Preventing teasing, name-calling, and put-downs requires teaching children how to be kind and respectful to one another while still having fun. Here are nine proactive steps to promote respectful language in the classroom and fun, developmentally responsive activities to help both elementary and middle school students learn that hurtful words can’t be taken back.
Fewer Mean Words, More Kind Words
- Model what respect looks and sounds like.
- Include respectful language in class rules.
- Revisit the rules as necessary.
- Teach children what to do if they notice teasing.
- Teach the difference between school speech and out-of-school speech.
- Reinforce kindness and respect when you see them.
- Teach what respectful language looks and sounds like.
- Continue to build community in your classroom and school.
- Teach students about the impact of teasing others.
Words Can’t Be Taken Back Lesson Activity
Toothpaste Squeeze Activity for Elementary
Young children often think they can take back hurtful words by saying a quick “I’m sorry.” They need to learn that once words leave their mouths, they can’t be taken back. To teach them this lesson, try the Toothpaste Squeeze activity.
- Show students a tube of toothpaste. Explain that when they say a hurtful word, it’s like squeezing out toothpaste.
- Go around the circle and let each student squirt a little toothpaste into a plastic bowl.
- Go back around and challenge students to put the toothpaste back. They’ll try but find that it’s impossible.
- Tell students that words work the same way: once out, we can’t put them back.
Bruised Apple Activity for Middle School
Using a simple visual metaphor, this activity demonstrates the hidden emotional impact of hurtful words and bullying.
- Show the class two apples that appear similar. Ask students to describe them—they will likely say they look similar.
- Choose one apple and say mean things to it, such as “You’re a bad apple,” “You probably have worms,” and “I should just throw you away.”
- Take the second apple and treat it with care. Give compliments: “You’re a delicious apple,” “Your skin is so shiny, “ and “I bet you’d make a great apple pie.”
- Afterward, ask students to observe both apples again. They will still look similar on the outside.
- Cut both apples open. The ‘bullied’ apple will be bruised and discolored inside, while the other remains fresh and unblemished.
- Reflect and discuss:
- What could we have done differently to prevent the apple from becoming so bruised?
- What if someone said we should stop being mean to the apple?
- Now that the bullied apple is bruised, can we undo the damage? No matter how many kind words we say now, the bruises remain—just like the lasting effects of bullying.
- We can help someone feel better after they’ve been hurt, but they will always remember how they were treated.
More Activity Ideas
Activities like these can be found in Teasing, Tattling, Defiance and More: Positive Approaches to 10 Common Classroom Behaviors. Get your copy today and learn to make your classroom a positive learning environment where respectful language is the norm.
To get more practical strategies for preventing bullying and creating a safe, inclusive learning environment check out How to Bullyproof Your Classroom.
