Bullying+and+Prejudice+Reduction+Children's+Literature

Bullying and Prejudice Reduction Children's Literature



**Title:** //Nobody Knew What To Do// //Submitted by: [|Chad Stevens]//
 * Author:** Becky Ray McCain
 * Illustrator:** Todd Leonardo
 * Copyright:** 2001
 * ISBN #:** 0-8075-5711-0
 * Grade Level:** K-3
 * Summary:** While young Ray finds himself being picked on by a group of bullies, his friends find themselves confused and sympathetic for him, but unable to do anything about it. Unfortunately, they don’t know what to do, so they stay quiet and simply hope that Ray will someday fit in. They do realize that what is going on is not okay, but no one has the courage to stand up for Ray. That is until Ray decides to skip school because of what is happening to him. That is when the narrator of the story takes a stand for Ray, and he tells the teacher of the plot to rough Ray up when he returns to school. When Ray comes back, the teacher and principle are watching, and catch the bullies in the act. Their parents are called in for a conference, and suddenly Ray is free from his antagonizers.
 * Analysis:** This book illustrates the dilemma that so many kids find themselves in while at school. They know it isn’t right for someone to be picked on, but they are often too afraid to get involved. //Nobody Knew What To Do// gives a clear blueprint for children to follow if they know of someone being bullied. Kids need to know that there is a difference between tattle-telling and reporting someone who may be getting bullied. History shows that bullying, when allowed to take place over periods of time, can have very lethal consequences (school shootings and suicides). With the help of teachers and parents, bullying can be prevented.
 * Discussion Questions: **
 * 1) ** Has anyone ever seen someone else being bullied?
 * 2) ** Why might Ray’s friends be afraid to report the bullying? What about Ray?
 * 3) ** Do you think Ray has done anything to deserve this kind of treatment?
 * 4) ** How would you feel if you were Ray?
 * 5) ** How do you think Ray felt about his friend telling the teacher what was happening?
 * 6) ** Do you feel that you could approach your teacher if you knew of someone being bullied?
 * 7) ** What other ways might you handle a situation such as Ray’s?
 * Activities: **
 * 1) ** Have students complete an anonymous survey that addresses their experiences with bullying. You could integrate math by having students compile their anonymous data, and then figure the percentages. Then discuss the survey results and some possible solutions.
 * 2) ** Hand out a questionnaire on desirable and undesirable ways to be treated. The students will list some things that make them feel good, as well as things that have the opposite effect. List the responses on the board and discuss why people may have felt this way. You could also create classroom rules and conduct from such a list.




 * Title**: The Recess Queen
 * Author**: Alexis O'Neill
 * Illustrator**: Laura Huliska-Beith
 * ISBN-13:** 9780439206372
 * Grade Level**: K-2nd


 * __Summary__**: All of the children fear Mean Jean, the playground bully. Then a new student, Katie Sue, unknowingly does all the things that Mean Jean forbids. When Mean Jean attempts to set the record straightm Katie Sue pulls out a jump rope and asks Mean Jean to play with her. She does, and the social environment of the playground improves for everyone.

__**Analysis**__: This is a short little story that would be a great way of introducing bullying to children. It also gets bullying where most bullying seems to begin which is the playground. This story shows a great way to take the typical bully and involve them in an activity with everyone. This is a great way to show children sometimes all a bully needs is to be involved to be nice.

1.) Why do you think that Mean Jean was bullying the other children? 2.) Do you think that Katie Sue knew that she was breaking Mean Jeans rules? 3.) Why do you think the other children called her Mean Jean? 4.) How do you think Mean Jean felt when Katie Sue asked her to play jump rope with her? 5.) What do you think that the other kids thought when they saw Mean Jean playing with the new girl? 6.) Do you think that Mean Jean was feeling left out before Katie Sue asked her to play?
 * __Discussion Questions:__**

__**Activities;**__ -Children could discuss idea and activites that could help everyone be involved on the playgroud? -Children could write a sentence and draw an illustration of what they think bullying is? -Children could wrtie a sentence and draw and illustration of ideas to help bullys feel involved?

By: Heather White

//**Author: **// Tomie DePaola 1. Why Oliver is called a sissy? 2. Does anyone like to dance? 3. How do you feel when someone is mean to you. 4. Do you think Oliver’s feelings were hurt? 5. Why didn’t Oliver give up? · After reading the book, play some different types of music. Let the class dance around and have fun. · Have a class talent show · Pair up boys and girls and have them teach one another something that the other doesn’t know // Submitted by: Ryan Cook //
 * Title: ** Oliver Button Is a Sissy
 * Illustrator:** Tomie DePaola
 * Copyright: ** Voyager Books, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1979
 * ISBN: ** 0-15-257852-8
 * Grade Level:** K-2
 * Summary: ** Oliver doesn’t like many things that other boys do. He doesn’t like to play sports or anything like that. Instead he likes to read, dress up, sing, dance, and draw pictures. Boys in his classroom call him a sissy, and even his father tends to call him a sissy. Oliver mentions to his parents that he likes to dance, and because he needed exercise they enroll him in a dance class. One day he arrives to the school and finds that someone has written “Oliver is a sissy” on the wall. He didn’t give up on dance and he danced even harder for a up coming talent show. He loses the talent show, but to his surprise when he went back to school he found that someone had crosses out the word “sissy” on the wall and wrote in the word “star.”
 * Analysis: ** This situation is very typical. If a boy doesn’t do boy things, or a girl doesn’t do girl things they usually get picked on. Oliver stood up to other students, and danced and didn’t give up. This is a good way to show students to not give up, not caring about what other people say about you, and do what you want to do. Teach them that it is ok to be a outsider sometimes.
 * Discussion Questions: **
 * Activities: **

Title:…………..**Stop Picking on Me Lesley Harker Lesley Harker Summary: This is a picture book with full illustrations on every page. The text if very simple and easy to read. Overall this book its about the do’s and don’ts with bullies. It describes bullying behaviors, who to talk to, and what to do if you are being bullied. It states that bullies typically have low self-esteem and that is why they bully other kids. The biggest focus of the story is feelings, typically bullies on bully people that they know that they can hurt. A best defense that someone can have is their self-esteem, which comes from how someone were raised. Questions about bulling are highlighted throughout the text. This book also involves parents, and how they can prevent their child from being bullied. Analysis: To help the ones that are being bullied from being bullied anymore. To give the weak ones strength and confidence. This also is for the bullies, to make them see that they are no use for bullying and it hurts people. Discussion Questions: 1. What are some signs of being bullied? 2. Has anyone ever been bullied, and if so how did it make them feel? 3. How can friends help one another from being bullied? 4. What can parents do to help their children from being bullied? 5. What other ways do you think that bullying can be stopped? Activities: It would be a great tool to be used with both bullies and the ones who are bullied, so break the class into small groups and each group come up with advice on how to stop the problem. Role playing - Have the students choose a character and act out a situation dealing with bullying, and how to respond. Submitted by: Ryan Cook
 * [[image:http://www.any-book-in-print.com/images/book_covers/s_web/stop_picking_on_me.gif]]
 * Author:……..….**Pat Thomas &
 * Illustrator:…….**Pat Thomas &
 * Copyright:…….**March 15, 2000
 * ISBN:…………..**0764114611
 * Grade Level:…..**K-2

** //Super Emma// __Author__ ** : Sally Warner **__Age__**: 3rd to 5th **__ Summary: __** The storyline is set in a third grade classroom. The story takes place over the course of about two or three days. The teacher is out sick and a substitute is assigned to the class. The book describes a class that has several bullies. There is one main bully, Jared, at the beginning of the book and then the majority of the class becomes a bully. The story begins with Jared that bullies a smaller student, EllRay. He picks on the boy and calls him names. A girl, Emma, stands up to the bully and embarrasses the bully and the boy that is being picked on. Because of this action the girl becomes the target of the bullying. At first the girls in the classroom think that Emma is tough to stand up to Jared, but the next day the whole class begins bullying her. She does not understand because even the EllRay, the boy she stood up for, begins calling her names. Finally, the teacher puts a stop to the bullying because several student’s get into a fight on the playground. 1.  Why is EllRay picked on? 2.  What reasons does Jared have to bully the other students? 3.  Why do the girls approve of Emma’s action to stand up to the bully, but the next day change their minds and disapprove? 4.  What advice does Emma’s mother give her? Why does Emma not listen to this advice? 5.  Why is Emma nickname “Super Emma”? 6.  Is it ok for a girl to stand up to a boy? **__ Activities __** : *This book can be used to have classroom discussions about bullying and its effects. The book would need to be read to the class, a chapter or so each day. Then, the teacher should have discussions each day about the events have happened in the chapter read. The book has many good discussion topics, as mentioned above.
 * __ Illustrator __** : Jamie Harper
 * __ Copyright __** : 2006
 * __ ISBN __** : 0670061409
 * __ Analysis __** : What happens in this story is very typical of students. They display the normal gender bias that girls cannot stand up to boys. They make Emma’s character seem weak because she stands up to the male bully. Emma becomes singled out by most of her friends because of her actions. The book is a good example of what can happen while the teacher is away. The students have one mane bully in the class who bullies most everyone in the classroom. Most students would relate to this book because most of them have had to deal with bullying sometime in their life. The book would be very helpful if the class had a bully in it because the bully would understand how he or she made others feel by bullying them. It would also be good to use for a lesson on how to treat others.
 * __ Discussion __** **__Questions__**:
 * It would also be fun to have the children participate in a role play activity. They could take turns being the bully and the victim. This way they would experience what it feels like to be each person. Of course the student would need to understand that these activities are only make-believe.

Submitted By: Amanda Johnson

The story begins with a section about what bullying is exactly. It defines the topic and gives examples of bullying so that the students would understand. It has many other questions for the students to read and text boxes that encourage the students and help them realize that being bullied is not their fault. The questions are very informative and helpful for children. The story also has pictures of real people being bullied so that the children can relate to the people in the pictures. The book gives an overview of bullying and all of the components that bullying involves. It is not a story about bullying but instead it has questions and answers to many of the questions students may have. It goes through fifteen questions and topics that parents and teachers could use to have a discussion about bullying. 1. What is bullying? 2. Is bullying appropriate behavior? 3. Why do bullies decide to bully other people? 4. How do you stop a bully? 5. What does teasing mean? 6. Where can you go for help with a bully? Posted by Amanda Johnson
 * // Talking About Bullying //**
 * Author ** : Nicola Edwards
 * Copyright ** :2003
 * ISBN ** : 193233307-x
 * Age ** : 5-9
 * Summary **
 * Analysis **
 * Discussion ** **Questions**
 * Activities **
 * This book can be used to have a discussion about all of the aspects of bullying. The class could role play and act out some of the parts of the book. This way the students would become familiar with how each person in the scenarios feels.



//**My Secret Bully** Author: Trudy Ludwig// Illustrator: Abigail Marble Copyright: 2006 (Riverwood Press) Isbn: 1883991897 Grade Level: 4th - 6th

__**Analysis**__: This is a very realistic portrayal of how young girls often non-aggressively bully each other. Often this type of bullying goes unnoticed because it is not reported or even talked about. However I think this is a very important subject for young girls to be aware of and develop an understanding of. __**DiscussionQuestions:**__ 1.) This book is called My Secret Bully, why do you think that the bully is secret in this story? 2.) Do any of you have any examples or stories where you have experienced secret bullying? 3.) Why do you think that Katie is being a bully to her friend? 4.) How do you think that you would feel if you were Monica? 5.) Do you think that there is anything else that Monica could have done about Katie being a bully to her? __**Activities:**__
 * __Summary__**: This is a common tale of a young girl named Monica who is being betrayed by her friend. Monica and Katie have been friends since Kindergarten but something changed in their relationship and its is not at all good. Katie is calling Monica names and humiliating her in front of other kids at school. Katie even begins to exclude Monica. After a while Monica goes to her mother for help. Together they discuss what is happening with Katie and what to do about it. At first Monica just ignores Katie but the bullying continues and Monica begins to be very upset even sick over the humiliation that Katie is causing her. Monica and her mother decide that Katie needs to be called out on her bad behavior. Monica is able to regain some of the confidence that was destroyed by Katie's teasing when she confronts Katie and her behavior.

//Submitted By: Heather White//