Social Skills Activities in the Classroom

Conversation, Conflict Resolution, Anger Management for Students

Oct 21, 2009

Here are some ideas for building students' social skills, and developing conversation, conflict resolution, and anger management abilities in a regular classroom.

Children in school will have varying degrees of social skills. In particular, students suffering from a mental health disorder, or an autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty forming friendships. These kids will need to be taught the basics of conversation, conflict resolution, and anger management in order for them to get along with their peers. Activities designed to promote social development will benefit students in the classroom.

Classroom Activities to Develop Conversation Skills

There are many classroom activities that will help develop children's conversation skills. One idea would be to pair a child with poor social skills with a kind peer that has mature conversational abilities. Have them use a script to practice how to take turns speaking to one another using polite words such as “please”, “thank you”, and “excuse me”. Choose topics of discussion that are of interest to both children.

Other activities that may improve conversation skills in the classroom are: reading a story together, performing classroom plays, and role-playing. For more ideas on how to promote conversation skills, see Conversation Skills for Students With Autism.

Ideas to Foster Kindness, Empathy in Children

Modeling kindness in the classroom will be one way to show children how it feels to be on the receiving end of praise and empathy. Try assigning a writing exercise or journal entry with the prompt, “When a friend calls me a bad name, I feel…” or “What would I do if my best friend fell down and got hurt?” Writing prompts about feelings and kindness will encourage students to learn about appropriate behavior.

As with developing conversation skills, watching a children’s TV show or reading a story that presents a situation requiring kindness and empathy would also be an effective way to promote these social skills.

Teaching Anger Management to Kids

Helping children to control their angry emotions can be a challenge for teachers. Children on the autism spectrum are particularly prone to meltdowns. Calming techniques such as counting to ten will eventually work, but young kids need to be reminded many times. Developing a written plan to follow when kids feel frustrated or angry may be very helpful for the regular classroom teacher.

A teacher should also try to provide a sympathetic ear whenever a student opens up about something that is upsetting to him. Encourage students to express feelings and practice counting to ten, deep breathing, and thinking about something that makes them happy during times when they are already calm.

Modeling good self-control will also be important. When angry, a teacher should demonstrate counting to ten, breathing techniques, etc. in the classroom.

How to Develop Conflict Resolution Skills

When conflicts occur and emotions run high, children may not know what to do. Biting, hitting, and name-calling may be some of the behaviors that arise during a disagreement. Teachers will need to help kids learn to resolve their problems calmly, using compromise and sharing techniques. Problem solving skills such as these take practice and time to develop.

Conflict resolution can be effectively demonstrated using stories, plays, and role-play activities. In particular, building activities (blocks, stories, bulletin boards, etc.) will provide ample opportunities to practice conflict resolution and should be part of the daily classroom routine. With the many different ways to build things, children will learn to compromise and take turns getting what they want before arguments get out of hand.

By engaging in various social skills activities, children can be taught how to interact appropriately with others in the classroom. Practice conversation skills using plays and role-playing activities, promote the development of empathy with writing prompts, model effective anger management techniques, and present situations in which resolving conflicts require students to compromise, take turns, and share.

The copyright of the article Social Skills Activities in the Classroom in Special Needs Education is owned by Karen Plumley. Permission to republish Social Skills Activities in the Classroom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.