TOPIC 6:

When someone calls you a name or teases you

Activities:

1. People tease or call other people names for a number of reasons. Some of them are:

A. For a joke

B. To get you to do something

C. To hurt your feelings

D. To get your attention

E. To get the attention of someone else

It is not important why someone teases you. What is important is how you act when it happens. If you act in the wrong way, many times all you do is make the person want to tease you more. When you are being teased, you may feel angry, sad, or hurt. Sometimes that is why someone is teasing you.

2. There are correct and incorrect things you can do when you are being teased or called names. Look at the following list. Which are correct and which are not correct? What would happen if you did them?

A. Punch the person who calls you a name.

B. Laugh with the group.

C. Call the other person a name.

D. Don’t pay attention to the other person.

E. Smile and walk away.

F. Change the subject.

3. Read the following and select the correct thing to do from the list above.

A. Etta is about 25 pounds overweight. Erica is slim and likes to tease Etta about her weight. Every time Erica sees Etta, she says “Here comes Etta the Elephant.”

B. James joined the company bowling team. He has a hard time controlling the ball. One night the ball fell out of his fingers when he got ready to throw it. Nick, another employee on the team, laughed and started calling him “Fumble Fingers.” Today at work the supervisor asked James to move a box, and Nick said, “Watch out, Fumble Fingers, you might drop the box.”

C. Mary has new braces. One day at work, Sarah, who also needs braces but hasn’t gone to the dentist, said, “Look everyone, Mary has wired her teeth. Don’t stand next to her when she’s near the light switch or you might get a shock.”

Assignments:

1. List things to do when you are being teased or called a name.

2. List things to do when a friend of yours is being teased or called a name.

3. List things to do when someone you know with a disability is being teased or called a name.