Tapestry of Faith: Sing to the Power: A Social Justice Program for Children Grades 4-5

Alternate Activity 2: Making an Anti-Bullying Video

Activity time: 45 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Newsprint, markers, and tape
  • Writing paper and pens/pencils
  • Video recording and editing equipment

Preparation for Activity

  • Recruit an older youth or an adult to edit the material you videotape, post the edited clip on YouTube and create a DVD.
  • Work with the religious educator to make sure you have appropriate permissions from parents and guardians to videotape participants and to post video of participants online.
  • Write on newsprint, and post:
    • What happened?
    • What was your role?
    • What did you learn from the experience?
    • What actions would you advise someone to take, in a similar situation? take?

Description of Activity

Participants act against bullying and for a climate in which people feel safe and supported, by making and showing a video.

Guide the group to prepare stories to tell on videotape about their own experiences with bullying. Encourage them to think about a time when they were a bully, a person bullied, and/or a witness to bullying.

Indicate the questions you have posted on newsprint. Tell the group each person will be interviewed on videotape, and asked these questions. Brainstorm things that students can do to prevent or interrupt bullying, and to support people who have been bullied, and then have participants share these tips as the final part of your videotape. Optional: Distribute writing paper and pens/pencils, and invite participants to gather their thoughts by making some notes.

Videotape the participants, one a time or a small group at a time.

Discuss how you can share the edited video. For example: post it on YouTube or another video sharing site, or make a plan to show it to other young people in your congregation, present it during a Sunday service, or share it at a school.

Including All Participants

Do not insist that all children speak on camera. Invite children who prefer not to be videotaped or whose parents have not given permission to, instead, operate the video camera or make graphics, such as a poster of anti-bullying tips, to include in the video. A child who prefers not to be photographed may like to narrate a list of video tips which can be shown on-screen.