Ready-To-Use Social Skills Lessons & Activities for Grades 1-3 - (J-B Ed: Ready-To-Use Activities) by Ruth Weltmann Begun (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the early primary school years, children need to learn certain social skills to be successful in school and out. Some children have already mastered handling disappointment and working out differences with others, but many children struggle with the social skills that are expected of them. To help students of all skill levels, the author of the highly praised Ready-To-Use Violence Prevention Skills Lessons & Activities for Elementary Students presents this practical book that gives teachers and specialists a stimulating, systematic way to develop positive social behaviors in students through awareness, discussion, and rehearsing new behaviors. It offers over 50 detailed lesson plans and practice worksheets based on real-life situations. These age-appropriate lessons help children build self-esteem, self-control, respect for the rights of others, and a sense of responsibility for one's own actions. Printed in a spiral-bound 8 1/4" x 11" format, the pages can be easily photocopied for use by the whole class or for individuals as the need to work on a particular skill arises.

From the Back Cover

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 eight-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 skill 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 large format 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 levels a stimulating and systematic way to develop positive social behaviors in their students. The activities focus on real problem situations, 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.

About the Author

Ruth W. Begun, M.S., is president of The Society for Prevention of Violence (SPV), a nonprofit organization founded in 1972 dedicated to reducing asocial behaviors in children and adults through education.