Bullying Prevention Reading Comprehension Passages — Grade 2

About this resource

A laugh at a backpack can start something. These bullying prevention reading comprehension passages give Grade 2 readers ten short texts at F&P levels K–M, with a dolphin pod, a whisper game and a playground upstander. The set builds Relationship Skills, one of the five CASEL competencies, by showing second graders what to say and do.

What students practice

• Telling being mean once from bullying that repeats
• Choosing to include someone instead of staying silent
• Using four tools: speak up, include, get help or change the game
• Spotting a misunderstanding before calling it bullying
• Making things right after hurting someone

What’s inside

• 10 passages at F&P levels K–M, in a mix of how-to guides, science texts and real-world features
• 5 multiple-choice questions per passage
• 2 open-ended questions per passage for written answers or discussion
• Teacher’s Copy (11 pages) with each bullying prevention passage beside its questions and the correct answers marked
• 33-page student file with an overview of all 10 passages, their levels and SEL focus

A look inside

• The Backpack Joke: a student keeps laughing at a classmate’s old backpack, and a friend helps stop it.
• Two Ways to React When You See Bullying: one student stays silent, the other invites the targeted student to play.
• Why Dolphins Protect Each Other: how a pod looks after its weaker members.
• The Whisper Game: a rumor spreads at recess until one student breaks the chain.
• The Mistaken Mean Moment: a student thinks she is being bullied and finds out it was an accident.

How to use these bullying prevention reading passages

• Small-group reading at levels K–M, pausing after the first story to name the upstander’s choice
• Partner reading with the open-ended questions as a talk about what each student would do
• SEL reading comprehension: teach How to Be a Bully Blocker and practice the four tools aloud
• Class meetings or restorative conversations after a playground problem
• Homework checked with the Teacher’s Copy

Grade fit

Written for Grade 2 readers, with levels rising from K to M. They are reading passages with questions set on playgrounds, in lunch lines and at recess, so the situations match what seven-year-olds see every day.

Digital version

With the interactive digital version, you share one link and students read each passage and answer the questions on any device, with no student logins. At the end they download an answer sheet to hand in.

Pairs well with

For more bullying prevention activities, try Bullying Prevention Conversation Cards — Morning Meeting Questions for morning meeting or Bullying Prevention Task Cards for short written prompts.