to bullying: Recognizing that all people are similar in some ways and different in others reduces stereotyping and labeling.
Activity instructions: To start the game, create a line or divider in the middle of an open space (such as a classroom with the desks pushed to the sides, or even the hallway).
Step 1: Have students line up on opposite sides of the divider so they are facing the divider and the students on the other side. Instruct the students to walk to the line if the answer to the statement is “yes.”
Step 2: Use the following phrases, or others, to have students move to/from the line:
- Go to the line if your favorite color is blue
- Go to the line if your favorite animal is a dog
- Go to the line if you are an only child
- Go to the line if someone has ever been nice to you
- Go to the line if someone has made you laugh so hard your stomach hurt
- Go to the line if you have ever seen someone say things that hurt someone else
- Go to the line if you have ever felt alone or isolated
- Go to the line if you or someone you know has been bullied
- Go to the line if you or someone you know has ever said anything or done anything hurtful to others
- Go to the line if you have every helped someone feel better
Follow-up Discussion:
Lead a discussion, with questions such as: (10 minutes)
- How were we alike, and how were we different?
- Why can it feel threatening to feel like you are different than everyone else?
- How can feeling different, or thinking others are different, be related to bullying?
What are some positive things you can think of to say to someone who might feel isolated, or feel like they are very different?
Activity Feedback:
“Great way to get a group started – interactive, fun, and led to a good discussion.”
