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Lesson 14 - Building Caring Communities (Handling Tattling)

The document provides ways for teachers to address tattling in the classroom, as it is a common issue among young students. It explains that tattling often occurs because students don't know how to resolve issues themselves and recommends teaching conflict resolution and problem solving skills. The document also suggests establishing a peace table, role playing scenarios, and reading stories about tattling to help students understand the difference between tattling and telling about serious issues.

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Rose Ann Proceso
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161 views

Lesson 14 - Building Caring Communities (Handling Tattling)

The document provides ways for teachers to address tattling in the classroom, as it is a common issue among young students. It explains that tattling often occurs because students don't know how to resolve issues themselves and recommends teaching conflict resolution and problem solving skills. The document also suggests establishing a peace table, role playing scenarios, and reading stories about tattling to help students understand the difference between tattling and telling about serious issues.

Uploaded by

Rose Ann Proceso
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LESSON 14

LESSON TITLE: BUILDING CARING COMMUNITIES


LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;

1. Understand how to stop tattling in the classroom


2. identify ways on how to stop tattling in the classroom

CONCEPT MAP:

BUILDING CARING COMMUNITIES

Ways on How to Stop Tattling in the Classroom

CONCEPT NOTES:
Tattling - report another's wrongdoing

HOW TO STOP TATTLING IN THE CLASSROOM


- If anyone had told you how much time you’d spend dealing
with tattling in the classroom, you probably wouldn’t
have believed them. And yet, here you are, trying to
figure out how to stop tattle-telling in the classroom
so you can just get back to what you signed up for:
Teaching
- There’s scientific proof that tattling is rampant in
kids in the primary grades. When researchers from the
Queen’s University Belfast in the UK spent 66 hours
observing preschoolers over the course of a month, they
documented 354 instances of tattling. The researchers
2010 study concluded that tattling actually made up the
majority of talk about peers’ behavior to third parties!
- The teachers on the Teach Starter team have all dealt
with their fair share of being interrupted mid-lesson
with students shouting “Mrs. Jones, Quentin just stuck
EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LESSON 14
his tongue out.” We’ve put together this how-to guide
for teachers to nip tattling in the bud and instill
problem-solving skills in your students.

WHY DO STUDENTS TATTLE?


- Those same researchers from Belfast have some insights
into why students tattle. For example, they noted that
tattling is performed more frequently by dominant
children, and it correlates with teacher reports of
relational aggression.
- One of the researchers in that 2010 study from Belfast
moved on to Bath University (also in the UK) and in 2014
published another study on tattletales as the behavior
relates to aggression. This time he found that tattling
represented an intermediate step in social development
somewhere between getting physical and figuring out
interpersonal problem-solving. Another interesting
insight? The study found that toddlers don’t gossip —
they don’t sit around swapping negative stories about a
preschool pal. But they do run to adults to tell on
them!
- By the time kids hit 8 or 9, however, gossip typically
takes the place of tattling. The reactions of peers can
also play a role in the reduction of tattling — one
study of teenage boys, for example, showed that those
who were still tattling at this age tended not to be
well-liked by classmates.
- Insightful, but how do you stop all that tattling in
your classroom?

HOW TO STOP TATTLING IN THE CLASSROOM


1. Work on Problem-Solving
- For many young kids, tattling is their go-to option
because they know something is wrong but they don’t know how
to deal with it. In fact, when psychologists asked 6- and 7-
year-olds what to do in reaction to vignettes of children’s
behavior, the kids thought tattling was the right way to
deal with all wrong-doings. When they asked 8-year-olds, the
EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LESSON 14
answer changed. The older kids thought tattling was the
appropriate response only to serious infractions — think
stealing or cheating. Is it any wonder that tattling
typically drops significantly by the time kids hit 8 or 9?
- Teaching students how to analyze a situation and come up
with alternate ways to solve a problem is a great way to
help them decide whether or not they need to run to tell you
what happened, if they can deal with the problem themselves,
or if it’s something they can simply let go. This isn’t
something students know automatically, so it does require
working with your students

2. Teach Conflict Resolution


- Once kids have analyzed a situation and decided it’s a
problem they can solve it themselves, they need the tools to
do so! Teaching conflict resolution as part of your social-
emotional learning lessons helps arm kids with the know-how
they need to handle conflict on their own without having to
run to you to tell you all about how Johnny just took
Jamil’s pencil.
- Practice brainstorming solutions with your students. Talk
about common issues that happen in the classroom that
typically prompt kids to tattle, and ask your students what
else they could do instead of telling you. Create an anchor
chart that can be referenced when kids are struggling with
what to do

3. Teach the Difference Between Tattling and Telling


- For us adults, there’s a pretty clear line between
tattling and telling an adult about something serious. Not
so much for young kids, as the studies have shown. In your
efforts to curb tattling, it’s important to let kids know
that it remains important to speak up when something sets
off alarm bells — whether it’s bullying behavior or someone
is in danger. Outline the difference for your students, and
let them know where to turn when they feel they need to
“tell” an adult that they need help.
EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LESSON 14
4. Role Play
- Role-playing can help kids better understand that’s a
“tattling” issue they should resolve on their own or a
“telling” issue that warrants going to you or another adult.
Come up with a list of different reporting scenarios and
tattling scenarios. In pairs or small groups, students
should act out a scenario and then decide what they would
do. When the class comes back together after this group
work, have a whole class discussion about each scenario

5. Set Up a Peace Table


- This idea from Maria Montessori’s bag of tricks can work
in a public school setting too — and they’re an invaluable
tool for providing a space for students to resolve
conflicts. Find out more about how to set up your peace
table

6. Read About Tattling


- The Godfather went to the mattresses, but you’re a
teacher, so go to the books! Some classics to open up a
class discussion about what it means to be a tattletale and
how to curb the behavior include:
* A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook
* Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales
by Jeanie Franz Ransom
Miles McHale, Tattletale (Little Boost) by Christianne C.
Jones
* How Do You Deal With a Tattling Student?
Do you still have some students who just can’t help
themselves and are constantly reporting on their classmates?
When you’re dealing with a tattling student on an individual
basis, it’s helpful to get to the root of the behavior —
both for you and for them.

7. Start With Empathy


EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LESSON 14
- Often kids come to an adult to tattle because they are
struggling with how they feel about an infraction. Offering
a hug or asking the child what they need themselves can go a
long way

8. Create a Tattle Jar


- Sometimes kids just need to get things off their chests!
Create a worry jar or tattle mailbox in your classroom where
students can make reports of things that concern them — but
make it clear that these reports will not be read regularly.
If something rises to the level of needing to “tell” an
adult, they should go through the appropriate channels for
an immediate response.

STUDENT’S ACTIVITY 14

Name: ______________________________ Time Submitted: ___________

Directions: Read and answer the following questions below.

1. What is tattling in your own words?


2. How are you going to deal with kids who are considered as tattler?

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