[wholebrain11]

In my classroom there's constantly students creating unnecessary drama. My students have been together since they were in Kindergarten and therefor they know each other quite well. I guess what I am looking for is some advice on how teachers deal with the constant he said she said deal. I feel like this was never me in school so I am not sure how my teachers delt with it. Since this is my first year teaching any advice on dealing with the drama would be appreciated! Thanks!

[hotelarizona]

I have a similar classroom environment (small town, kids all know each other, etc.). I've come to mostly just ignore their drama unless it gets inappropriate or distracts others. Removing yourself from their petty squabbles helps you be impartial and shows them you care about school, and them doing a good job and being, as my VP likes to say, "decent human beings" once they're within the walls of your room.

What I did to help fix this was give them a couple of projects in which they ONLY were evaluated on their collaboration skills. I modeled it for them, gave them a rubric, and was very clear about group expectations and what it means to "collaborate effectively". Grades-driven kids and kids who are pleasers elevated the kids who are not like that and overall, the assessment helped them take collaboration a bit more seriously.

[Peaches250]

with PP. Hold them accountable for their behavior. Make a rubric following your report card/standards and score them. I also like to have group members score each other as well on a child friendly rubric. It gives me a great idea about what goes on when I am not standing there.

I spend the first 2 weeks of school with team building activities to set the expectations for the year. Once the year is under way, I add team building activities in the plans when they start to get a little squirrely on me, just to remind them again.

My students know my motto well, "You don't have to like everyone, but you do have to treat everyone with respect."