All you need for this activity is a copy of the free heart template and different colored pieces of paper.
Instructions:
- Print a copy of the heart template on the different colored papers, one for each student in your class.
- Write the following on the board: “Before you speak, think and be smart. It’s hard to fix a wrinkled heart.”
- Ask students to share what they think the saying means.
- Direct each student to create a small ball with their heart template and ask them to smooth it out.
- Explain how this relates to the mean words we sometimes say to each other: just like the wrinkles they can’t remove from the heart, they won’t be able to remove those words.
For lower grades, this anti-bullying activity can be done in conjunction with the book Chrysanthemum, written by Kevin Henkes. Chrysanthemum is a thought-provoking story about a girl who loves her name and has all the confidence in the world until she starts school and encounters bullies.
Crumpled Heart Primary 1 Activity - Give each student a printed paper heart.
- Read the book aloud or watch Chrysanthemum on YouTube.
- Encourage your students to listen carefully.
- When the characters in the story use swear words, encourage your students to crumple their paper hearts.
- Each time Chrysanthemum’s parents use kind words, encourage your students to try to smooth out their paper hearts.
- Discuss in class the irreversible damage that harmful words and bullying can cause.
Anti-bullying homework - Whoever has a birthday between January and July, stand up and stay standing.
- Put your hands on your head.
- How would you feel if you were asked to stand for the entire class?
- This is how people who are bullied feel, even if they don’t show it.