talking about getting along

This thematic book set focuses on the tricky area of peer relationships, an important cornerstone of children's social-emotional development and the center of children's school experiences. Peer-directed relational aggression and bullying are particularly problematic at this young age. This book set contains several children's books that could fit into the "dealing with bullying" label, as well as offer perspectives from the bully, the victim, and the bystander. These books can be used to discuss a bullying situation, consider relational aggression among child peers, and think about ways to speak up and be a supportive friend. This book set is not intended to "solve" a bullying problem but rather to open the classroom conversation about challenges in peer relationships. 
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Along with focusing on social-emotional standards (The CASEL 5), this thematic book set embeds English language arts standards that include having collaborative conversations with classmates, using text evidence to make inferences, comparing characters in stories, and discussing how illustrations add depth to the meaning of the text. Activities and discussion questions are suited for a 3rd through 6th-grade classroom audience and should be adjusted as appropriate for your grade level and students’ understanding.

To receive more information about the Bully or Bestie book set and activity guide, please click here.

utah core standards for the bully or bestie book set

Each of the book sets and its activities are aligned to specific standards within the Reading and Speaking & Listening strands of the Utah Core Language Arts Standards for grades 3-6 and specific CASEL's SEL Core Competencies for grades 3-6. 

see full list of standards by grade for this book set

English Language Arts Standards for Grade 4

ELA  ​Standard	Description
Speaking and Listening ​(4.SL.1)	Participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations Respectfully acknowledge and respond to comments and claims​
Reading ​(4.R.5)	Refer to details and evidence in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Reading (4.R.7)	​​Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text
Reading ​(4.R.9)	​​Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies
Reading ​(4.R.14)	​​Compare the treatment of similar themes and topics and patterns of events in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures

CASEL 5 Social-Emotional Core Competencies for Grade 4

Social-Emotional ​Competency	Description
​​​Self-Awareness	Identifying one’s emotions Linking feelings, values, and thoughts Having a growth mindset​
Self-Management	Managing one’s emotions Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation​
Social Awareness	Taking others’ perspectives Demonstrating empathy and compassion​ Recognizing situational demands and opportunities​
Relationship Skills	Communicating effectively​​ Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving Resolving conflicts constructively
Responsible ​Decision-Making	​Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness Identifying solutions for personal and social problems Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions