Children are taught not to tattle.
Children are taught to tell if something is wrong.
CHILDREN SOMETIMES GET MIXED UP.
In the story, Tattle Tale Tillie, you will learn the difference
between "tattling" and "telling."
Before you read the story, I will tell you about " tattling" and "telling."
WHAT IS TATTLING?
Tattling is telling on someone.
But what you are telling is not very important because:
What you are tattling about is not dangerous.
What you are tattling is not your business.
Here is an example of "tattling."
Kay is eating her sandwich.
She sees her friend Jay not eating all of his sandwich.
Kay goes to her teacher and says,
"Mrs. Booker, Jay is not eating his whole sandwich."
Kay is tattling on Jay.
It is important that Jay eat his lunch.
But perhaps Jay is not so hungry and
can not eat all of his sandwich.
He is not hurting anyone by not eating all of his sandwich.
He may have had enough food for lunch, so he
he is not hurting himself.
It is not dangerous.
It is not any of Kay's business what Jay eats for lunch.
Here is another example of "tattling."
Kay tells Mrs. Booker that Jay made a small scribble
on his paper.
What Jay scribbles on his paper is not dangerous.
The scribble on his paper will not hurt anyone.
Perhaps Jay will get in trouble, but that is between
the teacher and Jay.
So, Jay's scribbles are not Kay's business.
WHAT IS TELLING?
"Telling" is saying that something happened or is happening.
The thing that has happened or has happened is important.
It might be dangerous.
It might be hurtful.
Here is an example of "telling."
Kay sees her friend Jay throwing his pencil case at another child, Mary.
Kay goes to her teacher and says,
"Mrs. Booker, Jay is throwing his pencil case at Mary."
Throwing a pencil case at another child could be dangerous.
What if the pencil case hit Mary in the eye or on her head?
Children should never throw things at other people.
Throwing the pencil case at Mary might hurt Mary's feelings.
It might cause pain to her body.
It is important to know the difference between
Tattling and Telling.
If you would like to read about Tillie and the lesson she learned, about tattling, click on TATTLE-TALE-TILLIE.
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