The Upstanders: As a conversation starter, discuss your student’s experiences with bullying behavior and brainstorm ideas about how to address it.
What is Cyberbullying? Discuss the difference between physical bullying and online bullying and why it is so rampant online.
The Brain Science Behind Bullying: Discuss the effect of online anonymity, with ways to address potential causes of bullying behavior and how to seek help if one does experience bullying.
Our Digital World: Discuss how guardians have influenced students’ online behavior, and how to express ourselves in thoughtful and connected ways in our daily lives.
The Bystander Effect: Discuss the difference between a bystander and an upstander, including why people act as bystanders and how we can promote becoming upstanders.
Mindfulness and Bullying: Discuss mindfulness and meditation, and brainstorm ways to express gratitude and become more calm and actively present in our daily lives.
What Can You Do? Discuss how to promote safe and positive spaces online, and how to create in-person spaces for both productive and caring dialogues about these issues.
DOSE: Discuss all the ways we can release the brain’s happy chemicals on a daily basis.
A Path Forward: Discuss how to promote a positive and caring relationship with ourselves and others.
Upstanders Screening Discussion: Short prompts for guided self-reflection following a viewing of the film.
Friendly Phrases: Learning to advocate for yourself and others—by using these low-pressure phrases to start a conversation when you want to ask for help and/or express to others you are there for them if they need support.
The Mood Meter: Self-reflective activity to guide us in daily check-ins about our feelings and what is causing us to feel that way.
Coping & Comfort Words: Learning to calm ourselves and reframe our feelings by transforming the word choice we use to express them—illustrating how language can be a tool for self-care.
Being Present: Creating a daily game plan to minimize stress through good-hearted living—embodying gratitude, kindness, self-care, forgiveness, flexibility, and joy.
Affirmations to Boost Well-Being: An additional activity to express how language can be a tool for self-care, and for supporting the positive mental health of others.
Building a Mindfulness Toolkit: Short, interactive listening activity to teach our brains how to slow down and pay deeper attention.
Your Daily D.O.S.E.: Learning more about the four brain chemicals responsible for happiness (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins)—and how to get our daily DOSE of them.