This resource is one of four books in the "Social Skills Curriculum Activities Library," a practical series designed to help classroom teachers and specialists teach appropriate behavioral skills to students of all abilities, preschool through grade 12. The activities emphasize teaching young people to recognize the equal rights of others, independent of color, race, and religion, and develop their skill in using good judgment to resolve life's conflicts peacefully.
The complete Social Skills Curriculum Library provides over 250 classroom-tested lessons and activities in four distinct units, each tailored to the developmental needs of students at a particular grade level:
- READY-TO-USE SOCIAL SKILLS LESSONS & ACTIVITIES FOR GRADES PreK-K
- READY-TO-USE SOCIAL SKILLS LESSONS & ACTIVITIES FOR GRADES 1-3
- READY-TO-USE SOCIAL SKILLS LESSONS & ACTIVITIES FOR GRADES 4-6
- READY-TO-USE SOCIAL SKILLS LESSONS & ACTIVITIES FOR GRADES 7-12
For easy use, the activities in each grade-level unit follow a uniform format, including a descriptive title, a specific behavioral objective, and a simple eighth-step lesson plan that provides everything needed for an effective, well-balanced learning experience.
Each lesson covers:
- Purpose: Need for teaching/learning the social skill, e.g. "Using Self-Control"
- Introduction: Stories, films, poems, and questions to make the skill concrete
- Skill Components: Skill steps for teaching the appropriate behavior
- Modeling the Skill: Teacher and/or student demonstration of the skill
- Behavioral Rehearsal: Student performance of the skill with teacher correction if necessary
- Practice: Worksheets and other activities summarizing the skill
- Independent Use: Activities to promote use of the skills outside of school
- Continuation: Suggestions for reinforcing the skill through the school year
And, as a further help, all of the practice worksheets are individually printed in a special format that folds flat for easy photocopying as many times as needed for individual or group use!
Each unit also includes an introduction to the curriculum and lesson format ... brief guidelines "To the Teacher" for using the activities most effectively ... reproducible Task Review Cards for circle-time class discussions ... and a Family Training Booklet addressed to parents with suggestions for teaching social skills at home (units 1-3).
In short, the "Social Skills Curriculum Activities Library" gives teachers at all level a stimulating and systematic way to develop positive social behaviors in their students. The activities focus on real problem situations, and are readily adapted to any classroom or school-wide program, and can be easily enhanced with other strategies, models and interventions devised by the creative teacher.
