Overcoming Obstacles
Blowin' in the Wind
Working together isn't as easy as it looks! Small groups of classmates try to keep a balloon in the air using only a straw, their breath, and team communication.
Social Skills Central
Listening During a Conversation
What does active listening look like? Learners identify basic rules for listening carefully to others, such as maintaining eye contact and commenting appropriately, and then evaluate different examples of conversations on a worksheet to...
Story Corps
The Power of Active Listening
Listen up! The game of Telephone launches a study of active listening. Class members watch a short video that demonstrates active listening and tips on practicing active listening. Pairs then interview each other and practice their...
Health Smart Virginia
Effective Communication Skills
As part of a review of concepts taught in the Health Smart unit, individuals fill out a chart contrasting passive, assertive, and aggressive behaviors. They then practice their assertiveness skills by craft "I" messages and responses to...
Mobile Education Store
ConversationBuilder
Some students struggle in social situations or when it comes to conversing with peers. Conversation is key in developing relationships and in building strong social skills. This app can be used to help children with social anxiety, ASD,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How We Are Alike And Different
Scholars develop social awareness by exploring the concept of similarities and differences. Learners examine two beverages and use a Venn diagram to identify similarities and differences. They tally each item to identify if they are more...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Is Important to Me?
Pupils complete an activity sheet to determine what values are most important to them. They then discuss their responses with partners before sharing the results of the discussion with the class.
Northern Ireland Curriculum
Getting to Know Me
As learners engage in the five hands-on and collaborative learning experiences in this unit, they will work on developing a sense of identity and acceptance of self, extending their social skills, and building positive self-esteem.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Relationships…Quality Control
Quality relationships don't just happen. They require nurturing, patience, thoughtful communication, and honesty. Help tweens develop these relationship skills with an activity that asks them to themselves and then outline 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 instructional activity, groups create a dramatization of two-minute scenario in which an individual behaves...
Curated OER
Buggy Rides
Students go for a buggy ride. Each of them have a chance to be a rider and a horse. They need to tell their "horse" when to begin pulling by saying "giddy-up." students work together and use appropriate social skills
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...
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.
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Is Electronic Communication Helpful or Harmful?
Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...
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
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...
Middle Tennessee State University
The Invention of the Telephone
All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his sketch of the...
Do2Learn
Communication Board
Help nonverbal individuals navigate a very verbal world with a helpful communication board. After they fill in their name to introduce themselves to others, learners can point to written responses to yes or no questions, as well as to...
Perkins School for the Blind
Personal Information
"Hi, how are you? My name is___." Seems simple enough but it's not always that easy to recall and relate factual information about yourself. Learners with multiple disabilities practice memorizing and relaying personal information about...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Character Clovers
Build a classroom community with a lesson 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 with it.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Friendship Line Dancing
Develop social awareness with a lesson that challenges scholars to properly communicate with their peers. Standing in two lines, participants practice introducing themselves, asking how their partner is feeling, asks if they want to...
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...
Missouri Department of Elementary
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A Basic Skill
Imagine seventh graders developing a school wide plan to promote respect in their school. That's the vision behind the second lesson in the R-E-S-P-E-C-T series. In preparation for designing a school-wide media campaign, class members...
Curated OER
All About Me Wearable Signs
But enough about me....Help youngsters develop a fundamental social skill in recognizing what others enjoy talking about. Learners draw pictures and write words to describe their interests and what they enjoy discussing, and wear their...