Easy Lesson Plan on Tattling vs Telling for Grades 1st to 3rd.

Overview

Are you looking for a well-organized lesson to help students better understand tattling versus telling? All too often, students want to report every negative interaction to the teacher. This tendency can be problematic since teachers simply cannot handle every potential conflict or minor infraction. Then again, given the reality that bullying and other negative behaviors adversely impact a school environment and culture, getting students to understand the fine line that can blur tattling and telling is critical.

Action (15 Minutes):

Decide if this is a tattle or telling…

Michelle fell down on the playground. -telling

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• Who might be hurt?
• Should you tell the teacher?

Randy has a knife. -telling

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• Who might be hurt?
• Should you tell the teacher?

Noah dropped his pencil. -tattling

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• Who might be hurt?
• Should you tell the teacher?

Joey ran out into the street. -tattling

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• Who might be hurt?
• Should you tell the teacher?

Ask for student volunteers. In each of the following scenarios, a student will play the teacher determining whether each is a tattle or a tell. You will play the student. Feel free to have fun playing the student who is tattling.

You: Ashley’s throwing leaves.

• Student playing the teacher: Asks class to determine whether you are tattling or telling.

You: Tyler cut in line at lunch.

• Student playing the teacher: Asks class to determine whether you are tattling or telling.

You: Charlie is talking about beating Mike up after school.

• Student playing the teacher: Asks class to determine whether you are tattling or telling.

You: Glen is throwing rocks.

• Student playing the teacher: Asks class to determine whether you are tattling or telling.

Thank the student for volunteering to be the teacher and ask him/her to sit back down.

Application (15 minutes):

Ask the students what they think they should do if someone hurts their feelings. Should they tell the teacher or would that be tattling? Is there another option? Give the students the following scenario and ask what they might do in that situation.

“Danny won’t play with me.“

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• Who might be hurt?
• If your feelings were hurt, could you tell Danny how you felt?

Example

• “It hurts my feelings when you won’t play with me because I really like you and want to be your friend.”

• If you were Danny in this situation, how could you respond?

Example

• Danny: “What can I do to help you feel better?”

If another student talks to you while the teacher is talking and you want to hear the teacher, is that a situation in which someone would get hurt or hurt others?

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?

(At this point, introduce an “I feel” statement.)

• “I feel ________ when you _______________ because ____________________________. Teach the

Teach the offending student to respond, “What can I do to help you feel better?”

“Julie took my ball at recess.“(Also available on separate activity sheets)

• Who might be hurt?
• What can you say to Julie?
• If you were Julie, how could you respond?“

Example

• Student: “Julie, I felt ___(angry)____ when ___(you took my ball at recess)___ because ___(I was looking forward to playing with it)_____.”
• Julie: “I’m sorry I took your ball. What can I do to help you feel better?”

“I heard Sophie talking about my best friend and saying mean things.“

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• What can you say to Sophie?
• If you were Sophie, how could you respond?

“Zak said I was too short to be on the team.“

• Is there a possibility someone got hurt in this situation?
• What can you say to Zak?
• If you were Zake, how could you respond?

Teacher Note

Help your kids put words to their emotions. Naming feelings can be trickier than we sometimes realize. Helping our kids find the right words that express what they’re feeling is a great way for them to come to understand the feelings of others.

Some things you can say to a student to help them with “I statements” when their feelings have been hurt:

• “What can you say to your friend?”
• “Did you tell your friend how you felt?”

Some teachers put posters up in their rooms that detail “I-Statements” and some have pictures of possible scenarios in which to use “I Statements” and when to “tell” the teacher.

Review (5 Minutes):

• If another student does something you don’t like, who can you tell?
• Tell the other student how that action made you feel.
• If you did something that another student didn’t like, what can you say?
• What can I do to help you feel better?

Assessment (5 Minutes):

Ask students to draw two pictures. In the first picture, someone is about to get hurt and the student needs to tell the teacher about it. In the second picture, another student does something that you don’t like and you tell the student how it makes you feel.