Empathy Buddy Session 3: Reflections

15–30

minutes

E MPAT h Y LITTLE B UDDY S ESSION 3: Reflections

To wrap up their exploration of the topic, students meet in their home classrooms to talk about the story and the buddy experience. You may want to ask one or two of these questions and then have students do the activity below.: • Which character seems the most like you? • Do you think you would have acted the same way that character did? Why or why not?

• What do you think you could do if someone teases you or your friend?

• Which ending did you like best? Why? • What did you learn from the story?

• How can we use what we’ve learned from the story to help us be better buddies and better friends?

If time allows, do a simple activity to reinforce the learning, such as: •Ask students to draw or write about one thing they learned that might help them treat others with kindness and respect. You may want to collect the pages and make a class book to share with family members.

This meeting time is a good time to check in with students about how things went with their buddies. Ask Little Buddies: Did you enjoy meeting with your Big Buddy. Were you comfortable working with your buddy? What was the best part of your time together? Did your buddy help you talk about the story or play the game?

If students are shy about sharing their experiences, you want to have them write or draw their answers on a card. Follow up with individuals who did not have a good experience. Share the feedback when you meet with your teacher partner so you can provide unified support and suggestions to both sets of students. As an optional activity for this first Topic Buddy Session, students may enjoy watching the Arthur episode on which the interactive feature is based, also called So Funny I Forgot to Laugh.

Tip

What if a buddy is involved in a bullying incident?

If a student reveals that (s)he is the target of bullying behaviors, or has seen another student being bullied, it is important to intervene immediately and appropriately so you can help the student feel safe and supported. Here are some strategies you can use: •Support the student being bullied in a way that allows her to feel safe from retaliation.

•Let the student know that you are available to listen and help. Allow the student to vent his feelings. Assure the student that the bullying is not his fault.

• Check in with the student periodically in private to see if she is upset and to be sure the bullying has not continued. •Increase supervision to assure bullying behavior is not repeated.

•Notify colleagues, administration, and parents.

•Conduct bullying prevention activities in class (or in all-school assemblies), such as: role playing of assertive behaviors with targets, role playing of non-aggressive behaviors with students who bully, arts projects highlighting class rules or school values to reinforce the message that bullying is wrong.

© 2017 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. “Arthur” & the other Marc Brown Arthur characters and underlying materials (including artwork) TM and © Marc Brown. The Arthur Interactive Media Study was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.