At the heart of the Bullies Be Gone Project curriculum is original poetry, all centering around anti-bullying. It has been shown that poetry in education is a powerful teaching tool, helping students improve their literacy skills, express and connect to their emotions, and increase empathy with new perspectives.

It can also allow students to express their emotions and allow readers and listeners to connect to those emotions. As students listen to the thoughts of others, there is an increase in empathy with new perspectives.

The original poems within the BBGP provide positive and powerful images, the possibility of increased empathy through the words of others, deeper understanding of other people, and they fill the heart with emotions.

• Like music, poetry has a unique way of filling a reader’s mind with images and filling the heart with emotions.

• Poetry can also allow writers to express their emotions and allow readers and listeners to connect to those emotions.

• Having students write poetry can improve their literacy skills.

• Reading and listening to poetry help children appreciate simple ideas through figurative language and gain a deeper understanding of stories outside of their own life experiences.

• By providing a window into the thoughts of others, poetry has the power to increase empathy and provide a new perspective on the human experience.

• The wonderful thing about poetry is that it’s subjective!

The Bullies Be Gone Project effectively uses original poetry as a primary mode of anti-bullying and social skills training in its eighteen-module curriculum training.

With poetry being so vital to this curriculum, it is important that students thoroughly understand the words and phrases presented in each poem. Therefore, there is a vocabulary lesson that follows each poem.

“My Favorites” Section:

• The Student Workbook provides pages for students to list the words, phrases, stanzas, etc. that they would like to remember to use should they be in a bullying encounter. (located at the end of the Student Workbook) (“My Favorites”)
• Students should be encouraged and frequently reminded to utilize these pages so that they will become useful if encountered by a bully.
• The learning will be reinforced, and they will have powerful tools in their “toolbox” for use as needed.
• Memorizing their favorite words and phrases that they find within the poems, or from the poems they create themselves, will greatly help boost their confidence.
• Allow time for them to periodically review, recite, and memorize what they have noted.