[gradeteacher]

Previous posters gave excellent ideas. I just wanted to add that these kind of conflicts present a great opportunity to teach social skills.

Many girls feel that they must be everyone's friend. It is important to let them know that it is okay for them not to be friends with everyone, and to help them understand that if someone does something mean to you, they are not your friend. While this seems like common sense, girls are often taught that they should be nice to everyone. It can be a revelation to them that everyone is not your friend, and you are allowed to say no to a request.

Teaching them to be assertive by using I messages as explained above, and having them role play different conflict situations is very helpful and worth the time that it takes. You will find that spending time on this will reduce greatly the instructional time lost through the drama.