Identity-Based Bullying

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School

COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Writing, Speaking & Listening

SEL STANDARDS*: Self Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making

Bullying is a major problem in our schools. When it targets aspects of a person’s identity, it is called identity-based bullying, and may include bias about appearance, race, culture, gender and gender expression, language, religion, socioeconomic status, disability and sexual orientation. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center (Patchin & Hinduja, 2020), 49.8% of tweens (9 to 12 years old) said they experienced bullying at school and 14.5% of tweens shared they experienced bullying online. The same study reveals that that about two-thirds of tweens are willing to step in to defend, support, or otherwise assist those who are bullied at school and online when they see it.

This elementary/middle school lesson will help students define and understand identity-based bullying, reflect on experiences they have had and analyze scenarios and come up with potential solutions.

Learning Objectives: 

• Students will identify important aspects of identity. 
• Students will be able to define bullying and identity-based bullying. 
• Students will understand the connection between identity and bullying. 
• Students will share examples of identity-based bullying. 
• Students will explore how to deal with identity-based bullying by reading, writing and discussing scenarios. 

*Based on CASEL's SEL Framework