Sample short story activity: The Bubbler
The Bubbler is a sample, thought-provoking short story that may be read by a teacher in conjunction with carefully structured discussion questions (below) as the basis for a reflective lesson.
In The Bubbler, Emu Greatheart (EG) uses some interesting strategies to cope with harassment and fear. With a little help from his friends, EG comes through his ordeals with dignity more or less intact. This is no hero's tale however and the final outcome is yet to be decided.
During the story, EG deals with a difficult situation by trying to:
- Ignore the taunts from the gang of three.
- Reason with the gang of three. "How about you let me through," says EG, "I think it"s the fair thing to do."
- Stay positive. EG takes the sting out of some of the taunts by acting positively and agreeing in a humorous way.
- Be confident. EG uses visualization to help his confidence: He imagines "the power of rivers and mighty oceans running through his blood".
- Self-talk. EG tells himself that he is "as brave hearted as an eagle".
In the end, EG finds someone to talk to when the three friends finally decide to talk to Ms Leo.
(An outline of these personal strategies can also be found at Helping yourself, helping your friends in the Chill Out Space.)
Using The Bubbler
The teacher reads The Bubbler (PDF, 40KB) for the class.
Note: Although masculine pronouns have been used for EG throughout the story, EG's gender can be decided by the reader.
Questions for reflecting on the story
- Why did Syd and Con say "Uh oh!" when they saw the three figures hanging around the bubbler?
- Why do you think Syd told EG to "stay away from the taps"? (Do you think Syd later changed her mind?)
- How did EG feel after the first time he visited the taps?
- How do you feel when someone is mean to you? (eg sick, tummy ache, angry, scared)
- Why did EG tell the teacher "It's all good" when it wasn't?
- What 'big mistake' did EG make the second time he visited the taps? What might have happened if EG had continued to use this approach?
- What happened on the friends' third visit to the taps?
- Why do you think they went to see Ms Leo?
- What could they tell Ms Leo?
- What are some of the things Ms Leo could do?
- What do you think Ms Leo should do?
Activity
Students act out the conversation between EG, Con, Syd and Ms Leo. This activity can be organised in a way most appropriate for the class.
Follow up
- Students look at some of the ways that EG and the friends could respond to the situation and for each, consider:
- What might happen next? What might the outcome be immediately, in a while, and long term?
- Which responses do you think be more likely to end up decreasing/stopping the bullying and improving safety and relationships? In the short term? In the long term?
- What would you suggest that EG does next time?
- What do we know and learn about being good friends?
- For the best result, what would you suggest that Syd and Con do next time?
- Perhaps even if EG, Con and Syd make the wisest choices, the bullying may continue.
What could they do then?
How might EG and friends stay positive if this happens?
List some strategies and some people they might ask for support and help. - What are some of the rules and systems in our classroom / playground / school to keep students safe?
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