How Do You Do a Pretest for Kindergarten?

We, the school psychologist and myself, wanted to find out what our students already know about conflict and bullying. However, we are working with Kindergarten - 5th graders, so how to do that? We decided the best plan of action would be to run some focus groups. We didn't want to take away from classroom education and after brainstorming some different ideas we went to the library to see if we could use some of the library time. The librarians were excited to be a part of our plan and gave us the first 10 - 15 minutes of library time. This allowed us to meet with each classroom and all the students! (Minus those that were absent of course.)


Here is what we found:
Kindergarten - Every class thought that we were asking what bowling was. (They sound similar don't they?) 1 or 2 students in each of the 4 classes were able to state that a bully is someone who is mean. The classes identified parents and teachers as someone you would tell if someone was being mean to you. They had no idea what conflict was or what to do about it.

1st Grade - Every class described a bully as someone who was mean to other kids. They stated that if someone was being mean that you should tell your teacher. They had no idea what conflict was or what to do about it.

2nd Grade - Every class described a bully as someone who is mean. They reported that you should tell a teacher or another adult if someone was being mean to you. One class was able to identify conflict as something that happens in a story. They were not sure what to do about conflict except maybe to keep reading the book. The rest of the classes were unsure of what conflict was or what they should do about it.

3rd Grade - This grade related that bullying was when someone was being mean to someone else. 2 of the 4 classes were able to identify conflict as a fight between people. They reported that for either situation you should tell a teacher or another adult.

4th Grade - This grade stated that bullying was when someone was being mean to someone else multiple times. All classes described conflict as a disagreement or fight between people. They also reported that in either situation they would tell a teacher or another adult.

5th Grade - This grade stated that bullying was when someone was being mean to someone else and the other individual was not being mean back. All classes described conflict as a fight or disagreement between groups or people. This grade also realized that they may be able to work it out on their own without an adult, but had difficulty describing a way in which to do so. One class identified rho sham bo (rock, paper, scissors) as a way to decide who might go first or get their way in a disagreement.