When words are mean

Learning goal: Avoid joining hurtful messages and ask a trusted adult for help.

Prepare: One worksheet per child, pencils or crayons, and the linked book pages. A closed book can stand in for a device. No student account or device is needed.

Book connection: Cyber Safety Coloring & Activity Book Featuring Officer Quackers, PDF pages 19, 31. Numbers are PDF positions, including blank backs.

Teach the lesson

1. 3 min · Connect

   Use a mild fictional message: You cannot play with us. Ask how a person might feel.

2. 4 min · Model and say

   Say: You do not have to answer mean words. Model stopping and telling a teacher without repeating an insult.

3. 8 min · Practice together

   Pairs choose from three responses read aloud: join the teasing, send it to more people, or tell a helper. Discuss support for the child who was hurt. Read the worksheet aloud and let children respond by pointing, speaking, circling, or drawing. Use optional coloring only if time allows.

4. 3 min · Discuss

   Invite two different responses. Ask: What would you do? Why could that help? Use the answer guide on the next page.

5. 2 min · Check understanding

   Ask for one action that helps without spreading the message.

Answers & follow-through

Worksheet guidance

1. A chat gets mean. Circle a safe next step.

   Tell a trusted adult; do not retaliate.

2. Should you send the hurtful message to more friends?

   No. Avoid spreading the hurtful content. A trusted adult can help handle it.

3. Draw a kind way to support someone left out.

   Accept including, listening, offering company, or getting adult help.

Check, then respond

Ask for one action that helps without spreading the message.

Mark your observation: □ Independent   □ With a prompt   □ Needs practice. If a child needs practice, demonstrate the same action again and offer a new example in the next class. This is a teaching check, not a safety certification.

Make it work for your learners

Support: Read aloud, point to two choices, model one response, and accept a gesture, spoken answer, drawing, or partner scribe. Do not require independent reading.

Extend: Ask the child to invent one new pretend situation for today’s goal and explain a safe response to a partner.

Family conversation

Explain how your child can tell you if a message hurts their feelings.

No personal information or signed homework needs to be returned.

Teacher care note

Use fictional situations. Do not collect passwords, addresses, or private experiences. Offer an alternative to role-play. If a child shares a concern, listen calmly, avoid public questioning, and follow school procedures.