Dishonest
A student who is dishonest may...
- tattle often/be in conflicts
- tell elaborate stories
- have difficulty taking responsibility
- be reported on by peers
- blame/deflect
- tell short/minimal/partial stories
- be inconsistent with information
- copy
- have an unexpected score or response
When supporting a student who is dishonest, some general strategies involve
- have conversations in private
- probe or question without accusing student
- observe and state what you personally see
- use peer mediation/conflict resolution
- be calm and neutral
- reinforce that he/she/they will not get in trouble for telling the truth, but mistruth can add to the problem
Interventions may include
- prime a student for what is anticipated
- have frequent check-ins for review of work and/or interactions
- role-play
- teach the different between self-protection and self-reflection
- minimize unsupervised time
- minimize unstructured time
Literature Links
Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin
Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Monkey on His Back by Howard Binkow and Susan Cornelison
Lying Up a Storm by Julia Cook
I'm Telling the Truth by Pat Thomas
Sam Tells Stories by Thierry Robberecht
The Honest to Goodness Truth by Patricia McKissack
Eli's Lie-o-Meter by Sandra Levins
The Empty Pot (Raz Kids)
Teacher Readings