When I taught 2nd grade I drew a large picture of an ear on
poster board and put it up in a corner of the room. It was
labelled "Tell the Ear". When students were upset about
something and needed to tell someone they would sit in front of
the ear and talk. They were allowed to go the the ear during
free time or after instructions were given. They could sit for a
minute and talk.

They used it quite a bit at the beginning of the year and then
it trailed off. It helped me not to have to be the one to listen
and they seemed satisfied.

On 6/29/09, NJ/4th wrote:
> I've been teaching 4th grade for five years. During my first
> year tattling drove me CRAZY! I developed the BEST system for
> tattling. I introduce The Tattle Tub during the first week of
> school. It works wonderfully and annoying tattles are a thing
> of the past!
>
> First, I gather my students to the carpet and we discuss what
> tattling means. We talk about the kinds of things you should
> report - physical and emotional bullying, witnessing someone
> cheat or steal, etc. We also provide examples of tattling.
>
> Then I show them the Tattle Tub. It's simply one of those
> large animal cracker tubs you get from Costco. I have a sign
> on it and a few small pads of paper inside. When the students
> want to tattle, they write in the pad and leave it in the tub.
> They are allowed to do this whenever they need to, but I
> encourage them to wait until I'm done with a lesson.
>
> It never fails.... For the first few weeks of school there's a
> lot of foot traffic to the Tattle Tub. I let it go, allowing
> students to do what I have taught them to do. If someone is
> abusing "the tub" I speak with them privately. Visits peter
> off after a month or two.
>
> I always read the notes and discuss them in private if
> necessary. I honestly throw most of them away because they're
> silly tattles. This year I had adifficult student who kept
> stealing students' pencils and erasers. I kept all the notes
> about him and documented the information.
>
>
> On 6/26/09, Debra Rowntree wrote:
>> Last year, as a first year teacher, I was bombarded with
>> tattling. It drove me nuts. I need a more creative way of
>> dealing with this problem.

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