Teasing between peers can be an ongoing battle causing chaos in the classroom. It’s important to educate students on the difference between playful and mean teasing. Improving student communication can greatly improve classroom culture. To assure student engagement, try using a video clip to introduce this important topic. Using a hook like a video is one of my favorite ways to start a new lesson. A three to five minute video is the perfect length to get their attention. Check out this list of seven supplemental video clips that you can use to hook your students into a lesson on teasing.

1) Animated Clip

This first 3 minute video is my absolute favorite way to start off a lesson on teasing. It’s an animated short film without any words, but the message is timeless. It’s light-hearted and sets the tone for a comfortable conversation about teasing. All ages will like this one.

2) Homemade Clip

This 3 and a half minute video shows the difference between bullying and teasing. It isn’t professionally made, but authentic and real. This one will appeal to upper elementary and middle school students.

3) Rude, Mean, or Bullying

This 4 minute video explores the differences in being rude, mean, and bullying. There is no sound, but it has great information. You could create several lessons around this one video. I like to stop the video several times and have a discussion with students about the words on the screen. This lesson will work best for upper elementary and middle school students.

4) Talk Show Clip

This 3 minute clip comes from a talk show where they discuss the difference in fun and mean teasing. It focuses on the intention behind the teasing. This will work best with upper elementary and middle school students. It could also be used as a link to send home for parents if it doesn’t fit with your lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuEDX_mEZqw

5) Josh Speaks Clip

In this 5 minute video, Josh talks about how to react to teasing when the teaser is a friend. This video works best with 5th-12th grade.

6) Reacting to Teasing

This 4 minute video shows students how to react to teasing to diffuse the situation. This video would work best with upper elementary, middle and high school students.

7) BrainPOP Clip

This last 4 minute video is from BrainPop.  It is an animated clip about online teasing and cyberbullying. Tim and Moby videos are filled with a lot of useful information packed into just a few minutes. It will work for upper elementary and middle school students. If you haven’t used Brainpop before, it has several great videos for social-emotional learning. BrainPOP Junior is also available for the elementary level. There is a cost to subscribe, but many schools will get a site-wide subscription if you ask your administrators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkVjt-AaNY4

Sometimes teasing actually crosses the line into bullying. Check out these tips to empower students to report bullying.

Once you have hooked your students into the lesson with a video and had a discussion on the facts, you may want to try an engaging craft to finish out your lesson. Flipbooks are a fun way to summarize the lesson and reinforce the message. They can also take it home and continue the conversation with their parents.

What tips do you have for creating engaging lessons about teasing?  

Leave a comment and let us know.