About The Devastating Effects Of Bullying." width="750" height="1125" />About The Devastating Effects Of Bullying." width="750" height="1125" />
Who could imagine that a single sheet of scrunched up paper could be so effective in demonstrating the devastating impact thoughtless words and actions can have on people? The crumpled heart activity is a powerful low-prep friendship activity for teachers. It's quick and easy as it just requires some paper or a paper heart (get one here). It's a big hit with elementary and middle school students as an engaging demonstration that can have a long-lasting effect, but I will offer a word of caution.
When using this activity, students often become excited when they stomp on the paper because it requires them to be active and it's fun. However, teachers should be careful to rein in the excitement and have students focus on the message. This activity should not be turned into a fun game instead of the powerful life lesson it's intended to be.
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.
I 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. When I used the wrinkled heart activity during an assembly at a school, it was obvious it had quite an impact. I substituted a plain piece of paper for a red paper heart for younger students and a cut-out of a person for older students. I have included instructions for my version below along with a link to print the wrinkled heart lesson template mentioned above. If you're working with high school students, use the crumpled paper bullying lesson as shown in the video below by Tony Brent.
This bullying activity is an immensely powerful way to deal with bad behavior in a group or grade. It can really help a bully to understand just how hurtful their words and actions can be and the lasting impact it can have on someone's mental health and self-esteem.
