Upstander Story: Elementary School

It is hard to be an Upstander every time. Sometimes you have to think about what would be the best thing to do.

• Have you ever been a bystander and you wanted to do something to stop the bullying but did not know how?
• What do you think is the best thing to do for each of these stories?
• Which ending feels the best for you?

Abby usually plays with her three best friends, Mary, Brittany, and Casey, at school. One day Brittany decides that she does not want to play with Abby anymore. Brittany tells Mary and Casey to run away from Abby every time she comes near. At first, Abby thought it was a joke that her friends were playing on her, she later realized that they were being mean on purpose. Abby starts to feels all alone. The next day, Abby hopes that they will be her friends again. This time at recess, Mary starts chanting "loser, loser" at Abby. Brittany decides to join in. Abby runs away crying.

Casey has a bad feeling in her stomach, she knows that how they are treating Abby is not right. She feels bad because her and Abby are best friends and hang out a lot. Casey also realizes that she would not like to be ignored by her friends either.

What should Casey do?

• This time, Casey decides to run after Abby to comfort her, leaving her other two friends shocked.
• This time, Casey stands up for Abby. She explains to them that Abby is her friend and they would not like to be ignored or called names by their friends. If Mary and Brittany were their true friends, they would not be doing this.
• This time, Casey pulls Abby away and says "come on, let's go play with other friends and have fun."
• This time, when the bell rings, Casey pulls her teacher to the side quietly and explains how Mary, Brittany and Casey have been ignoring and being mean to Abby, but Casey wants to make up for it.
• This time...(make up your own Upstander story!)