How do you handle cheating in the early grades? I teach ESOL and push-in to the classroom for my second graders. Today during the math test two of the students were cheating (one girl gave another her paper and the second girl did the work for her for a problem). I stopped the girls, talked to them about how what they were doing was wrong and told them there would be consequences for their actions. However the second grade teacher and I aren't sure exactly what these consequences should be. Any bees out there who've dealt with little kids cheating?
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I think this is a great 'teachable moment'. More than likely the student cheating was doing so because she was not confident with the material/test. The way I would handle this is...Student A ('cheater'): go over the test material one on one and ask the student what she was confused on. Take the time to show her that there are better options than cheating, such as asking the teacher for more clarification and that she shouldn't be afraid to say she doesn't understand. Then, create a new test on the same material, have her take it and use that for her grade. Emphasize that the next time she is concerned about a test, she needs to speak up before hand. If you teach in a school like I do, sometimes the students are dealing with really tough home lives and simply couldn't study, didn't sleep, etc. the night before.
Student B (accomplice) I would simply have a conversation and explain that allowing her friends to use her work doesn't have benefits for anyone. Let her know that the next time someone asks for her paper, she should rather let the teacher know that student needs help.
With both, I would gently emphasize that if it happens again, there will be negative consequences.
I teach HS so the cheating is much more 'I'm too lazy, let me see your work'....SO if my thought process here is completely off base, sorry!
ETA; OMG that was so long! Whoops
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At my old elementary school we had a discipline system that was pretty spelled out. Cheating at any grade resulted in a minimum of a note home (depending on number of offenses). I taught first grade and like you talked to the students about how it was wrong and the consequences. Often this talk resulted in tears as they never liked disappointing their teacher. Luckily I only had to deal with this situation a few times in almost ten years! In one situation my student's middle school sibling suggested he cheat so he would do better in spelling....oh my!
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I teach second. If students cheated I used to take their papers and make them do the test over. I would also send a note home to notify the parents and talk to the students about what they did (though second graders definitely know that cheating is wrong). Now I have the cardboard privacy boards from Really Good Stuff and put enough out at each table that vision is obstructed. I haven't had any cheating issues since using these and I highly recommend them.
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I teach ESOL as well!
I would definitely call home to talk to the parents. Depending on the student, that might be consequence enough. I would also ask them why they cheated. I struggled horribly in math and was so anxious about it, even in second grade. Maybe one of the girls is a bully and the other girl felt like she couldn't say no. Or they could both just be sneaky little things, but it's worth exploring.
I would also have them take the test over, and might have a brief class discussion about cheating. Not to shame the girls or make a big deal out of it, but to review why it's not a good thing, what you should do if you need help, and so on.
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I think you handled this very well. I do the same thing. Talk to the students about how this is wrong. Then, I contact the family. As an extra measure, I also have the students separate their desks or slightly move them forward or back, so they cannot see on the other's desk as easily.
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