Social skills are one of my favorite areas to work with and to create activities for! I typically create shorter, holiday-themed activities, which I love and my kiddos have responded well to, but I’ve been wanting to have materials that last longer than a month or two. So, I’ve created a spring social skills bundle that targets seven different skill areas and will last all season long!
Here’s what it covers:
Topic Maintenance- Students have the opportunity to determine a response to be appropriate or inappropriate. Inappropriate responses then can be discussed and corrected. I have a large number of students that have a hard time staying on topic and this activity gives them an opportunity to remove themselves from the situation that is difficult for them and rate someone else’s behavior.
Initiating Conversation- Students are given social situations in which they can initiate conversation with a variety of individuals. Again, this area targets appropriateness. This is an area that a lot of my early elementary kiddos have difficulty with.
Manners- Students are given social situations in which they can determine appropriate manners to use. This area is one that I find myself targeting indirectly with almost all of my kiddos. I have a handful that need direct instruction in this area and this activity is a great way to deliver that!
Sarcasm- Students are presented with stories that contain both sarcastic and non-sarcastic language. They rate the stories, discuss why they’re sarcastic, and determine the meaning. This activity allows students to breakdown the language and gain a better understanding of how sarcasm is used and when it is appropriate.
Sympathy- Students are given social situations in which they can show sympathy to a variety of individuals. This activity goes great with the emotion cards that are included. You can discuss the emotion, why the character is feeling this way, and talk about real-life scenarios in which your students have felt that way as well.
Theory of Mind- Students are given social situations in which they can show sympathy to a variety of individuals. Okay, raise your hand if you have students who struggle with Theory of Mind… (And everyone raises their hand.) About 70% of my caseload benefits from this activity. Again, the emotions cards pair nicely with this activity!
Correcting Poor Social Skills- Appropriate and inappropriate behaviors are included. Allow students to expressively correct poor behaviors or match the appropriate behavior to the inappropriate behavior and discuss why it is appropriate/inappropriate. This is such a fun activity! Kiddos love catching the poor behavior and getting to be in the authoritative role in correcting it!
Rating Cards- Use the cards to rate the respective stories. These cards go with the Topic Maintenance and Sarcasm activities. You can print multiple copies so that each student has their own.
Emotion Cards- These cards can be used in any of the activities to discuss various feelings that may be experienced. They are great with Theory of Mind and Sympathy activities. Emotions included are angry, anxious, happy, sad, surprised, embarrassed, disappointed, and confused. A description of each emotion is included.
Game Board- Use as a reinforcer for any activity. Kiddos can make their own game pieces or you can use them from any board game (my students love the Candy Land pieces.) Grab some dice and go! It’s super easy and very rewarding for your students!
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You can find this bundle in my TpT Shop by clicking here!
