Do2Learn
Reciprocal Conversation
Keep the conversation going with a social skills activity. Designed for learners with autism, the lesson guides peers through the back-and-forth of a conversation, encouraging them to wait their turn before responding.
Do2Learn
Waiting Your Turn to Speak
Have you ever been so excited to talk that you interrupted another person? Help young conversationalists wait their turn to speak with a social skills activity.
Do2Learn
Ending A Conversation
Sometimes beginning a conversation isn't the hard part—it's ending the conversation that can be challenging. Autistic and mainstream learners alike can benefit from a resource that provides a reference handout with ways to end a...
Curated OER
The Conversation Box
Learners on the autism spectrum can have difficulty maintaining a two-way, reciprocal conversation. Support these students with the Conversation Box activity, in which they practice conversations with their peers using the prompts and...
Do2Learn
Staying on Topic
Get from the beginning of a conversation to a successful end with a communication activity. Learners practice staying on topic with a worksheet that prompts them to ask questions and make comments related to the subject of the conversation.
Gobal Oneness Project
Sports for Social Change
After watching a short online film about a soccer player Nolusindiso Plaatje and his help with the Grassroot Soccer program, a community education effort aimed at spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention, use a lesson plan to prompt...
Do2Learn
Respecting the Ideas of Others
Communicating clearly is one part of a successful conversation, but listening to others is just as important. Individuals with special needs plan calm responses and reactions to differing opinions with a collaborative activity.
Curated OER
Girders and Wrecking Ball Activity
As learners build the "girders" of conversation by staying consistent on a particular topic, they avoid the "wrecking ball" of an off-topic comment. To help students develop this important conversation skill, this resource provides them...
Do2Learn
Participating With Others
For learners with autism spectrum disorder, participating with others in a social setting can be stressful and overwhelming. A brainstorming activity prompts pupils to consider the expectations of a particular social occasion, including...
Curated OER
Chain Connection and Un-Connection Activity
Learners practice remaining on topic during a conversation using printouts of chains as visual models for their work. Chains are placed in sequence while students stay on a shared topic of conversation, and a broken chain is used as a...
Do2Learn
Responding to Questions
Why is it important to answer a question? Assist learners with their growing communication skills with an information sheet that explains how questions are meant to gather information.
Appalachian State University
The Fault in Our Stars: A Movie Study Guide for Eighth Grade Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science
How would you spend your last days with a loved one? The movie guide for The Fault in Our Stars prompts scholars to compare important scenes from the novel to the film and contains background information about the author, guided...
American Immigration Law Foundation
No Pretty Pictures
Here is a nice set of activities and discussion questions to accompany your class reading of No Pretty Pictures, a memoir of a young girl's experiences and struggle for survival during the Holocaust.
Do2Learn
Sharing Materials
If you've ever broken up an argument about a toy or classroom item, you know how difficult it is to convince class members to share. The concept is even more complex for those with autism spectrum disorder and for learners who have...
Media Smarts
Gender Messages in Alcohol Advertising
Make your students critical consumers of media, and foster an awareness of how culture is reflected and shaped by media. This resource covers how alcohol advertising presents and promotes gender stereotypes. After a discussion on...
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 2: Learning About Adolescence
The Native American symbol, The Circle of Life, represents life's spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well being. By way of deep discussion, and two games, the lesson uses the Circle of Life to explore the stages of maturity,...
Childnet International
Self Esteem
To middle schoolers, there's nothing worse than being excluded from a peer group. Developing important self-esteem skills can not only get them through awkward adolescent times, it can carry them through the rest of their lives as...
Do2Learn
Paying Attention and Listening to Others
It's always fun to talk about something you're interested in, but it's just as important to listen to what someone else has to say. Guide class members into becoming stronger listeners with an interactive brainstorming activity.
Do2Learn
Waiting
Waiting can be hard for everyone, but for individuals with autism or other special needs, it can be confusing and frustrating. Lead a discussion in which students brainstorm times in their lives when they would need to wait, and help...
Curated OER
Jelly Bracelets: Fashion or Sex Game?
Ever-changing fashion fads are the ideal context for an engaging sociology experiment for adolescents. Through research and conducting a survey, learners draw conclusions about the controversial jelly bracelets fad, banned in some...
Curated OER
Do You Have a Blog?
Ask learners about their personal writing habits, such as whether they keep a journal or a blog, or if they'd ever want to. Though this is not a fully developed instructional activity, you can use this article and question to provoke...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Night to Life is Beautiful
After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...
Do2Learn
Taking Turns
Whose turn is it? Keep track of individuals' turns with a turn-taking board. Applicable to every subject and classroom, the educational strategy provides pupils with structured expectations and endurance while awaiting their turn.