Bullying Prevention Role Play Scenarios
Most kids who see bullying aren’t the ones doing it, and what they do next matters.
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About this resource
Most kids who see bullying aren’t the ones doing it, and what they do next matters. These bullying prevention role play scenarios put Grades 2–5 in the role of the Upstander across twenty scripted scenes: noticing a pattern, choosing a safe response and telling a trusted adult. The focus is Relationship Skills, with scenes in the hallway, on the bus and online.
What students practice
- Telling one-time teasing apart from bullying
- Recognizing cyberbullying
- Choosing safe upstander actions
- Reporting to a trusted adult, and telling again if it continues
- Supporting the person being targeted
What’s inside
- 20 scripted scenes covering teasing, exclusion, rumors and mean online messages, each with a cast, a setting and dialogue
- 100 discussion cards, five per scene, including “Joke or Bullying?” and “Telling Isn’t Tattling”
- A detailed teacher script and a flexible outline
- Objectives, materials (an optional reporting-steps poster, simple props) and tips; 50 pages
A look inside
- Same Joke, Every Single Day: Jax says he’s only joking about Priya’s light-up sneakers, but Bastian has heard it every day and quietly tells Mr. Thornbury.
- Telling a Second Time: Malia already told the recess aide and the hat-grabbing kept going, so she tells her teacher, with Grandpa Ray beside her.
- Blocked Seats: kids spread their backpacks so Skylar can’t sit near them; Bode tells the bus driver and slides into the seat next to her.
- Four scenes deal with cyberbullying, among them The Group Chat Pile-On and The Old Screenshot.
How to use these bullying prevention role play scenarios
- Open with the 5–7 minute introduction from the detailed script
- Act out a scene in 10–15 minutes and ask what was happening, what the Upstander did and who they told
- Replay it with the Upstander acting sooner, and compare the outcome
- Use 5–10 minutes of sharing and the scene’s five cards to connect the story to real reporting steps
Grade fit
The scenes happen where elementary students spend their days: the cafeteria, the bus stop, a Saturday block club where a fifth grader keeps taking a second grader’s blocks. The four online scenes take place at home, with a parent there to help. Students may read the role play scripts or improvise, so the set works as an SEL lesson across Grades 2–5.
Good to know
The PDF asks students to describe real events without using real names, and to rotate roles so no student always plays the person doing the bullying or the person being targeted.
Pairs well with
For more bullying prevention activities, try Bullying Prevention Scenario Cards or Bullying Prevention What Would You Do? Cards.
Questions teachers ask
Do the scenes ask students to confront bullying themselves?
No. The Upstander chooses safe actions, like standing beside someone or refusing to pass on a rumor, and a trusted adult steps in when it keeps happening.
How long is one session?
The detailed script runs 5–7 minutes of introduction, 10–15 minutes of role play and 5–10 minutes of sharing and discussion.
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