Big or Small
A student at a different table group is playing with a glue stick.
Small problem. This does not affect you.
Your little sister hit you at home yesterday.
Your adults at home. They can decide how to handle it.
If something is a BIG problem, when should you tell an adult?
Right away! Sometimes you may need to wait a few minutes, but you can always let the adult know it's really important.
Your friend told you that someone said a bad word at recess, and you tell the recess teacher.
Tattling! You didn't hear it, and you are not affected in any way by someone else saying a bad word.
Someone punched you in the stomach just now. You ask your friend to tell the recess teacher because you're too upset to talk.
Telling. You are hurt and need help.
Someone throws a rock at your head. You know it was on purpose because they pointed and laughed when it almost hit you.
Big problem. You could be seriously hurt by that.
Someone made you upset by being rude in Music.
Ms. Vosk. Ms. Cook cannot and will not help you unless you have told her AND it keeps happening during at least two more Music times.
Someone keeps shoving your friend away from them at the lunch table.
Before you go to recess. After that, there's nothing anyone can do to solve the problem.
Someone bumps into you during tag and you look over to see that it was a kid you don't like. It must have been on purpose, so you tell Mrs. English.
Tattling! It could have been an accident (and probably was), but you don't like that kid, so you assumed it was intentional.
Your classmate said, "Watch this!" and then threw the recess ball onto the roof. You tell the recess teacher.
Telling. You know it was intentional because they told you to watch.
Someone at your table keeps talking.
Small problem. You can ignore it, or ask them to stop.
Someone pushes you at recess.
Recess teacher. You might not see them handle it, but they will. Once you tell them, you need to let it go.
Something unsafe happened at recess last week.
Last week. If you wait even a day, the recess teachers' ability to solve the problem goes away almost entirely.
Your classmate fell and they can't walk. You run to the recess teacher right away, and keep bothering them until they listen.
Telling. Someone needs help right now.
You saw somebody take a Tim out of the class jar and put it in their pocket. You tell Ms. Cook quietly during work time.
Telling!
Someone shoves you while you're sharpening a pencil.
Small problem. This could easily be an accident.
This is the third time someone hurt you during recess in the last week! You've told the recess teachers, but it hasn't stopped.
Ms. Cook, Ms. Mansfield, or Ms. Church. Be sure to tell them it keeps happening.
Someone took the ball from you in PE.
During that PE time. After that, you need to let it go and move on.
You see somebody watching YouTube during Reading Groups. You quietly write a note about it to give to Ms. Cook.
Telling. This is a problem, and you are reporting it respectfully (and quietly) to the teacher.
You saw someone not wash their hands in the bathroom, so you decide to tell the teacher.
Tattling! Someone else not washing their hands is not your problem.
You heard kids in your class planning to fight someone during recess.
Big problem! If someone is hurt, or you think they will probably get hurt, you should tell someone right away.
Someone touched your stuff!
Nobody, this problem is too small.
The person right next to you at your table just said a really bad word in the middle of the Math lesson, but the teacher didn't hear it!
During work time, NOT during the lesson. If you blurt it out, all you're doing is turning a report into a tattle.
Your classmate said something that really hurt your feelings, so you raise your hand during the Reading lesson and tell the whole class.
Tattling. This is something you should share privately.
Someone keeps putting their notebook into your space. You're really annoyed, so you raise your hand to tell the teacher.
Tattling. Even though this is really annoying, you can solve this problem yourself with kind words, or choose to ignore it.