Presentation: Cyberbullying Forum Theatre

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Drama · Year 9

3 minutes

Cyberbullying forum theatre: The Fan Club, a scene written to go wrong

You have a worksheet and, in your group of 5, a stimulus sheet with a short scene called The Fan Club: a rehearsal video is shared in a class group chat of 31 people. Today you read it, work out who had the power to change it, plan what they could have done instead, try those ideas in the forum, and decide which would really work.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read The rules for today on the stimulus sheet.

Starter question: Which 2 characters are you not allowed to replace, and why not?

DCF: Citizenship → Online behaviour and online bullying No computers needed · phones stay away · everything can be done seated

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil and one stimulus sheet (The Fan Club) per group of 5. No computers or phones; phones stay away. The room does not need clearing: groups read at their desks and interventions are read out as new lines. Every person, school and chat in the scene is invented. Safeguarding: a pupil may recognise this situation. Do not take a disclosure in front of the class; say “come and see me at the end”, take their name, and pass it to the class teacher or the school’s safeguarding lead the same day. Do not promise to keep it secret.

Say aloud: “Name, class and date at the top. While I take the register, read the rules for today on the stimulus sheet. Find the 2 characters nobody is allowed to replace.”

Starter answer: Elin and Jac, the 2 who started it. Making the people who started it suddenly become nice is not a solution, it is magic. You may only replace Cai, Dev or Sara, and every idea must be something a real Year 9 pupil could do tomorrow.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · Drama · Year 9

3 minutes

Your brief: find the moments where someone could have changed the ending

You will read the scene aloud in fives, map what every character did and what stopped them doing better, plan 3 realistic interventions at 3 different stop points, watch one group run the forum and step in, then answer 4 reflection questions. Use the box What actually helps on your worksheet: screenshot, do not retaliate or react, report, block or leave, tell a trusted adult.

Forum theatre

A scene is played once straight through, then again. On the second run the audience can say “Stop!” at a stop point, take an actor’s place and try something different.

The Joker

The person who runs the forum. After each attempt the Joker asks: What changed? Would that work in real life? What did it cost the person who tried it?

Magic

An intervention that only works because someone suddenly changes their mind or becomes nice. Magic is not allowed. Real ideas have a cost, and you must name it.

DCF: Citizenship → Online behaviour and online bullying Volunteers only · nobody is cast because of who they are

Slide 3 of 7 · Steps 1 and 2: read the scene, then the role map · Drama · Year 9

14 minutes

Step 1 & Step 2: read The Fan Club aloud, then map every character

Step 1 (6 min): in fives, one part each, read the 5 moments aloud at your desks. Step 2 (8 min): fill the role map. For each of the 5 characters: what they did, one thing they could have done instead, and what stopped them. Copy the Elin row from the board. Be honest in the last column.

Character	What they did	What they could have done	What stopped them (the cost)
Elin	Filmed Cai without asking, posted it to 31 people with a mocking caption, and renamed the group after him when he asked her to delete it.	Not posted it at all. Or deleted it the moment Cai asked.	She got attention and laughs from it. Backing down in front of the chat would look weak to her.

Steps 1 and 2 on your worksheet · 14 minutes, in fives Scripted lines only · nobody invents new insults

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Groups of 5, one part each: Cai, Elin, Jac, Sara, Dev. Nobody has to read Cai; swap if you want. Read the 5 moments aloud at your desks, scripted lines only. Then 8 minutes on the role map. The Elin row is on the board; do all 5 rows, including Cai. The last column is what stopped them, and the reasons people stay silent are real, so be honest.” Stop any improvised insult straight away.

Quick check, the role map: Jac invented the nickname (“CAI-RAOKE”) and told Cai to “chill”; could have added nothing; joining in keeps him on Elin’s side. Sara reacted with a laughing face without reading, then laughed in the corridor; could have removed her reaction, reported the video and not laughed on Monday; she thought it had nothing to do with her, one reaction felt like nothing. Dev typed “that’s harsh” and deleted it, told Cai to ignore it, told nobody; could have screenshotted and reported it, messaged Cai privately and gone with him to an adult; fear of being the next target. Cai asked once for it to be deleted, then hid it with a fake headache and left the chat; could have screenshotted the video and the renamed group, reported it in the app and told his form tutor or a parent; embarrassment and being told he “can’t take a joke”.

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 3: plan 3 interventions · Drama · Year 9

8 minutes

Step 3: 3 stop points, 3 realistic interventions, each with its cost

Choose 3 different stop points (A, B, C or D). For each one decide who you replace (Cai, Dev or Sara only), exactly what they say or do instead, how Elin and Jac would probably react, and whether it is real or magic. Use at least 2 ideas from What actually helps. Copy the first row from the board.

Stop point	I replace	What I say or do instead	How Elin and Jac react	Real or magic? Why?
A	Dev	Does not argue in the chat. Screenshots the video and caption, reports the video in the app, and messages Cai privately: “that was out of order, I’ve reported it.”	They do not know it was Dev who reported it. The video may be taken down.	Real. Reporting is anonymous, so it costs Dev almost nothing, and Cai knows he is not alone before Saturday.

Step 3 on your worksheet · 8 minutes, in your group Screenshot · do not react or retaliate · report · block or leave · tell an adult

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Eight minutes. Three different stop points, and you can only replace Cai, Dev or Sara. Row 1 on the board shows Dev at Stop point A. Write exactly what the person says or does, how Elin and Jac react using only the lines they have, and whether it is real or magic. At least 2 of your ideas must come from the What actually helps box.”

Walk the room: the worked example’s other 2 rows: B, Cai: after Elin’s reply he stops typing, screenshots the renamed group, reports the video, leaves the chat, and shows his mum the screenshots that evening; Elin and Jac say “he left lol” but the evidence is saved and an adult knows on Saturday; real, and the hardest one because telling feels like making it bigger. D, Sara: does not laugh, walks next to Cai to registration, then quietly tells the form tutor what has been in the chat since Friday; Jac might call her a snitch; real, costs a bit of popularity but gets a teacher involved on Monday. Reject anything that replaces Elin or Jac, answers insults with insults, or relies on a sudden change of heart.

Slide 5 of 7 · Steps 4 and 5: the forum, then the reflection · Drama · Year 9

18 minutes

Step 4 & Step 5: watch, stop, step in, then write your reflection

Step 4 (12 min): one volunteer group reads the scene through once. On the second run, say “Stop!” at a stop point and try one of your interventions. After each attempt the Joker asks the 3 questions and you fill in the Step 4 table. Step 5 (6 min): answer the 4 reflection questions on your own.

Joker’s 3 questions: What changed? · Would that work in real life? · What did it cost the person who tried it?

Reflection: (a) which intervention changed the most and why · (b) why “just ignore it, it’ll blow over” is not enough · (c) the private message Dev should have sent to Cai at Stop point C, 30 words maximum · (d) an adult in school and a place outside school Cai could go to.

Steps 4 and 5 on your worksheet · 18 minutes Say “I’m me again” when you step out of a role

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “I need one volunteer group to read the scene at the front, seated is fine. First run: straight through, nobody interrupts. Second run: when we reach a stop point, anyone can say Stop, take the place of Cai, Dev or Sara, and try their idea. Elin and Jac stay in role but only use their scripted lines, or shrug, or say whatever. After each attempt I ask 3 questions and you fill in your Step 4 table.” Run 3 or 4 attempts, then: “Six minutes on your own for the 4 reflection questions.”

Quick check, the forum: if someone replaces Dev at A and posts “delete it, not funny” in the chat, the class should see that the pile-on moves to Dev; a private message plus a report does the same job more safely. If someone replaces Cai at D and tells the form tutor the truth instead of “headache”, an adult finally knows; ask whether it would be easier with a friend there, and note that screenshots give the tutor facts to act on quietly.

Quick check, the reflection: (a) in the worked example, Sara at Stop point D changed the most because she was the first to get an adult involved, and it worked because it was quiet. (b) It did not blow over, it got worse at every moment: a video, then a nickname, then a renamed group, then humming in the corridor; ignoring it left Cai alone and nothing was saved as evidence. (c) A secure message offers practical help, for example “That video isn’t funny and Elin’s out of order. I’ve screenshotted it and reported it. Want to tell our form tutor together tomorrow? I’ll come with you.” (27 words). (d) In school: form tutor, head of year or the safeguarding lead. Outside: Meic on 080 880 23456, Welsh or English, 8am to midnight every day, or Childline on 0800 1111.

Slide 6 of 7 · Self and partner check · Drama · Year 9

2 minutes

Check your work against the success criteria

Tick each criterion you meet. Then swap with a partner and check their Step 3 table: is every intervention real, with a cost written down?

I can explain the part every character played, including the ones who “did nothing” or only reacted.
My interventions are realistic, no magic, and I can say what each one would cost the person who does it.
I used at least 2 of the helpful actions (screenshot, do not retaliate or react, report, block, tell) in my interventions.
I can explain why “ignore it, it’ll blow over” is not enough.
I can name an adult in school and a service outside school that someone in Cai’s position could go to.

2 minutes · partner check Finished early? Rewrite Moment 5 so one earlier intervention changes the ending

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Tick the 5 criteria. Swap with a partner and read their 3 interventions: if any one replaces Elin or Jac, or has no cost written in the last column, write magic or cost beside it and hand it back.”

Extension answers: the rewritten Moment 5 must keep Elin and Jac’s lines (“he left lol”, “the fan club lives on”) and change only what Cai, Dev or Sara do because of an earlier intervention, for example Cai is not alone because an adult already knows. The 60 words on Sara should say that in a chat of 31 members one reaction is one of the 47 that Cai counted on Saturday morning, and a laughing reaction is joining in. The 3 Joker questions are always: what changed, would that work in real life, what did it cost.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · Drama · Year 9

2 minutes

Quick-check answers, then the help box before handing in

Round the room: everyone names 1 helpful action and who in the scene could have taken it. Then check these answers.

Question	Correct answer
What should you do first if it is happening to you?	Screenshot the evidence before anything is deleted, then report, block or leave, and tell a trusted adult. Do not retaliate.
Why is a laughing reaction not nothing?	A laughing reaction is joining in. Sara’s was 1 of the 47 reactions Cai counted.
Who can someone in Cai’s position contact outside school?	Meic, 080 880 23456, 8am to midnight every day, in Welsh or English, or Childline, 0800 1111.

Check your name and class are on your worksheet Worksheets in · stimulus sheets stay with the group · see me at the end if you need to

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Round the room: one helpful action and who could have done it.” Keep it brisk, then read out the help box at the bottom of the stimulus sheet word for word: “If this scene is close to home, talk to a trusted adult: a parent or carer, your form tutor, head of year, or the school’s safeguarding lead. Outside school you can contact Meic, the helpline for children and young people in Wales, in Welsh or English: 080 880 23456, 8am to midnight every day, or by message and online chat at meic.cymru. Childline is free and confidential on 0800 1111.” Then: “Name and class on your worksheet, worksheets to the end of the row. Anyone who wants a word, stay behind for a minute.” Pass any disclosure to the class teacher or safeguarding lead today.