This teacher and counselor activity guide is designed to accompany the He’s Not Just Teasing! chapter book, which focuses on teaching the difference between teasing and bullying through relatable examples. This guide includes the text from the story, along with discussion questions and activities for each chapter! Engage students in meaningful conversation and relevant activities to help with their prosocial development. Malcolm is a bundle of energy! He’s fast and athletic, and he LOVES soccer! Sometimes, Malcolm’s energy causes him to lose focus. This means he gets in a little trouble at school, and it even means sometimes he gets distracted when he’s playing sports. Malcolm’s close friends joke with him, like he jokes with them, about silly mix ups. They are all the butt of the joke at one time or another. They tease each other because they are close friends and they care. But Malcolm starts to notice that Joe’s teasing feels different. Joe’s teasing is more direct, and always pointed at Malcolm. Overtime, it goes from small comments to saying things that are unkind, and when he teases, it’s hurtful. Malcolm figures out that Joe isn’t teasing, he is bullying. Luckily, Malcolm knows just who to ask for help, and his good friend Carlos is there to support him when he stands up for himself. Readers learn the difference between teasing and bullying through relatable examples, and see different strategies for stopping bullying in action! This quick-read chapter book is part of the Navigating Friendships book series, which is great for 4th-7th graders who are struggling with changing friendships, learning about self-advocacy, and figuring out how to get along with others. Included are 20 activities along with digital content link for reproducible forms and worksheets.

A rare look at emotional bullying among boys from the best-selling author of My Secret Bully.D.J.'s friend Vince has a habit of teasing D.J. and then saying, Just kidding!" as if it will make everything okay. It doesn't, but D.J. is afraid that if he protests, his friends will think he can't take a joke. With the help of his father, brother, and an understanding teacher, D.J. progresses from feeling helpless to taking positive action, undermining the power of two seemingly harmless words. Trudy Ludwig takes another look at relational aggression, the use of relationships to manipulate and hurt others, this time from the boy's point of view. Back matter includes discussion questions, a "dos and don'ts of teasing" list, and a resource guide for parents and teachers. Endorsed by Full Esteem Ahead, The Hands & Words Are Not For Hurting Project, and The Ophelia Project.

Tools for Identifying and Developing Spiritual, Social, and Emotional Growth From birth to adulthood, our children's physical and intellectual development is carefully tracked and charted. But what about their hearts? After all, how our children develop emotionally, socially, and spiritually will determine who they become as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friends and co-workers. Are My Kids on Track? helps you identify and measure 12 key emotional, social, and spiritual milestones in your children's lives. Moreover, you will discover practical ways to guide your kids through any stumbling blocks they might encounter and help them reach the appropriate landmarks. Along the way the authors pinpoint the different ways boys and girls develop, so you can help your child flourish in his or her own way. Filled with decades of experience from three practicing counselors, speakers, and writers, this book provides you with valuable, current research and user-friendly, hands-on practices to make supporting your kids' soul development a seamless part of family life. Don't just raise smart kids--raise courageous, compassionate, resilient, empathetic, and smart kids.

Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love. "This book will save lives." —Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of National Book Award Finalist Hey, Kiddo I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both. I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe. It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance. Godwin Books

This quirky tale teaches young readers the difference between nice teasing and mean teasing. Laughing at someone (mean teasing) has a hurtful bite, but laughing with someone (nice teasing) is alright when it's not done out of spite.

Sticks and Stones helps parents teach kids how to speak up for themselves more assertively, gently, and effectively. Each chapter, based on the characteristics of a particular bird, uses a wealth of examples and imaginative exercises to give kids the confidence to speak truth to power. This unique guide, beautifully illustrated with line drawings of each bird and informed by the author's gentle humor, will help kids be effective communicators and includes easy-to-follow exercises and sample scripts. Examples include: Shut down bullies (The Way of the Blue Jay) Overcome shyness (The Way of the Black Bird) Counter peer pressure (The Way of the Hummingbird) Resolve fights (The Way of the Dove) Accept blame (The Way of the Crow) And more

Gordon Korman’s uproarious, outrageous, and all-too-familiar summer camp adventure is BACK! Rudy Miller really isn’t into the whole camping thing. So when his parents send him to Camp Algonkian “for his own good” all he wants to do is go home. Rudy teams up with his cabin-mate Mike for a series of carefully planned — yet hilariously bungled — escape attempts. Unfortunately, their counsellor (and nemesis) Chip is as determined to keep them there as they are to get away. Rudy and Mike spend their days plotting, playing chess, and working off punishments for their failed escapes. Hmmm, maybe it isn’t such a bad way to spend the summer after all . . .

Jeffrey isn't a little boy with cancer anymore. He's a teen who's in remission, but life still feels fragile. The aftereffects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping. His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself." Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too, which begins with his escalating anger at Steven, an old friend who is keeping something secret, and a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he's cute.

Life, Alice McKinley feels, is just one big embarrassment. Here she is, about to be a teenager and she doesn't know how. It's worse for her than for anyone else, she believes, because she has no role model. Her mother has been dead for years. Help and advice can only come from her father, manager of a music store, and her nineteen-year-old brother, who is a slob. What do they know about being a teen age girl? What she needs, Alice decides, is a gorgeous woman who does everything right, as a roadmap, so to speak. If only she finds herself, when school begins, in the classroom of the beautiful sixth-grade teacher, Miss Cole, her troubles will be over. Unfortunately, she draws the homely, pear-shaped Mrs. Plotkin. One of Mrs. Plotkin's first assignments is for each member of the class to keep a journal of their thoughts and feelings. Alice calls hers "The Agony of Alice," and in it she records all the embarrassing things that happen to her. Through the school year, Alice has lots to record. She also comes to know the lovely Miss Cole, as well as Mrs. Plotkin. And she meets an aunt and a female cousin whom she has not really known before. Out of all this, to her amazement, comes a role model -- one that she would never have accepted before she made a few very important discoveries on her own, things no roadmap could have shown her. Alice moves on, ready to be a wise teenager.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Brown sends readers on a wild ride in this enemies to lovers romance between a rugged rodeo cowboy and a fierce competitor who thinks it's time for a woman to take the crown. Gemma O'Donnell was incensed when she wasn't the first woman to win the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Championship Association) buckle for bronc riding. This year, she heads out on the PRCA ProRodeo Tour burning to be the second. First stop is Cody, Wyoming where her stiffest competition is Trace Coleman, who already has a jump on her. A tall, dark-haired cowboy with a sexy grin and a swagger, he doesn't really give a damn about the trophy belt buckle—he wants the purse to buy a ranch he has his eye on. He damn sure doesn't have time for a sassy bit of Irish baggage who can evidently ride anything with four legs and make anything with two legs want to take her to bed. Gemma wins a few; Trace wins a few. In the end they both qualify for the final cut in Las Vegas. But when it comes down to the wire, only one can win the bronc-riding competition and take home one helluva prize. But in this competition, it just might be loser takes all...