I first discovered the language of “Leader vs. Boss” when looking up social skills concepts on the topic of bossiness. I found TONS of articles related to the business world on how corporate psychologists work with CEOs and business owners to help foster their skills so they are seen as a LEADER and not a boss. I mean honestly, it makes a difference.
In my classroom I have a crowd of BOSSES. Last school year it drove me CRAZY. The kiddos that had leadership skills were constantly telling their peers what to do or how to behave, rather then being examples of positive behavior. I am so excited to introduce this concept on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
Why the first day? Like I said, this behavior drove me crazy last year. Absolutely nuts. Plus, I am certain that many instances of bossiness created space for problem behaviors to manifest. So really, this needs to be tackled right away. I am ready to teach this skill immediately so we can confidently refer to anchor charts throughout the year to help shape behaviors and remind each student about the expectation of leadership.
How? I am going to start my lesson by reading the book Bossy Flossy by Paulette Bogan (Below is an Amazon affiliate link if you want to grab the book!). We will create a list of the ways that Flossy showed bossy behavior and how it made others feel.
Next we are going to talk about why someone might be bossy. They might want to lead, they might know the answer, they may have a lot to say, they may be in a bad mood. From there, I plan to teach my students the word leadership.
We will use this Bossy vs. Leader t-chart from my Be a Leader, Not a Boss Activities product on Teachers Pay Teachers. I plan on making a poster sized version to keep up in the class, and have students follow along by also doing their own sort at their desks.
Day 2… I plan to use the discussion cards from the same product to maximize & generalize their learning my using scenarios! These cards would also be great to paste in a notebook and use for journaling.
I will also have students choose which coloring page they’d like to complete. I personally will have my students hang these on the front of their desks. My students LOVE having their art work hung right on their desk (they get so proud, it’s adorable).
After all is said and done… hang up these anchor chart posters and don’t let them go!
These will be perfect to refer to all year long when you see that a student is or is not showing leadership behavior.
What ways do you teach leadership skills and combat bossiness in your classroom?
Love,
Allie