Boys Town
More Tools for Teaching Social Skills in School
Put an end to wasted instructional time with this lesson on responsibility and preparedness. After completing this series of activities students will learn the importance of these social skills not only in the classroom, but at home and...
Guidance Group
101 Ways to Teach Children Social Skills
Increasing pressure to improve student achievement has made it easy to overlook the social skills they also need to develop. With this collection of worksheets and activities, you'll be able to improve children's communication, teamwork,...
Curated OER
Make a Social Skills Superhero Comic Book
Get creative as you teach a lesson on positive peer and social interactions. Discuss good social interactions through a scenario, brainstorm a positive response to the scenario, then creat a comic book superhero that exemplifies the...
Curated OER
Social Skills For Autism
Designed for pupils with special needs, such as autism, this lesson calls for learners to practice saying hello to others. The teacher begins by modeling the behavior she expects and practicing with each pupil before pairing learners...
Curated OER
Game Related Social Skills
Most of us like to play games, but knowing what to do when a game doesn't go the way one expects is a learned skills. Adolescents with behavioral disorders practice responding to a variety of situations that arise during game play. They...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Supporting Social Border Crossings
A lunch-time activity encourages pupils to step out of their usual lunch bunch and connect with someone new. To begin, individuals examine a group photograph and identify what they believe is the gender, race, religion, and sexual...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
Boys Town
Teaching Social Skills, Creating Successful Students “Following Instructions” and “Listening”
With the help from learning games and holiday-themed coloring pages, scholars learn the importance of listening carefully and following directions. Coloring pages celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. Learning games include Simon...
Curated OER
Green Zone Common Ground Conversation Starter Worksheets
Finding common ground and building conversation can often prove a difficult task for many. Help learners build this important social skill using this resource, which includes a Venn diagram worksheet and sentence prompts to help students...
Curated OER
Great Picture Books to Teach Social Studies for Grade K-3
Every class enjoys reading new books at the beginning of a unit. Use this resource to identify a variety of books for kindergarten to third grade that can be used to complement social studies standards. The books can kindle learners'...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Affirming Our Commonalities and Differences
Photos can challenge stereotypes. To gain an understanding of the big picture, groups examine a series of photographs and analyze how a photographer's choices can shape a viewer's reaction to an image. For the first set of photographs,...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Anti-Immigration Sentiment
The debate about immigration reform continues. To gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved, class members first examine a photo of an anti-immigration rally. Groups then conduct an internet search for an image that presents an...
Curated OER
Leisure Game Skills
It's fun to play games, but sometimes it can be hard to know how. Here is an instructional activity intended to teach severely disabled learners how to engage in a fun leisure activity, such as playing checkers or croquet. They'll...
Curated OER
Helping Others
Teach the skills, phrases, and responses necessary to help another person. Your autistic learner will practice specific phrases and responses in simulated situations where an adult or peer needs assistance. The exercise includes helpful...
Curated OER
The Texas Social Studies Controversy
Examine the Texas social studies curriculum controversy with your class. Using a current events lesson, learners read the article "A Christian Land Governed by Christian Principles," respond to the discussion questions, and participate...
Curated OER
Private & Public
Some disabled students have a difficulty understanding what is and what is not publicly appropriate behavior. Help them build healthy social skills by defining public and private behaviors, labeling public and private places, and...
Curated OER
Teaching Game Play Concepts
Some children with autism need to be prepped prior to game play, and game play concepts need to be introduced and reinforced. This short yet informative article will help you know how to get the kids in your special ed class ready for...
Curated OER
Silly to Serious Cards and Panels
What are the unwritten rules of formality in different social situations? Help learners identify when it is the appropriate time to be silly, funny, or serious with this collection of illustrated panels and cards.
Facing History and Ourselves
Fishbowl Discussion
Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.
Curated OER
Wearing Green on St. Patrick's Day: A Social Story
Intended for kids with autism, this set of slides shows different characters wearing different pieces of green clothing for St. Patrick's Day. As suggested, use this to reinforce clothing vocabulary.
Curated OER
Relationships, Day 5: Acquaintances & Strangers
It is important for special needs students to know the differences between acquaintances and strangers. They define the world helper, acquaintance, and stranger then discuss a scenario based case study.They talk about touch and no touch,...
University of Pennsylvania
Using Political Postcards to Teach a Revolution of Political Thought
Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the "Path of Freedom" video found...
The New York Times
Teaching the Vietnam War with Primary Sources from the New York Times
Use the New York Times database of primary sources to teach a unit on the Vietnam War. The resource consists of a variety of primary sources as well as a lesson plan showcasing how to teach a lesson using them. Pupils analyze the sources...