Paying too much attention to children when
they tell on others can be like a wild fire that is difficult to stop. Here are a few suggestions that
teachers have shared with me over the past several years. (You will definitely smile as you read
some of them!) There are lots of
choices, so pick and adapt the one that works best for your personality, the
age of your students, and your school.
A good place to start is to have a
discussion about things that are an emergency and things that they
think are important. Make a list
on the board of “emergencies” (when someone gets hurt or sick, when someone is
in danger, etc.) and “concerns” (someone calls you a name, someone gives you a
mean look, etc.) Role play
different scenarios or use a puppet to demonstrate what children should
do. Choose one of these
alternatives for children when they need to express a concern.
*Get a spiral notebook and write “Things
the Teacher Needs to Know” on the cover.
When children start to tattle hand them the book and say, “Write it all
down. And don’t leave out a thing!”
*Put an old cell phone on your desk. When children start to complain tell
them to put it on your phone. Explain
that you’ll listen to your messages later.
*Put a picture of the President (or your
principal) on your wall. Send them
to the President to tell their complaints because “he’s much more important
than I am!”
*Take a shoebox and cut a slit in the
cover. Write “suggestion box” on
it and place it on a shelf with a notepad and a pencil. Discuss how children can write or draw
pictures of their suggestions and place them in the box. Be sure to use the box to prompt class
problem solving at least once a week.
*Use a stuffed animal to listen to
complaints. Explain that (Tattle
Teddy, Tell Me All - Allie the Alligator, or whatever you want to call the animal) is always
sitting on the shelf waiting to listen to them.
*Giant Ear – Download a picture of an ear
from the internet and enlarge it.
Tape it to a wall and send children to the ear to whisper their
concerns.
*Oreo – When children want to tattle they
hold open both hands. They must
say two nice things about the person before they tell you the negative.
*Lunch Bag – Open a lunch bag and put it on
your desk. When children start to
tattle tell them to “put it in the bag.”
(Yes, they will actually go to the bag and talk in it!)
