Bullying Writing Prompts & Resources— Though most kids have been teased or laughed at on occasion, some students have to deal with long-term harassment that is psychologically and physically harmful to their well-being and mental health. It’s for these reasons and more that a safe school environment is essential. There are loads of good topics here to help create one. Take a look.
Yeppers…
In this great list of 31 bullying writing prompts, students will think about the reasons people bully others and the potential ramifications of their actions.
They’ll examine their own passive and active involvement in bullying situations and consider what it feels like to be demeaned for who they are or what they love to do.
As students look at bullying from the perspectives of the bully and the victim, they will gain a deeper understanding of the potential repercussions that teasing, name-calling, and fighting can have over time.
Bullying remains a major concern facing today’s schools and children in the United States. So take action and use these ideas for journal writing or as a part of a homework assignment with your kids today.
Ok, get to it now and help raise bullying awareness in your classroom today by using the following lists of prompts in your anti-bully class curriculum. I know you’ll be glad you did.
31 Bullying Writing Prompts for Kids
- What can you do to put a stop to the culture of bullying?
- How can you support your peers who have been bullied in the past?
- Do you think bullying is more prevalent online or in the classroom? At school or during extracurricular activities?
- When you see someone being bullied, do you feel comfortable going to a teacher or adult for help? Why or why not?
- What is the best way to get someone to stop bullying another person? Should you defend the victim? Start a fight? Make fun of the bully? Why or why not?
- What is the difference between teasing and bullying? How can you tell the difference between them?
- At what point does teasing become bullying? Does the frequency of the behavior play a role?
- Have you ever felt bullied by someone? What made you feel this way?
- Have you ever bullied another person? How did you feel before, during, and after?
- What is the danger of standing around and watching while someone else is bullied?
- What kinds of consequences do kids who are bullied suffer?
- Why is it important to accept people for who they are?
- Do you think there are particular types of attitudes that contribute to bullying? Are there people who think bullying is acceptable? Why or why not?
- In what situations do you and your friends see people bullied? Do you ever try to stop someone from getting bullied?
- How do you feel when someone teases you or gives you a hard time for something you like? Why do you feel this way?
- Are there any risks to standing up for someone who is being bullied? What are they? How do they impact your decision to get involved in a situation?
- Have you ever talked to your parents about bullying? What did they say?
- Write about a time when you stood up for something that you believed in. Was it hard to express an opinion that other people didn’t agree with? Why or why not?
- Write short one-paragraph stories about four different types of bullying. How do you think the people in each story would feel if the behavior lasted for a week? What if it lasted a month? The entire school year?
- Why do you think some people bully others?
- What feeling does the bully get from putting someone else down?
- Come up with an idea for a new way to increase awareness about bullying. How can you help people understand that bullying is a problem?
- Are some types of bullying more harmful than others?
- What would you do if someone tried to bully you?
- What would you do if you saw someone trying to hurt one of your friends? Would you intervene or get an adult to help? Why?
- Have you ever wanted to stand up for someone who was being made fun of? Did you intervene? Why or why not?
- How do you feel when you see someone else being teased?
- Why do you think people have trouble accepting others who are different from them?
- Write about a time when you did something nice for someone because you saw that another person had hurt him or her. What did you do? How did the other person feel afterward?
- How do you think a bullying victim feels when he or she is laughed at, hurt, or degraded?
- How can you encourage other people to be more accepting of those who are different?
From stealing someone’s lunch money to spreading rumors online, bullying takes place everywhere—and it’s up to students, teachers, and parents to put an end to it by fostering awareness, tolerance, and kindness.
When students are more aware of the problem of bullying and school bullying — and how harmful it can be to those who are targeted — they’ll be more likely to stand up for their peers when they see someone being victimized.
Use these bullying writing prompts and journal ideas to raise awareness and promote acceptance in your classroom.
Dealing with Bullies
Imagine you are at the office one late morning when you suddenly received a call from the school principal. There has been an incident involving your seven-year-old son and another kid in school. It turned out he was bullied by his classmate and ended up crying so hard that he just wanted to go home and never come back.
For a parent whose kid got bullied, we often feel that the bully must be punished. What we don’t realize is that bullies, most of the time, are victims, too.
To properly address this kind of abuse, the school or the parents needs to look at the issue from both sides. During therapies, the bully and the victim are sometimes asked to write what they feel after the incident and surprisingly, it appears that one has the same sentiments as the other.
Before we tell our kids what to do, it is important that they also understand why bullies tend to hurt others. Kids that are emotionally unstable are the ones that usually end up being a bullying.
15 MORE Bullying Writing Prompts to Help Kids Learn How to Deal with Bullies
- Have you ever witnessed a classmate being bullied? What did you do in that situation? What do you think you could do better the next time you witness bullying?
- In your opinion, what actions constitute bullying? What are specific things you can do to address these actions?
- Where do you feel most bullying takes place? Why do you feel this is?
- What do you think persistent bullying does to a person? How would it feel to be bullied for weeks or months on end?
- Why do you think it’s important to intervene when bullying? Who are some people that you could go to if you have witnessed or experienced bullying?
- What is an ally? Do you know anyone personally who has stood up for you and advocated for you? How can you be an ally to someone who is being bullied?
- In many cases, a bully will demean a person because they are different. It’s important to remember that being different is a good thing! Write about three ways that you are different from other people in your school. In addition, write about three ways your differences benefit your school community.
- A bully not only impacts their victim, but they also have an impact on anyone who witnesses bullying. If you have witnessed bullying, how did it make you feel?
- Why do you feel that some people become bullies? What are some ways you can help a bully feel better about themselves?
- Have you ever heard someone tell a joke at school at the expense of another student or of another group of students? Did you laugh? Write about how jokes can quickly become a form of bullying at school, and then write about three actions you can take to prevent jokes from being mean.
- Bullying doesn’t always have to take place in person. In fact, cyberbullying has become a bigger problem in recent years than schoolyard bullying. Have you ever experienced cyberbullying? What does it look like? What does it feel like?
- Write down three rules you can follow online that will help you keep the conversation productive and kind.
- There are ways that you and your friends can help address bullying, even if you are not witnessing bullying firsthand. Write down three actions you can take to help prevent bullying both in school and online.
- It’s normal not to get along with everyone, but you should still treat everyone with respect. Think about three people who you do not see eye-to-eye with. Now, write down one nice thing about each of those people.
- Imagine that a classmate begins to bully you by saying unkind or untrue things about you. What could you do in that moment? What could you do after the fact? Who is someone you could rely on to be an ally?
I hope you and your kids find these bullying writing prompts helpful and use them to support the safety and wellness of your elementary, middle, and high school students.
More Bully Prevention Resources
- 12 Highly Effective Anti-Bully Activities for Elementary, Middle School Students, and High Schoolers
- Anti Bully Programs for Elementary Students
- Bullying Statistics: Reduce Bullying Through Journaling
- Bullying Facts & 10 Writing Prompts
- For more information on bullying and Bullying Awareness month, see PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center’s website.
Dealing with Bullies: Why Compassion is Key
An effective and humane way to deal with a bully is by showing them compassion. Instead of punishing a child for their unpleasant behavior, understanding why they act the way they do is the first thing we need to consider.
According to Deborah Calla of the Huffington Post,
“Compassion is letting someone else feel understood when they are conflicted.”
How to Teach Kids to Deal with Bullies Compassionately
Teach your kids that hate or fear isn’t the answer. They need to stand up for themselves without having to be rude or creating more tension. Remember that more than anything, bullies need compassion.
1. Talk about your own experience.
If your kids got bullied or even if they weren’t, share your experience. Tell them how you survived bullying in the past and what you learned from it.
2. Help them understand.
Let your child know that bullies get hurt, too. That although it is not appropriate, there’s a deeper reason for their actions.
3. Not all bullies are bad.
Children need to understand that not all bullies are evil and not everyone who is mean to them is a bully. It is important that they know people sometimes are having a bad day and that they should not treat someone as a bully in times when they are mean to them. Sometimes, sad kids tend to be mean even to their friends.
4. Bullies are unhappy people.
Teach your kid the right way to react when someone tries to bully them. In this situation, they should not fight fire with fire. Tell them to compose themselves and confront the kid who is being mean to them in a calm way. Sometimes, a statement like, “You don’t have to be mean to me,” can do magic. Letting the mean kid know they are not allowing themselves to be bullied without having to be mean back can make a difference.
Tell your children that if the person continues to bother them, letting the authority know can be a wise decision. It can be a teacher, a guidance counselor or someone they trust. The earlier an adult gets involved, the better. While bullies can easily make them feel angry and scared, teach your kid that it is best to show bullies compassion and kindness (see infographic below).
5. The power of compassion. Parents are the role models of their children. So where would they best learn about compassion if not from them? In this social experiment by Brain Games, they showed how a little compassion can change a person’s reaction to someone who just did something mean to them. As parents, it is imperative that your kids learn to be compassionate towards others from you because learning starts at home.
Asking your kids how their day has been in school can be your best way to get a hint if they have been bullied or not. It’s also a good way to let them know that you are always there to listen and so that it won’t be difficult for them to share in case something like that happens.
Encouraging them to write down their experiences and feelings in a journal could also help them express things that they are not yet ready to discuss. That way, you know they’ll have something to hold on to when you are not around.
Teaching students to deal with bullies can be challenging, but you can always encourage them to write in their classroom journal to explore ways that they can help be part of the solution. Use these writing prompts to teach your students about dealing with bullies!
Until next time, write on…
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Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator
The following article from our archives was first published on our blog in August of 2013 and may still be of interest to you today.
Bullying Awareness
Bullying Awareness: What Kids Need to Know about Bullies and Their Victims—
Though students might imagine a bully as someone tough and fit who picks on the smaller, weaker kids, the truth is that anyone can be a bully.
In some cases, a bully might be a popular girl who uses Facebook to harass one of her classmates or a boy who creates a fake online profile to tease an unpopular girl who has a crush on him. A bully might be a young boy who teases another boy for his lack of athleticism or a girl who encourages the class to ignore a student who is new to the school.
Bullies: Who are They
Bullying could come from a single person or an entire group of people—and it may be carried out physically or emotionally. Today, it’s more important than ever before for students to be aware of bullying and the lasting, damaging effects it has on those who are victimized.
Bullying happens everywhere, and it happens frequently. Though you might think that the kids in your classroom get along well, the chances are good that at least one of your students is feeling hurt, lonely, or depressed because he or she is left out or mocked by the other kids.
Many teachers and parents, unfortunately, assume that bullying is just a part of life and they encourage their kids to ignore it or toughen up. But for most kids, ignoring the problem and trying not to let it hurt isn’t really an option. A bully can make his or her victim’s life miserable. Under this type of stress, victimized kids may become depressed, harm themselves, or commit suicide.
Types of Bullying
Students should understand that there are a few different types of bullying:
- Physical bullying includes hitting, shoving, or threatening to harm someone. A physical bully may also steal his or her victim’s belongings or somehow ruin the things in another way.
- Verbal bullying includes teasing, name-calling, and abusive words. Verbal bullies insult and demean their victims, often criticizing the victim’s appearance, intelligence, sexual orientation, religion, race, physical capabilities, or social status.
- Relationship bullying often includes spreading a lie or unkind rumor about a victim either in person or online. A relationship bully may also refuse to talk to the victim and encourage other students to ignore him or her. In some cases, relationship bullying occurs when the bully pressures the victim into doing something that he or she does not want to do.
Bullying has gained attention over the past several years because the Internet enables kids to continue harassing their victims outside of school hours. However, whether bullying takes place in person or online, kids need to know that everyone deserves to be respected for his or choices.
Stop Bullying Resources
Bullying Awareness month is coming up in October. Use the thought below as a guide to design a bully-effects awareness campaign in your classroom:
It’s never okay for one person to make another feel unsafe, hurt, or depressed—and it’s up to students, parents, and teachers to work together to stop bullying.
There are many resources available to help support your bully awareness work. Below is one useful one on how to Bully-Proof your precious child.
Bully-Proof Your Child
Recently, a wonderful resource on Bully Proofing Your Child was brought to my attention. Below are some benefits of Markus’s work. 
