Teach Social Skills

Why should I do it:

• Many students lack basic social skills
• Increases instructional time
• Improves student interactions
• Increases student productivity
• Helps students improve daily social functioning
• Helps students make friends
• Teaches students essential life skills
• Helps students to fit in
• Helps students to function better in classes
• Teaches students to follow rules, expectations, procedures, etc
• Increases self confidence, self concept, and self esteem
• Gives students a common “language”

When should I do it:

• It is important to teach all students appropriate social skills with any and all opportunities
• When students have poor hygiene
• When students seem out of place, ostracized, or isolated
• When students exhibit poor social routines, like taking turns, sharing, waiting in line, shaking hands, poor eye contact, etc
• When students are rude, short, pushy, etc
• When students demonstrate poor personal care habits, like blowing nose, using a napkin, etc
• When students appear socially awkward, weird, out of place, etc
• When students are perceived as weird and strange by the class
• When students do or say weird, silly, inappropriate, or out of place things

How do I do it:

• In the realm of social skills, there is a broad range of skills and topics, as well as a good deal of overlap with other skills, like interpersonal skills, coping skills, etc
• Some common areas for social skills instruction include:
  • Hygiene
  • Manners
  • Listening
  • Being polite
  • Being considerate
  • Being respectful
  • Sharing
  • Taking turns
  • Appropriate words
  • Appropriate touch
  • How to behave in the halls, lunchroom, during instruction, etc
  • Etc