Write the word "bully" on the board. What's a bully? Elicit that a bully is a person who threatens other people (usually smaller than himself), sometimes hurting them and forcing them to do things they don't want to do.
Explain that the puppets are now going to act out a situation with a bully, and then the class is going to figure out how to deal with situation. Sometimes the best way to come up with a good idea is for a whole group to think about the problem and brainstorm solutions. Two (or more) heads are better than one.
The puppet skit might go something like this:
Juan and Tyrone, first graders, are talking in a corner of the school playground about a fifth-grader named Robert.
Juan: I hate Robert!
Tyrone: Yes, he's really mean.
Juan: I just had to give him my candy. He said he'd beat me up after school if I didn't.
Tyrone: I know. Yesterday he told me he'd get me on the way home if I didn't give him my cookies from lunch. He thinks he's big and bad because he's in fifth grade.
Juan: Yes, and I don't like the way he bosses us around. Remember last week when we were in line for the drinking fountain and he cut right in front of us and pushed us out of the way?
Freeze the action at this point. What's going on here? Ask students to describe the situation.
Now suggest that students brainstorm ways Juan and Tyrone could deal with the problem of Robert, the bully. Explain the rules of brainstorming: no comments on other people's ideas, the ideas don't have to be "realistic," go for as many ideas as possible in a short amount of time.
Discuss:
Have you ever had an experience with a bully? What do you think of the ideas the class came up with? Could you see using any of them to deal with a real-life bully?