Adult Perspective

Write a brief “I” statement for each of the following situations from the teacher/adult perspective.

State your feelings without labeling the child as bad.

Use I messages: “I can’t read with so much noise in the room.  It gives me sore throat to try to talk loudly enough for people to hear me.”

Effective “I messages”:

State the unacceptable behavior

State your feelings

Explain why you feel that way

1. As a small group of children were preparing to go to lunch, they hurriedly threw the pieces to a math game on the shelf in the math center rather than putting the game materials back in the appropriate box.  What would be an appropriate adult response?

2. Maggie has just finished painting at the easel.  She takes off her paint smock and drops it on the floor, then begins to move over to the writing center to work on her journal.  What would be an appropriate adult response?

3. Abner and Marion are in the science center using the rulers to conduct measurements associated with their experiment.  You observe them beginning to use the rulers as swords. 

4. At your school, the third grade classes have just finished planning and constructing a small vegetable garden on the school grounds.  During recess, you observe Oliver and Pandora kneeling at the garden examining the growing plants.  Soon each of them begins pulling the plants out of the garden.  By the time you reach them, each of them has pulled two plants from the garden plot.  How will you respond and why? 

5. The kindergarteners were lining up to go to the library.  Tony got into line and immediately began pushing Tim, who was in front of him.  Next, Tony grabbed Tim’s arm and then began playing with his hair.  How will you respond?  In addition, how can you prevent similar situations in the future?