Lesson Plan: The Bully Blocker

After learning of the suicide of a girl who had been cyberbullied, Trisha Prabhu invented ReThink, a browser plug-in that detects hurtful words in online posts and asks users to reconsider what they’re about to do.

CCSS.ELA–Literacy.W.4 (Produce clear writing appropriate to task.)

Have students use the Bully/ Bullied Worksheet to explain a personal experience with bullying, including which side of the situation they were on at the time. Then have them fold up their worksheets and put them a bag or other container. Ask students one by one to come to the front of the room, pull a worksheet out of the bag, and read the statement on it. As students read, keep a tally on the board of how many people wrote about being bullied and how many wrote about being a bully. Ask students if they are surprised by the tallies, and have them explain why or why not.

Read the article and have students discuss or write down their answers to the following Close-Reading Questions.

• How did Trisha become inspired to create ReThink? Trisha saw a story online about Rebecca Sedwick, a middleschooler who committed suicide after months of cyberbullying. Trisha decided she wanted to stand up for kids who were suffering in this way.
• Explain how ReThink works. ReThink is a browser plug-in that triggers a pop-up alert to prevent cyberbullying. So if you’re typing “ugly shoes,” ReThink will detect those words as hurtful and prompt you to reconsider your comment. 
• What did Trisha learn when she tested her software? Trisha learned that 93 percent of the time, teens changed their minds when prompted by the software to reconsider what they were writing.

Have students write down or discuss their answers to the following Critical-Thinking Questions.

• How is it possible that even the nicest people could post words that could be misinterpreted? Possible answer: Interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, meaning that when we read someone else’s words, we bring our own experience and perspective to those words. So we don’t automatically read a post exactly the way the author of the post intended.
• What do you think is the most offensive of the seven words in the center of the page? Why? Answers will vary.
• Why do you think 90 percent of teens who have seen someone being cyberbullied have ignored it? Possible answer: Most people probably don’t want to get involved because they’re afraid that if they speak up, they themselves will be bullied, so it’s safer to not say anything at all.

CCSS.ELA–Literacy.SL.1 (Participate effectively in collaborative discussion.)

Ask students to use the Positive Post-It Day Graphic Organizer to respond to the prompts and write drafts of notes they’d leave around school on Oct. 5, Positive Post- It Day. Have a discussion about how it feels to do this, and encourage students to be completely honest. Does it feel weird? Embarrassing? Enjoyable? All of the above? Why?