Summary
Cyberbullying is broader than most students assume — it includes leaving someone out of a group chat or piling on a mean comment with a laughing emoji. This lesson explores the difference between bystanders and upstanders online and equips students with four concrete tactics to intervene safely.
Bellringer: If Every Post Went Public
- Display the scenario: every text, comment, or post gets printed on the front page of the school newspaper.
- Have students jot down 2-3 predictions before opening it up.
Instruction
- Define cyberbullying broadly, using examples students might not expect (group chat exclusion, piling on).
- Teach Joking vs. Bullying using the impact-over-intent rule.
- Introduce the Bystander Effect and the three roles: accomplice, bystander, upstander.
- Present the 4 D's (Direct, Distract, DM, Delegate) as concrete upstander tactics.
Discussion: Why We Say Things Online We Wouldn't Say in Person
- Pose the discussion question and let students share in pairs before a whole-class share-out.
- Push students to connect anonymity and lack of tone/face cues to online cruelty.
Activity: Cyberbullying Pretest & Module
- Have students complete the Cyberbullying pretest individually.
- Launch the Cyberbullying module and let students work through it at their own pace.
Wrap-Up & Assessment
- Which of the 4 D's (Direct, Distract, DM, or Delegate) are you most likely to use the next time an online chat turns toxic, and why?
- What is one small action you can take this week to make our school's digital spaces kinder?
| Est. Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 5 min | Bellringer: If Every Post Went Public |
|
| 10 min | Instruction |
|
| 8 min | Discussion: Why We Say Things Online We Wouldn't Say in Person |
|
| 20 min | Activity: Cyberbullying Pretest & Module |
|
| 2 min | Wrap-Up & Assessment |
|
Lesson Prep
Cyberbullying Pretest
Assess student knowledge before the Cyberbullying unit.
Cyberbullying
Students learn to recognize, respond to, and prevent cyberbullying.
Class Presentation
Includes a 14-slide deck with teacher notes. Present from Banzai, download a PDF, or copy it to Google Slides.
Presentations, Ready to Go
- Built-in PresentationPresent full screen, straight from Banzai
- Copy to Google SlidesMake an editable copy for your class
- Download or PrintSave as a PDF or print
- Teacher NotesSlide-by-slide guidance, printable as one handout
Digital Life Skills
Online Safety
Not everything you share online carries the same risk, and most identity theft starts with information that seemed harmless at the time. Explore what counts as personal information, why teens are prime targets for scammers, and how to spot common online traps before they cost you.
Digital Kindness
Cyberbullying is broader than most students assume — it includes leaving someone out of a group chat or piling on a mean comment with a laughing emoji. This lesson explores the difference between bystanders and upstanders online and equips students with four concrete tactics to intervene safely.
AI Literacy & IP
Copyright law was written for humans, not for AI systems trained on millions of images in seconds. This lesson unpacks plagiarism, fair use, and the murky question of who owns AI-generated content — and how to give proper credit in an AI-saturated world.
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