Children look to adults for help and often that help is not there. Children told EEC researchers that they want their teachers to get involved. New teachers arrive at school with minimal training in the kinds of conflicts that take place in classrooms every day. The guide uses puppets, skits and games to resolve entrenched problems and help children to deal with their emotions. First graders draw stories about a time that they had courage to stand up for a friend.
Second graders illustrate their classroom rules to make a rules quilt.
Third graders act out a story about a girl and boy who are teased because they want to be friends. EEC also found that gender plays a key role in the dynamics of teasing and bullying. Students get the wrong message about acceptable gender roles. Try writing the rules in the students' own words rather than paraphrasing them. Classroom rules have more meaning if students have a hand in creating them.