Lace Up
Against Bullying

By Lois Lewis

Grade Level: 3-6

Story Preview: Cousins Grace Taylor and Mark Brown become upset when they learn that a new classmate was bullied for wearing shoelaces with unusual colors. The pair creates a unique plan that rallies everyone in their school to stand up against bullying.

Roles: Narrators 1 and 2; school bus driver, Grace, Mark; Pete, Pete’s two friends, Shawn, Maria, Mrs. Whitney; Mr. Brown, new student

Additional Resources

Learn about the people of the polar region, their culture, history, and archaeology in the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center.

Settings: present day at a school bus stop, on school bus, in a school, and at a home

Themes: bullying, tolerance for others

Vocabulary:

anxiously: nervously, worriedly
approval: permission, support
broadcast: announce, make known
cafeteria: school lunchroom or dining hall
disbelief: amazement
incredible: astonishing, remarkable, extraordinary

Props (Optional): Several chairs placed in two rows to represent seats on a school bus, chair for school bus driver, purple and orange shoelaces, toy or student-created microphone

Follow-Up Questions:

What happened at the school bus on Monday? What did the new student do when he got on the bus?
What was Grace and Mark’s idea? Who was the first person they talked to about it?
Who was Mr. Perez? Under what condition did he agree to help Grace and Mark?
What was Mrs. Whitney’s reaction to the plan?
How did everyone in school learn about the plan? What was the name of the special day? Where did everyone pick up the shoelaces?
What was the response from students, teachers, and staff on the special day? How did the bullies react to everyone’s response?
What do you think Mrs. Whitney meant when she said “This response shows the strength in numbers"?
Why do you think the new student said “Thank you" to Grace? How do you think his feelings changed from Monday to Friday?

Follow-Up Activity:
Discuss with students your school’s guidelines or policies about bullying. Then have the students create plans for a day against bullying in your school. Ask students to explain their ideas and choose two plans they think will work best.

Additional Notes:
This play was inspired by the true story of David Shepherd and Travis Price, two high school students in Nova Scotia who encouraged their classmates to stand up for a student who had been bullied. Their actions impressed Premier Rodney MacDonald to designate the second Thursday at the beginning of each school year in Nova Scotia as Stand Up Against Bullying Day. Click here to read a story about David and Travis and watch an interview with them.

Click here for a printable script.

01/22/2008