The Wrinkled Heart Lisa Currie The wrinkled heart bullying activity for kids (crumpled paper activity) is a powerful lesson every child needs to participate in to understand the lasting effects of bullying.
We believe this bullying experiment was originally used by a teacher in New York who used scrunched-up paper to show her students the lasting impact cruel or nasty behavior can have.
This simple activity is a valuable friendship lesson that shows students how difficult a wrinkled heart is to mend! Who could imagine that a single sheet of scrunched-up paper could be so effective in demonstrating the devastating impact unkind words and actions can have on students?
If you’re looking for bullying activities for kids to improve friendships in your classroom, this lesson is a must to add to your social-emotional learning toolbox. It helps to improve student mental health and wellness which naturally leads to a more positive and inclusive classroom community while reducing stress and anxiety for greater teacher wellbeing.
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Teachers Making a Difference | Issue 2, September 2022
When we used the wrinkled heart activity during an assembly at a school using our SEL curriculum, it was apparent it had quite an impact. We substituted a plain piece of paper for a red paper heart for younger students and a cut-out of a person for older students. We have included instructions for our version below and a link to print the wrinkled heart template we mentioned above. If you’re working with high school students, use the crumpled paper bullying lesson as shown in a video by Tony Brent.
