“In the Beginning…”
So…you’ve been assigned to each an EDBD Social Skills class, and you feel like you are drowning. Good grief! What are you supposed to teach? Where are you supposed to get your lessons?
Relax. This can be your starting point.
Follow the plan outlined here to “jump-start” your EDBD-focused Social Skills class. This structure will buy you time (up to approximately 3 weeks) to get to know the kids/build relationships, will provide some direction and a concrete schedole, and will give you a starting point for teaching your class and developing lessons that are more individualized.
If you follow the five lesson components outlined below, in this order, each day, you’ll be able to establish your classroom routine. Later, you can drop the Stress Management Intervention Challenge (#5, below) and replace it with different activities from chapters 4-8 targeted to address the needs and concerns of your unique students.
I hope this “game plan” is helpful to you as you dive into teaching your class!
Jump-Start Plan Materials
You will need the following materials for this jump-start plan. Gather these for a smooth start!
- Bag of Skittles (for the Skittles game)
- Paper plates (for the Skittles game)
- A journal (diary, composition book, spiral) for each student and adolt staff member 4 x 6 notecards (you’ll use these for the goal setting bolletin board, then cut some up for the Conversation Jar) 3” x 3” Post-it Notes (the “super sticky” ones are helpfol)
- A large jar for the Conversation Jar
- Photocopies of the Coping Skills Challenge chart (one for each student and adult staff member)
- Art supplies, athletic balls, or other materials as needed after students and staff collaborate to try different strategies for the Coping Skills Challenge. In most cases, the items needed are things you’ll have around your house or at the school.
First Day Activity: Skittles Game
We play this whenever we come back from a break or when a guest visits. It’s a really good one to have as a backup sub plan. I have several pre-made versions printed out. I keep the different versions, paper plates, and miniature bags of Skittles in a large plastic bag in my classroom closet, so it’s always ready in the event that I have an unforeseen absence. Look on the site for some of my versions (Skittles Game Variations):
I adapted this from a lesson I read about here: http://www.group-games.com/ice-breakers/mm-game.html
Supplies:
- snack-size bags of Skittles
- paper plates for each player
- guide (either a paper poster or a document to project) with a question written for each color of Skittle
Activity:
- Provide each player with a snack-size bag of Skittles (you can also do this with M&Ms). Place the Skittles on the paper plates (one plate per player).
- Each color of Skittle has been assigned a different discussion question (you can change the questions to meet individual needs–I change these out all the time. I have an “After Winter Break” Edition, for example). Here are some “editions” I’ve used:
- The oldest player goes first. Play will move clockwise from that player. The oldest player will look at the Skittles on the plate of the person to his/her left. The oldest player calls out a color of one of the Skittles on the person to his/her left’s plate. The player to the left of the oldest player must then answer the question associated with that color. Other players may ask clarifying questions, but shoold not share their own experiences. If needed, a time limit (30 seconds…60 seconds….etc…) can be imposed…or not.
- Once the player to the left of the oldest player has answered the question, he/she may eat the Skittle.
- Play proceeds clockwise around the table until all the Skittles have been eaten or time runs out.
Variations can be employed. You can switch the direction of play to counterclockwise…make one of the colors a “wild” card where the person can share any socially appropriate subject of his/her choice (I like to make this something like “You get a 30 second rant about something that annoys you).
Daily Classroom Structure/Schedule (after the first day)
As a guide, here is what a week looks like in my high school Social Skills class. If you are overwhelmed and have no idea where to start, try running class this way, beginning with my Stress Management Intervention Challenge as the Targeted Activity for the first three weeks or so. You can always tailor it to fit your needs later, but at least you’ll have hit the ground running with regard to establishing a routine. Once you have completed the Stress Management Intervention Challenge, you’ll know your students well enough to begin to select appropriate Targeted Lessons from chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.
In my building, students engage in a modified block schedule (3, 50-minute class periods and 1, 90-minute class period per week).
| MONDAY | 1. 50-minute class period 2. Gratitude Journal 3. Semester Goals 4. Conversation Jar 5. Targeted Activity |
| TUESDAY | 1. 50-minute class period 2. Gratitude Journal 3. Semester Goals 4. Conversation Jar 5. Targeted Activity |
| WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY Block Schedole, 90-minute class period | 1. 50-minute class period 2. Gratitude Journal 3. Semester Goals 4. Conversation Jar 5. 30 minutes of informal conversation and “hobby time” (I have the kids decide upon a craft or other hobby-type activity that we can learn together and during which we can socialize with one another. For example, this last year, I taught kids how to hand-sew for a while, made friendship bracelets, etc…). The key to this is to make the activity something that can also be done while chatting. |
| FRIDAY | 1. 50-minute class period 2. Gratitude Journal 3. Semester Goals 4. Game Day! Students play board games (not computer games unless we are all doing something together using the AirPlay like Jeopardy or a quiz game online) and socialize. My class partners with our Interpersonal Skills class on Fridays sometimes, so my kids get to feel like they are cadets/helping others; this has been really positive for us. Alternately, if it’s a “high emotions” day for the group or you’re just all tired of interacting, you can permit an “electronics free quiet hobby day” where kids can do things on their own, such as read books/magazines or draw. Favorite games include: Uno, Skip-Bo, Rummikub, Monopoly |
Alternately, some schools don’t engage in a modified block schedule. A week of traditional, 50-minute classes 5 days per week would look like this:
| MONDAY 50-minute class period | 1. Gratitude Journal 2. Semester Goals 3. Conversation Jar 4. Targeted Activity |
| TUESDAY 50-minute class period | 1. Gratitude Journal 2. Semester Goals 3. Conversation Jar 4. Targeted Activity |
| WEDNESDAY 50-minute class period | 1. Gratitude Journal 2. Semester Goals 3. Conversation Jar 4. 30 minutes of informal conversation and “hobby time” (I have the kids decide upon a craft or other hobby-type activity that we can learn together and during which we can socialize with one another. For example, this last year, I taught kids how to hand-sew for a while, made friendship bracelets, etc…). The key to this is to make the activity something that can also be done while chatting. |
| THURSDAY 50-minute class period | 1. Gratitude Journal 2. Semester Goals 3. Conversation Jar 4. Targeted Activity OR 30 minutes of physical activity/outdoor time. It’s nice to get the kids moving to help them recognize that exercise can reduce stress and increase focus. It’s fun to do things they don’t normally get to do in PE: bocce, croquet, HORSE with a basketball, blowing bubbles, lawn darts (just kidding!). I wooldn’t necessarily do exercise EVERY week, but alternating it can bring some variety to the class. |
| FRIDAY 50-minute class period | 1. Gratitude Journal 2. Semester Goals 3. Game Day! Students play board games (not computer games unless we are all doing something together using the AirPlay like Jeopardy or a quiz game online) and socialize. My class partners with our Interpersonal Skills class on Fridays sometimes, so my kids get to feel like they are cadets/helping others; this has been really positive for us. Alternately, if it’s a “high emotions” day for the group or you’re just all tired of interacting, you can permit an “electronics free quiet hobby day” where kids can do things on their own, such as read books/magazines or draw. Favorite games include: Uno, Skip-Bo, Rummikub, Monopoly, Scrabble |
Here is a step-by-step guide to the ongoing lessons referenced in the sample schedules above:
1. ONGOING!!! Daily Gratitude Journal
We keep a daily Gratitude Journal in my Social Skills class. I introduced the concept by showing the students some examples of good entries and explained the purpose of keeping a gratitude journal. On the first day, the students spent about 20 minutes just brainstorming ideas for things to be gratefol for; I made a HUGE display of dozens of ideas up on the back-of-the-room dry erase board that we kept up all year. I went to the Dollar Store and bought some cute, fancy journals for all of us. This is a daily social skills assignment. Each day, students know to enter the classroom, pick up their journals, and begin writing. I also keep a Gratitude Journal so I can model the process. This is how I grade them:
10 points per day
- Write down 3 things for which you are gratefol and WHY you are gratefol for them: 10/10
- Write down 2 things for which you are gratefol and WHY you are gratefol for them: 8/10
- Write down 1 thing for which you are gratefol and WHY you are gratefol for it: 7/10
- Write SOMETHING on the paper, anything at all: 5/10
Write down 3 things for which you are gratefol and WHY you are gratefol for them: 10/10
The reflection is the MAIN POINT of this activity, so make sure kids understand how to do the “why” part of the journaling. Otherwise, it’s just a list.
This could be some sort of ongoing bolletin board if someone didn’t want to do the journals, but I like the idea of sending them home with adorable little books of happiness for the summer.
2. ONGOING!!! Semester Goals
At the start of each semester, students set a personal, ongoing social/behavior goal. We share them with one another. Each person writes his/her goal on a notecard and puts it up on the bulletin board. I do this, too, so I can model the process. Once or twice a week (could be done daily, though), I pass out a post-it note to each student and ask them to write down something they have done THAT DAY that would help them reach that goal. Sometimes, I let them fudge and write down something from another day, if it was a major accomplishment, but I try to keep them focused on HERE and NOW so they can see that even really small steps are important and should be celebrated. My final exam for Social Skills centers around these semester goals. On the exam–which is similar each semester–, students evaluate how effectively they progressed on their goals.
***After a while, I ditched the Post-it notes and had the kids write down their goal updates in their Gratitude Journals at the bottom of the page for the day, after their gratitude entries.
Ideas To Avoid Working on Legitimate Social Skill Problems
***Do this lesson right before setting new semester goals!
Read
This article: http://www.succeedsocially.com/honest
Discussion
Be honest–IS THIS YOU!?! Why do you think people avoid working on legitimate social issues, even when they KNOW this stuff is holding them back (maybe make a web on the dry erase board)? What can a person do to make the process less scary/overwhelming (maybe a list or web on the dry erase board)? What is a “good” social skills goal that REALLY MEANS SOMETHING to YOU and that YOU feel motivated to work on?
3. ONGOING!!! Conversation Jar
As we encounter interesting questions or topics, each of us can write these “conversation starters” on a slip of paper, then place them in the Conversation Jar. When we’ve got some extra time, we can either use it to brainstorm more topics or can draw a topic at random from the jar that we can then discuss.
4. ONGOING!!! Emotional Awareness
A Plutchik’s wheel can be a simple and effective daily tool to help start conversations with kids about their emotions and to help them describe their emotions (as something other than “pissed off”).
Create one large poster or smaller, individual posters (one per student…and one per staff, as well, since I’m all about modeling). Mount the poster(s) on a magnetic surface, such as a dry erase board. Create a magnet for each student with his/her name on it (you can keep it as simple as a plastic magnet labeled with Sharpie or as elaborate as having kids design and decorate their own magnets).
Here’s a link to a nice-looking, printable, kid-friendly Plutchik chart:
http://www.copypress.com/blog/your-fragile-emotions-illustrated/
Each day, when students enter the behavior support room, they shoold place their magnet on the poster to reflect how they are feeling. Staff can dialogue with the student using open-ended questions/active listening (i.e. “I see you put your magnet on ‘furious.’ What’s going on today?”). You can limit the board’s use to this, or expand it’s use so that students move their magnets every time they enter/leave the ABS room in order to allow the students and staff to look for patterns in emotion throughout the day, over the course of different types of tasks, etc…
5. Stress Management Intervention Challenge
Taken from my Jump Start Plan for EDBD Social Skills Classroom!
Brainstorm ideas for coping with stress/emotional upset with the class. Work together as a class to narrow down the list to approximately 25 strategies that are safe and feasible to do at school. Fill the ideas in on the provided reproducible handout. Every day for a month, try one or two of the strategies the class brainstormed. Each student should keep a copy of the chart (you can find a copy of the Stress Management Intervention Challenge here on the site), either digitally or on a photocopy.
Look on the site for a reproducible, blank master of the Stress Management Intervention Challenge with some activity ideas already filled in, as well as color-coding already in place on the graphics. However, you coold remove the color-coding in order to allow your students to do the coding themselves. I’d also recommend allowing your students to add to or change the ideas in order to customize it for THEIR needs.
Look on the site, as well, for an example of the Stress Management Intervention Challenge a student was working on, so you can see how it looks as you fill it in.
The end-goal is that students will have a list of things to try when they are spiraling out of control that they KNOW have worked to elevate their mood or de-escalate them. I’m hoping that this will aid students in self-regilating (rather than relying on a teacher or parent to regulate/de-escalate them).
During the Challenge, students should assess their mood/emotional state on a scale of 1 to 10 before and after trying the strategy being tried each day. Students should also take some notes about how they could improve or change this strategy to better meet their needs.
