Lesson Information
Overview: This Lesson Guide contains supplemental material for Smile Session #4. This
guide can be used to bolster the material in the PowerPoint for older students or by those
who are looking for more information.
Lesson Objectives:
o Help children to understand and identify bullying.
o Teach students about ways to prevent and stop bullying.
o Share how Smile Train helps support children with clefts who may have
experienced bullying.
Background: This lesson is meant to teach students about bullying and how to prevent it.
It will introduce the concept of bullying, discuss different types of bullying, and delve into
ways to support those who have been bullied. Throughout the lesson, students should be
encouraged to discuss bullying and how it impacts their lives. Students will also learn
about bullying directed at children with clefts and how Smile Train works to support them.
Make Connections: When using this lesson plan, teachers should:
• Read the information provided in the PowerPoint about Smile Train China.
• Show students the video on Wang Li.
• Listen to Li Suhai’s story.
• Have students follow along and fill in the blanks in the lesson guide.
• Ask students some of the questions on slide 17 of the PowerPoint.
Activity: Anti-bullying poster activity. Make and decorate anti-bullying and pro-kindness
posters.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
What is bullying?
Bullying is aggressive behavior that causes either harm or discomfort to others. It
happens when there is a real or perceived power imbalance and the behavior is
repetitive.
Bullying can be direct or indirect. Direct bullying happens to the target’s face, such as
calling someone names or intimidating them. Indirect bullying happens behind the
target’s back, such as spreading rumors.
There are three broad categories of bullying. They are physical, verbal, and social.
Physical bullying is when the bully harms their target’s body or possessions. Examples
include hitting, tripping, or pinching the target, or breaking or stealing their things.
Verbal bullying is when the bully says or writes harmful things to or about their target.
Examples include teasing, name-calling, or threatening physical or emotional harm.
Social bullying is when the bully seeks to harm the target’s relationships or reputation.
Examples include spreading rumors, embarrassing someone, or leaving someone out
of activities.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
What are the effects of bullying?
Bullying harms kids in many ways. It can damage their emotional and physical
health, their academic performance, and their relationships with others.
Kids who have been bullied often feel depressed, anxious, sad, and lonely, and can
lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. They are also more likely to hurt
themselves and blame themselves for problems they can’t control.
Bullying can even make targets sick, giving them headaches, stomachaches,
backaches, or trouble sleeping. It can make them tired or dizzy or cause them to
sleep and eat in unhealthy ways.
Bullying also affects how well the targets do in school. Kids who have been bullied
may participate less in class and do worse on standardized tests. They are also
more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
How do we prevent bullying?
Teaching kids how to identify bullying is very important to preventing it. Kids
need to understand what bullying is, that it is unacceptable, and how to safely
stand up to bullies or get help when they see or experience it.
It is important that children know how they are expected to treat each other.
Establishing, communicating, and enforcing clear rules and policies around
bullying helps to prevent it.
Relationships with adults are also important. Kids need to know that they
have someone to turn to when things get tough. Keeping lines of
communication open and spending a little time each day talking with a child
who has been bullied can reassure them that they can trust you if they have a
problem.
Encouraging kids to take part in activities, interests, and hobbies they like can
also help prevent bullying. When kids have a place where they can have fun
and meet others with the same interests, it helps them build the confidence
and friendships that can insulate them from bullying’s most negative effects.
Kids learn from watching and listening to the adults in their lives. By treating
others with kindness and respect, adults can show kids that there is no place
for bullying.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
How does Smile Train support kids who have been bullied?
Even after surgery, children born with clefts may have scars or difficulties speaking
that can lead them to feel different or be bullied by their peers. It is important to
support these children to ensure they can live up to their full potential.
Smile Train is committed to fighting for the dignity of those born with clefts
everywhere we work, in every way we can. Here are just three of the ways we do
this:
• We develop educational resources to help children with clefts and their
families understand the different kinds of care they will need at every stage of
life.
• We set up social support networks connecting people with clefts around the
world. The relationships these groups create ensure that no child with a cleft
has to face the world alone.
• We provide grants for our partners to organize things like camps where
children with clefts can safely address their feelings and connect to peers
facing similar challenges and treatments.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
Li Suhai’s Story
My name is Li Suhai, I am 22 years old, and this is my story. I was born with a
cleft in the remote village of Henan and my family was very poor. My childhood
was spent in misery and ridicule. Other children called me names, and I was
always fighting with them. Even though I wanted to speak, my words did not
come out clearly, which made me extremely angry and frustrated. Gradually, I
began to feel inferior to others.
In hopes of finding a treatment for my cleft, my father sold our only pig and took
me to see a doctor in town, but sadly the money was still not enough. We
returned home that day feeling hopeless. I secretly vowed then that one day I
would go to college to change my life and help my family.
In 2003, when I was six, my father heard a message from our neighbor’s radio
that a hospital in Zhoukou was treating cleft lip and palate patients from Henan
for free. With a heart full of hope, my father took me to Zhoukou Central
Hospital. A hospital director named Zhang Yuejin warmly received us there and
reimbursed our travel expenses, thanks to Smile Train. Before long, I had my
free Smile Train-sponsored cleft surgery, and I will never forget the happy look
on my father’s face when I revealed my new smile.
Since receiving help from Smile Train, I have kept forging ahead in my life. I
completed elementary school and went on to complete high school. Encouraged
and motivated by Smile Train’s spirit of empowerment, I came to enjoy learning,
and, step by step, I have tried to improve my knowledge every day. All my hard
work paid off that autumn day when I got the admission notice to my favorite
college. It was a very important turning point in my life, and my college dream
came true thanks to Smile Train.
I want to give a very big thanks to Smile Train and Zhoukou Central Hospital for
returning hope into my life. I will continue to be grateful, work hard, and dedicate
my time to bettering society and giving back to everyone who cares for me.
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
Your Story
Li Suhai wrote his story in his own words. Now it is your turn! Use this page to
write your own story. Include any experiences you have with bullying or feeling
alone. Write about your goals and dreams and how you hope to achieve them!
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Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
Anti-Bullying Activity
Materials
Paper
Markers
Pens
Paint
Directions
Decorate your own anti-bullying, pro-kindness posters! Think about rules that you
think will prevent bullying or information on bullying that you think is important to
share. You might also think about how you want to be treated by others and ways
that you can support people who have been bullied. Decorate your poster with
words and images that reflect these thoughts!
Lesson Guide: Smile Session #4
Bullying | Smile Train China
Resources
General Anti-Bullying
Stop Bullying Campaign
Campaign by the United States government to raise awareness about bullying and how to
prevent it. Full of great information and resources. https://www.stopbullying.gov/
BAM! Guide to Getting Along
Resources provided by the Center for Disease Control about staying healthy. There is a
section on violence prevention and mental health.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/bam/injury.htm
Cleft Specific
Cleft Pages for Patients
Cleft Affected Adults
This Facebook group is designed to work as a place of dialogue for adults born with clefts.
This page only includes individuals with clefts themselves.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdultCleftLipandPalate/
Cleft Pages for Families and Allies
Cleft Mom Support
This Facebook group welcomes all parents, grandparents, adoptive parents, and guardians of
individuals born with clefts. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cleftmomsupport/
Cleft Mommies
This Facebook group, similar to the group listed above, welcomes all parents, grandparents,
adoptive parents, and guardians of individuals born with clefts.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cleftmommies/
Cleft Lip and Palate Support Group
This Facebook group allows anyone with any connection to clefts to join; the one condition to
be admitted is to agree to be respectful. It contains many patient stories, mostly posted by
parents and family members of cleft-impacted individuals.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1416766441871886/
Cleft Lip & Palate Association
This Facebook group is run by the Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA), a national
charity working to improve the lives of people born with clefts and their families in the United
Kingdom. https://www.facebook.com/groups/clapacommunity/
