Members of the LGBTQ community are more likely to be bullied online than their peers—and bystanders who do nothing can be as problematic as the bullies themselves. Middle schoolers explore ways to protect themselves and others on the Internet with a set of activities focused on bullying those with varying sexual orientation and gender identification.

Concepts

cyberbullying, bullying, hate crimes, gender, homosexuality, sexuality, human sexuality, homophobia

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Additional Tags

classroom support

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Instructional Ideas

• Select the parts of the lesson to include in a health or teen issues class on homophobia, hate crames, or cyberbullying
• Use in a peer counseling group to encourage empathy
• Have pupils write short journal entries about their experiences online, including any instances of cyberbullying or joking gone too far

Classroom Considerations

• Designed for classes in Britain, so some words and phrases may be unfamiliar to learners in other countries
• Uses derogatory examples of the word gay to demonstrate the lesson's point; be sure that your class is mature enough to have a discussion about sensitive topics and terms

Pros

• All necessary materials, including the video, presentation, and worksheets, are attached
• Addresses topic that is relevant to learners' daily lives
• Delineates the difference between online joking and cyberbullying
• Includes links to social media platforms that explain how to block offensive users

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.8.2