---
title: Is It Joking or Bullying?
description: Using comic scenarios, students will decide if a situation is joking or bullying.
image: https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/is_it_joking_or_bullying_-001.png
---

**Subject: SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)**

**Lesson Length: 30 - 40 mins**

**Topic: Bullying**

**Grade Level: 4, 5, 6**

**Standards / Framework: **

- [CASEL: SOCIAL AWARENESS](https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/#interactive-casel-wheel)

**Brief Description:**  Students will learn the difference between joking and bullying.

**Know Before You Start:** Students should be made aware of school policies on bullying.

**Hook:**

- Share and discuss the sample comic.
- In small groups, have students discuss each scenario:
  
    - Is it joking or bullying? 
    - How do they know? 
    - Have they ever seen something like this happen? Has it happened to them? 
    - How do you cope or support the victim in this situation?

**Activity:**

- Create a three-panel comic describing a bullying scenario where the bully thought they were joking, but another person felt bullied

**Closure:**

- Have students discuss their comics.  
    - Was it easy telling which was playful joking and which was bullying?
    - Why or why not?
    - How might today’s comic scenarios make an impact on how we interact with friends and peers? 

**Differentiation:**

- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Provide questions for small group discussion.
- Provide sentence frames as needed.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

**Resources:**

- Comic to print or display:  [Comic](https://share.pixton.com/q9qmlui).
- Suggested Readings:
  
    - [The Hundred Dresses](https://amzn.to/3zAnUck) by Eleanor Estes. (Grades 4-5)
    - [Wonder](https://amzn.to/3JukiNm) by R.J. Palacio. (Grades 5-6)

**Suggested Content:**

- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2078530841190330368/thumbnail.png) Elementary School ](https://content.pixton.com/elementary-school)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2078531110531739648/thumbnail.png) Middle School ](https://content.pixton.com/middle-school)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2078531202717949952/thumbnail.png) Internet ](https://content.pixton.com/internet)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2004983473167663104/thumbnail.png) Playground ](https://content.pixton.com/playground)
- [![](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/thumbnail-tangerine.png) Tangerine ](https://content.pixton.com/tangerine)
- [![](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/thumbnail-the%20wednesday%20wars.png) The Wednesday Wars ](https://content.pixton.com/the-wednesday-wars)

Assign Activity

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