13 BOOKS TO READ WITH BY JENN ADAMS KIDS ABOUT BULLYING

BY JENN ADAMS

Bullying can destroy a classroom's culture and be so hurtful to children, parents, and teachers. My goal every school year is to tackle the idea early on before it becomes a problem. These 13 books about bullying also focus on being kind, empathetic, and standing up for others.

Creating a positive classroom culture is such an important part of teaching. If we can create a space where kids are comfortable enough to try their best, make mistakes, and be themselves, learning to read and writing stories will come so much more easily.

I truly believe that introducing topics early, building social awareness, and guiding our students to be considerate of one another is the best way to handle bullying. It gives us all a common language and a goal of who we want to be. Prevention like this can save so much hurt and build a classroom community for the entire year! It's also not a bad idea for parents and families to engage in conversations about bullying with their child. And books can be a great way to start that!

My goal is to reach as many students as possible in a way that is meaningful for each of them. I like to use books to present ideas,

both new and familiar, to foster whole class discussions. For some students, pointing out how their behavior affects the way others see them is helpful. For others, showing them how they make another person feel is enough to make them think twice. Some students just need to be reminded that it's okay (and encouraged!) to be unique.

Each of these books tackles bullying and kindness from a different angle because all of our students are different.

I love using these books about bullying and kindness at the beginning of the school year. And I also bring them out when I see a need for a refresher on one of these lessons. I feel like it's a topic you can never read too many books about bullying!

I will hear "Oh I remember that book!" which I love. That means they remember the story. We can read it again with a focus on empathy, kindness, and the lesson that needs to be learned from different perspectives and characters' points of view.