What Bullying Is and How to Help
Students learn to tell the difference between a conflict and bullying, know what safe and kind bystander actions look like and practice them, know how to report safely to a trusted adult, understand what makes bullying different from a one-time argument (power + repeated), and understand that staying silent when someone is being bullied is also a choice with consequences.
Lesson Overview
What students will be able to do after this lesson: Students will be able to explain the difference between a conflict and bullying, know that bullying can happen online, take at least one positive bystander action when they see bullying, report bullying to a trusted adult with specific information, and name the three roles in a bullying situation and identify which one they want to be.
Skill segments at a glance:
| Segment | Segment name | Primary standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Understanding What Bullying Is | RS-BUL-2-1 · RS-BUL-2-2 |
| 2 | What to Do When You See It | RS-BUL-2-3 · RS-BUL-2-4 |
| 3 | Choosing Your Role | RS-BUL-2-5 |
Supporting standards reinforced:
| Code | Why it connects |
|---|---|
| RS-ADV-2-2 | Bystander actions and speaking up for others use the same skill set |
| RS-HLP-2-3 | Reporting safely is a form of asking for help for someone else |
| SM-REG-2-4 | Managing the feeling of witnessing bullying before deciding what to do |
Key Vocabulary
- Bullying — When someone is mean to another person on purpose, more than once, and there is a power difference between them
- Cyberbullying — Bullying that happens online — through messages, posts, or games
- Bystander — Someone who sees bullying but does nothing
- Upstander — Someone who sees bullying and does something to help
- Power difference — When one person has more power (size, social status, numbers) than the other
Materials
- Whiteboard or chart paper + marker
- Before the week begins: Post your unit anchor chart and I Can Statement where students can see them — you’ll reference both throughout the week.
How this lesson is structured: Each skill segment has an I Do (teacher models the skill) and a We Do (class practices together with your guidance). Independent practice lives in the practice resources that go alongside this lesson.
Note for teachers: Deliver all content in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. If a student begins to disclose that bullying is happening to them or someone they know, follow your school’s reporting protocol immediately.
What Students Need Before This Lesson
- What’s inside
- What students should already be able to do
- Helpful to have in place
- 3 quick set-ups before the I DoThree things that make it bullying — not just “being mean” · Cyberbullying: same harm, different setting · Watching isn’t neutral — bystanders affect how bullying unfolds
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Introducing the Skill
- What’s inside
- Opening hook
- What we’re learning
- Why it matters
- Core sentence frameThe frame students use all week
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Understanding What Bullying Is
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsThe three elements: what makes it bullying · Wrong version → fix: calling everything bullying vs. using the definition · Cyberbullying: same three elements, different screen · Non-conflict: when something IS a conflict, not bullying
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
What to Do When You See It
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsThree bystander actions: which one fits the moment · Wrong version → fix: freezing vs. choosing one action · Reporting: what specific information sounds like · Non-conflict: bystander action when you notice something starting
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Choosing Your Role
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsThe three roles: bystander, upstander, and the person doing the bullying · Wrong version → fix: “I was just watching” as neutral · Why someone becomes a bystander (and how to choose differently) · Non-conflict: what being an upstander looks like in an ordinary moment
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Closing the Week
- What’s inside
- 3 partner-share roundsOne for each segment, with the frame students say together
- Closing prompt
- Land the key idea
- Connect to daily life
- Optional — Quick check-in
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Practice for every skill segment
Each lesson comes with independent practice — the “you do” — for each of its 3 skill segments, in print and digital.
Printable practice
Ready-to-copy practice pages for each segment.
- View and print in your browser
- Answer keys for quick checking
Digital activities
Share one link — students open it on any device, and you see their answers.
- Works on Chromebooks, tablets and phones
- Students just type their name to start
While you wait: from the SEL Resource Library
Relationship Skills resources for Grade 2, ready to use today.
