Every child in school has some experience with tattling. They’ve either tattled or had someone tattle on them, or both! We can use their experiences to help them understand this text.

Begin with the cover and title. After reading the title, ask the students,

• “Do you know what a tattle tongue is?”
• “What do you think it means to have a bad case of Tattle Tongue?”
• “Raise your hand if you’ve ever been a tattle tongue.”
• “How does it feel when you tattle on someone else?”
• “Raise your hand if someone has ever tattled on you.”
• “How does it feel when someone tattles on you?”

“Today we are going to read a story about a boy who has a bad case of Tattle Tongue. While we are reading, think back on your experiences as or with a tattle tongue.

• “Did you ever do what Josh did?”
• “Did what happens to Josh ever happen to you?”
• “Are you like Josh?”

If this is a new concept, explain what cause and effect are.

• The cause is the reason that something happens.
• The effect is what happens as a result of the cause.
• I got wet because I got stuck in the rain.
• Cause: I got stuck in the rain.
• Effect: I got wet.

Model and explain a couple of examples. While reading pages 3 and 4, think aloud to show students how to identify cause and effect.

• Page 3
  • “Why did everyone call him Josh the Tattler?
  • “Because he tattles so much. His tattling is the cause.
  • “What happened because of Josh’s tattling?
  • “They called him Josh the Tattler. That is the effect.”
• Page 4
  • “Why did Josh tattle on Tommy?
  • “Because he cut in line. That is the cause.
  • “What happened when Tommy cut in line?
  • “Josh tattled. That is the effect.”

Find some cause-and-effect examples together. As you continue reading, ask the students the questions that you were asking yourself.

• Page 5
  • Teacher: “Why didn’t anyone want to sit with Josh at lunch?”
  • Student: “Because he tattled so much.”
  • Teacher: “That is the cause. What happened when Josh tattled so much?”
  • Student: “Nobody would sit with him in the cafeteria.”
  • Teacher: “That is the effect.”
• Page 6
  • Teacher: “What is the cause of nobody wanting to play with Josh at recess?”
  • Student: “He tattled on Bobette.”
  • Teacher: “What was the effect of Josh tattling on Bobette?”
  • Student: “He had to stand alone because nobody would play with him.”

Ask students to find examples of cause and effect independently and share them at the end of the book.

• As you continue to read, ask the students to listen for examples of cause and effect.
• Ask them to jot examples on a sticky note to share with the class later.
• To spread out the examples, you could assign pages or sections of the book to students or groups of students. For instance, you could say, “For the next two pages, I want Evan and Ben to find examples of cause and effect.”

There are lots of quotation marks in this book, which can be used to practice separating what a character is saying from what the narrator is saying.

Explain quotation marks first.

• Write the following sentence on the board:
  • “Mom! Do you know where my bookbag is?” yelled Tyler.
• Point out the quotation marks, the question mark, and the period. Explain what each one means and indicates to the reader.
  • what Tyler is saying
  • the end of Tyler’s sentence
  • the end of the reader’s/narrator’s sentence
• Explain this sentence to the students so they know
  • who is speaking,
  • what they’re saying, and
  • how they’re saying it.
• Explain and model how the reader’s voice should change when they read this sentence.

Explain to the students that when they are reading a book, it is important to change their intonation, voice, pace, and so on to show when a character is speaking versus when the narrator is speaking.

Begin reading. Stop when you come to where a character speaks.

• Model and explain how to read the sentence.
• Pages 8, 12, and 14 have two characters speaking. Model and explain how you change your voice, intonation, and pace for the different characters and the narrator.

Continue reading. Ask the students to listen for characters speaking and raise their hand when they hear it. When you stop reading, ask them these questions:

• “Who was speaking?”
• “How do you know?”
• “What did they say?”
• “How do you know?”

Ask the students to reread the complete sentence, using the appropriate changes in voice, intonation, and pace.

Explain to the students that this book has lots of interesting words for them to add to their Word Collector. Remind them that they can choose

• words that they have never seen or heard before;
• words that they have seen or heard, but don’t know the meaning of; and
• words that they know and understand, but don’t use very often in their speaking and writing.

Remind them to add interesting words to their Word Collector when they see or hear them.

• Remind them to do their best with the spelling and that you can fix any mistakes when you meet one-on-one or in a small group. (I have the book with me for reference when I meet with the students.)

Some good words could be

• on purpose, grabbed, mirror, stomping, staring, gasped, warning, sprouting, funny-looking, scepter, grinned, disappeared, and noticed.