Overcoming Obstacles
Using Communication Skills Effectively
Miscommunication is often the basis of conflict. To improve their communication skills, pupils first review what they learned about assertive (as opposed to aggressive or passive) communication, role-play several scenarios, and then...
University of Oklahoma
Improving My Communication Skills
The two lessons in the fifth unit in this series are designed to help students with disabilities improve their communication skills. The first lesson has class members practice strategies and skills for appropriate communication. They...
Macmillan Education
Communication
Especially tricky for language is understanding the line between inappropriate, confrontational, (in)effective, (un)reasonable and diplomatic English. The activities in the resource permit class members to practice communicating using...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Communicating with I-Messages (1/2)
Scholars watch two puppet dialogues illustrating negative and positive communication between friends. Then, they discuss how the puppets' communication skills influenced the outcome of each interaction.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Listening Exercise
Active listening is key to interacting with others in a way that shows respect. To develop their skill as listeners, high schoolers first play the "Telephone Game" to demonstrate some of the problems that arise in communication. Pairs...
Centre for Clinical Interventions
Social Skills Treatment Programme
Even though they may not be tested on standardized assessments, social skills are vital for students to develop during their years in school. Through a series of discussions, activities, and role-playing exercises, these lessons teach...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Communicating with I-Messages (2/2)
Class members read a handout to learn about using I-Messages—honest statements that begin with I to get their points of view across. Next, learners practice using I-Messages with partners to better communicate without hurting others'...
Overcoming Obstacles
Listening Responsibly
Responsible speaker + critical listener = effective communication is the equation at the heart of a responsible listening activity about the power of words. Class members view the clip of the courtroom scene from the film A Few Good Men...
Curriculum Corner
“I Can” Common Core! 3rd Grade Speaking & Listening
Help third graders focus on improving their speaking and listening skills with this Common Core checklist. By phrasing each standard as an I can statement, learners can monitor their progress toward clear, attainable goals.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Stressed Out Sally
Life changes may cause stress. Here, scholars identify stressful situations in a peer's life and offer coping skills to make for a better day. A short story, "Stressed Out Sally," provides pupils with a look inside a bad day. After...
Curated OER
Tuck Everlasting Unit
Natalie Babbitt's award winning fantasy, Tuck Everlasting, is the anchor text in a unit plan that focuses on identifying similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification in the text and analyzing how these elements effect the development...
Florida Alliance for Arts Education
Theatre Arts
What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Respect for Self and Others—Giving and Getting the Big R
Tween find out what it means to give and get respect. After reviewing the Recipe for Relationships studied in a previous lesson, groups create a dramatization of two-minute scenario in which an individual behaves inappropriately in a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Problem Solving Game
Creativity, communication, cooperation. Pupils assume the role of employees at a game factory working together to develop a new game. Using the principles of the STAR method (Stop, Think, Act, Review), they work in teams to create game...
Road to Grammar
Five Presentation Tips
Talking in front of others can be intimidating, especially when you aren't speaking in your native language. Put your English language learners at ease before a class presentation. They can follow these tips to give relaxed and effective...
International Debate Education Association
Speaking Across the Curriculum
With the focus on 21st century skills it is even more important that all teachers incorporate listening and speaking activities into their curriculum. Here's a packet of practical ideas appropriate for any classroom.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Ingredients of a Relationship Recipe
An eye-catching hook makes a smart analogy between ingredients for a food recipe and ingredients for quality relationships. Scholars discuss and list qualities they feel contribute to positive interactions. Pupils create a recipe card...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How Does a Friend Act?
Two puppets showcase social skills while scholars decide whether their actions are positive or negative. Learners take turns with the puppets, acting out scenarios with a peer while the rest of the class decide if they're being a good...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Acting Out Respect and Compromise
Puppets showcase the importance of being a good friend. Following a discussion about positive character traits, scholars create a paper-bag puppet and role-play scenarios with a peer.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Conflict Mediation – Part 1: Getting Ready
Two scholars walk into a room arguing, what is happening? Peers observe the two actors in preparation for a whole-class discussion about conflict. Learners establish a conflict, name the three approaches—passive, aggressive, and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Character Clovers
Build a classroom community with a lesson plan that uses character clovers to examine scholars' roles. Following a whole-class discussion, participants list four roles they play and accompany it with the character traits that go along...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Many Roles I Play in My Community
Small groups brainstorm their roles in the community. Then, individually, complete a community roles web worksheet. Peers share their completed product and extend the conversation to include the feelings and character traits that go...