Introduction

As educators, it’s crucial to teach our kindergarten students the difference between tattling and reporting. Understanding this difference helps students develop essential social-emotional skills such as empathy, self-awareness, and relationship building. In this blog post, we’ll explore a no-prep activity to teach this concept, followed by discussion questions, related skills, and resources to support your students’ social-emotional learning journey.

No-Prep Activity

In this activity, you’ll present a series of scenarios to your students and ask them to decide whether to report the situation or keep it to themselves. The goal is for students to understand that if a situation doesn’t hurt anyone or put someone in danger, they don’t need to tell an adult.

1. Before beginning the activity, explain the difference between tattling and reporting. Tattling is when someone tells on others for small things that don’t harm anyone or put them in danger. Reporting is when someone shares important information with an adult to protect themselves or others from harm or danger.
2. Present a series of scenarios to your students. For example:
   • Scenario 1: Johnny takes two stickers instead of one. Should you tell the teacher?
   • Scenario 2: You see Sarah pushing another student on the playground. Should you tell the teacher?
   • Scenario 3: Bobby didn’t clean up his toys after playtime. Should you tell the teacher?
3. After each scenario, ask the students if they should report the situation or keep it to themselves. Encourage them to explain their reasoning.
4. Discuss each scenario as a group, highlighting the difference between tattling and reporting, and reinforcing the idea that only situations involving harm or danger should be reported.

Discussion Questions

After completing the no-prep activity, use these discussion questions to further explore the concept of tattling versus reporting:

1. Why do you think some people might tattle on others?
2. How does tattling affect friendships and trust between classmates?
3. What are some ways to handle a situation without tattling, if no one is in danger or being hurt?
4. Why is it important to report situations that involve harm or danger?
5. Can you think of a time when you chose to report a situation instead of tattling? How did it make you feel?

Related Skills

Teaching students the difference between tattling and reporting can help them develop a range of complementary social-emotional skills, such as:

• Empathy: Understanding how others feel when we tattle or report.
• Self-awareness: Recognizing our motivations for tattling and reporting.
• Decision-making: Choosing when to report a situation or keep it to ourselves.
• Conflict resolution: Resolving issues without resorting to tattling.
• Communication: Expressing our feelings and concerns in a respectful and effective manner.

Next Steps

Now that you have a better understanding of tattling versus reporting and how to teach this concept to your kindergarten students, we encourage you to explore additional resources to support your students’ social-emotional learning journey. To get started, sign up for free samples of skill-building activities and other resources from Everyday Speech. These materials can help you create a comprehensive learning experience that fosters empathy, self-awareness, and positive relationships among your students.