Episode 1: BULLYING (Secondary)

The aim of this resource is to motivate students to discuss and explore the dynamics of bullying and develop an understanding of what happens and why. In the process this episode addresses a number of factors, including:

• The critical role of bystanders in both perpetuating and resolving bullying
• How situations escalate
• Supportive and non-supportive friendship
• The dynamics of the group
• Power and control
• Consequences of bullying
• Where to turn for support
• Effective ways to seek help
• Options for dealing with typical bullying situations

This Stories of Us education resource is composed of a dramatised Video and a 36 page Teacher's Guide.

Audience

The suggested target age group for the Bullying (Secondary) resource is Years 8 & 9, however its use need not be restricted to these years.

The Teacher's Guide

The Teacher's Guide outlines how the resource is used over a number of classes with step-by-step instructions, discussion starters, summary notes and extensive teacher support material. At each stage the Guide clearly indicates the territory to be explored, and provides additional information for teachers should any details need clarification.

The Support & Research section lists a number of websites for teachers seeking further information on the issues (which are also available via the links on this site). The Guide also details a number of relevant MindMatters extension activities.

Because of their realism the videos also form an excellent basis for extension activities in English or Drama.

A preview of the Teacher's Guide can be downloaded here as a PDF document.

The Video

There are two versions of the program on the DVD/videotape.

• The Play Version is played without interruption, with a prompt at the end to refer to the Teacher's Guide for questions to begin the discussion. In this version the story is left intentionally unresolved to maximise student engagement in the discussion.
• The Segmented Version repeats the main program but with a series of pause points (with Teacher's Guide questions) for a more in-depth discussion. At the end the main characters tell us how they resolved their situations – with a positive outcome.

The duration the Play Version is 22 minutes 27 seconds and the Segmented Version is 24 minutes 40 seconds.

A 5 minute preview of the video is available here online.

The Story

This episode centres on Vince and Mia, two Year 11 students in the same class at a suburban secondary school. For some time Vince has been bullied by Luke but Luke is starting to lose interest. However Luke’s mates encourage him, so the intimidation continues. Mia, on the other hand, appears to have a good relationship with Alison, Madison and Nadia, although it soon emerges that she is relatively new to the group and occasionally sidelined... >More

Previews

A 5 minute preview of the video is available here online.
A preview of the Teacher's Guide can be downloaded here as a PDF document.

Ordering

The Order Form and Pricing information are available here online.

Production Information

The Bullying episode was produced at Underdale High School in Adelaide, South Australia. Over a two month period filmmaker Christopher Faull worked with the Year 11 Drama students exploring the subject, developing characters, then workshopping the scripts. The students performed all the main acting roles in the dramatised videos, and fulfilled all of the secondary roles in supporting the professional film crew. Every detail of the story and its staging was approved by the students, and every word of dialogue is their own.

> Production photos