Newsela launched in 2013 with a bold mission: Meaningful classroom learning for every student. Today, our team constantly strives to deliver powerful solutions that inspire our users.
10 Activities for National Bullying Prevention Month
Christy Walters
September 1, 2025
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Founded by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in 2006, this month is meant to educate and raise awareness about what bullying is, why it can be harmful, and what we can do to stop it.
While bullying isn’t just a school issue, teaching students to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion can create safer and more supportive environments and communities both inside and outside the classroom.
If you’d like to incorporate bullying prevention lessons and activities into your classroom this fall but aren’t sure where to begin, we have a collection of text sets, articles, and other resources to help spark ideas and make covering this important issue easier.
Students may be less likely to engage in bullying if they’re more empathetic and understanding. Help students understand what these terms mean and why they are such important qualities with these ELA lessons:
Build digital citizenship skills
Digital citizenship teaches students how to use technology and digital tools responsibly and how to act respectfully in online spaces. Learning about digital citizenship can help curb cyberbullying and teach students to think about actions and consequences when they’re behind a screen. Try this lesson to boost their skills:
Next, have students read articles about cyberbullying and school bullying to better understand what these terms mean.
Finally, ask students to complete a short expository writing assignment and explain how they would build a positive and supportive environment in their school and online communities. Try it on Newsela Writing!
Use fiction to discover how to cope with bullies
Fiction can act as a mirror or a window to students’ experiences. When it’s a mirror, students see their own experiences reflected back to them. When it’s a window, they get a glimpse into what life is like for someone else.
First, ask students to read the fictional story “Coming Up” by David Hill about a young boy who deals with—and learns to work with—a bully.
Next, ask students to read a nonfiction article about potential solutions for cyberbullying.
Finally, ask students to complete a paired text analysis and answer the question, “How do the genre and style of each text impact the author’s message?”
Research bullying, its causes, and how to prevent it
How does being bullied at a young age affect people into their teens and adulthood? Students can learn more about the effects of bullying with this research project:
First, ask students to watch a video on how to write a strong research question.
Next, ask students to choose a research question, like “How does bullying affect people?” or “What can people do to prevent bullying?”
Finally, ask students to use the resources provided in the text set to learn more about the causes and effects of bullying. Ask them to use a research notes worksheet to collect evidence to answer their research question as they read.
Uncover how to build healthy relationships
Building healthy relationships with friends and family can help improve mental health, and may even be a key to preventing bullying. Students can explore what healthy relationships look like and why they’re important with content like:
A video that explores the characteristics of a trustworthy friend.
An article that compares and contrasts healthy vs. unhealthy relationships.
An article that gives tips on how to be a good friend.
Encourage students to explore their mental health needs
It’s important to understand our mental health needs and challenges, but for students and young people, they may not always get the education they need to recognize and address areas that need attention. Try this research project to help students become more aware of their mental health. They can explore resources like:
An explainer video on what mental health is.
An article about how chronic diseases and mental health affect each other.
An article that looks at how TikTok can affect mental health.
Discover different viewpoints on bullying prevention
Most people agree that preventing bullying is a good thing, but there are many ideas about how to make it happen. Students can explore the different viewpoints and strategies for bullying prevention with resources on topics like:
What bullying is and how to address it.
How teaching respect can positively influence bullying prevention.
Why a Tennessee teenager was suspended for creating a viral anti-bullying video.
[Discover how bullying affects mental and social health in science](id-sci)
Bullying can take a toll on our mental and social health—not just when it’s happening, but for years after. Help students dig into the science behind bullying, mental health, and their emotions.
Define bullying and what it looks like
Bullying is an intangible concept. What does it look like? Do certain actions “count” as bullying and others don’t? These are some of the questions students may have when trying to understand what bullying is. Help them learn more and write their own definition with articles on topics like:
What scientists have learned about cyberbullying and how to stop it.
What verbal abuse looks like and how to overcome it.
Solutions to school bullying and how combating it can create a safer environment.
Discover how mental, emotional, and social health are connected
Our feelings, friendships, and personality characteristics may all affect how we handle bullying and what we can do to prevent it. Try one of these units for each grade band that explores key mental, emotional, and social issues for students in each age group:
Elementary: Focuses on feelings, self-management, friendships, and communication
Middle school: Focuses on stress management, grief, and positive self-image
High school: Focuses on depression, stress, and seeking professional health services
[Learn how to take action against bullying in social studies](id-ss)
Once your students know more about bullying and get ideas on how to stop it, they may want to take action. Use these social studies activities and lessons to help them brainstorm and execute bullying prevention plans in their schools and communities:
Explore the distinctions of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place online, but that’s not the only thing that sets it apart from what we’d consider traditional bullying. Students can learn more about what cyberbullying is and how to prevent it with articles on topics like:
How X, formerly Twitter’s, NiceBot account fought bullying with cheerful messages.
Why more states are requiring schools to teach media literacy in the classroom.
The survey results from American teens about their experiences with cyberbullying.
Decide how to take action to prevent bullying
Does the First Amendment protect hurtful speech that’s considered bullying? Under the First Amendment, can students speak out about bullying? Have your class try to answer these questions and others with a summative performance task to cap off your Bullying Prevention Month lessons.
First, introduce the compelling question, “Are students protected by the First Amendment?”
Next, ask students to read the articles included in the text set and reflect on other things they’ve learned throughout National Bullying Month to form an opinion and craft an argument on the topic.
Then, ask students to evaluate your school or district’s current cyberbullying and social media policies and see if they align with First Amendment legislation.
Incorporate personal growth into your lessons all year long
In addition to these resources, Newsela’s subject products offer so many more articles, videos, and activities to address personal and social issues in the classroom. Access even more lessons by grade band, subject area, or topic to help students navigate themes like:
Mental health
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship-building
Responsible decision-making
If you’re not a Newsela customer yet, sign up for Newsela Lite for free and start your 45-day trial of our premium content to access everything you need to teach about National Bullying Prevention Month and other social and mental health topics in your classroom.
Everything you need to accelerate learning across ELA, social studies, and science
Products Overview
