BSEL Library: Bullying Prevention Month with Bully B.E.A.N.S.

Are you struggling with bullying in your classroom? October is Bullying Prevention Month, right around when the honeymoon of back to school is starting to wear off. This makes it a great time to start teaching students about bullying and how to respond! 
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The book Bully B.E.A.N.S by Julia Cook gives kids a practical, creative, and even fun approach to responding to bullying at school.

Here are a few things I love about this book, a couple notes to be aware of, and some ideas of ways to use this in your classroom!

What I love:
-  Bully B.E.A.N.S. gives multiple explicit examples of things students can say and do when they are being bullied or witnessing someone else being bullied, along with the fun little trick of eating "bully B.E.A.N.S" to gather the courage to put the strategy into action. This makes the whole process much less intimidating for kids!
- Julia Cook does a great job of sharing the "other side of the story" so to speak by building empathy for the bully and exploring why a bully might act the way they do. This perspective can be very helpful for students who might be struggling.
- The back of the book has a list of helpful advice for three different types of students: those being bullied, those witnessing bullying, and those being a bully themselves. I love that this last section is included so that students can reflect and recognize bullying in themselves if necessary.

Some things to be aware of:

• The book does not give a clear definition of what bullying is, which I believe is a key component to teaching students about bullying. I recommend supplementing this book with a discussion on this important point!
• While Bully BEANS tries hard to put the power in the hands of students themselves (and getting an adult when necessary of course), the characters witnessing bullying and standing up to the bully can come across as being somewhat rude. I think it would be necessary to critically approach what these characters did well and what your own students might do differently. While yes, they are engaging in bullying, bully behavior is something you DO, not who you ARE, and this difference needs explained to students when reading this book.

How to use "Bully B.E.A.N.S." in your classroom:
Read this individually with a student who is being bullied. Bully BEANS has great tips for students to be courageous when they are being bullied, and they can be taught explicitly to a student who is a frequent victim of bullying behavior.
Read this individually with a student who is a bully. A student who is a bully can read this book and recognize their behaviors in that of the characters, foster empathy, and read the notes at the back of the book with tips of what to do differently. I recognize not telling a bully which character they should identify with but rather guide them to o reflect on what parts of the story resonate with them most.
Read this book with your class and make a classwide bully BEANS contract! You could include a definition of bullying, a list of behaviors the class agrees to do if they witness bullying, and pass out jelly beans to celebrate their new agreement and skills.

​We already know books provide opportunities to teach just about any skill, and that includes behavioral, social, and emotional skills, too! Through character, conflict, and more, BSEL skills can be found on nearly every page. A library of BSEL books gives you endless options to incorporate academics as well. Grab some BSEL books and get teaching! ***This post contains affiliate links. Braving BSEL makes a small commission when you purchase using our links. Thank you for your support!***