Teach social skills
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Supporting and strengthening peer relationships’
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Ideas to support social skills
Ideas to support social skills
A collection of free social skills resources that have been designed to support students on the autism spectrum. These resources could be used to support all students.
No captions or transcript
Support student interactions
Support student interactions
A student’s social development influences how they interact with others. Social contexts and differences (such as ASD or dyslexia) will shape a student's behaviour.
When a student seems uncomfortable in social situations, consider:
- Are the social expectations mis-matched to the student's stage of development?
- Have the social expectations been explained in ways the student can understand?
- Do they have the skills, including vocabulary, to participate equitably?
- Have they had opportunities to learn and practise the range of social skills needed in a particular context?
Build problem solving skills
Build problem solving skills
In this video, teachers at Mission Hill School (a full-inclusion school in the USA) facilitate student interactions.
No captions or transcript
Targeted social skills teaching
Targeted social skills teaching
Some students may need targeted teaching of social skills. For example, students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often need specific teaching to learn how to initiate interactions and share and take turns.
- Define one or more social behaviours the student needs to learn, in measurable terms.
- Use a range of teaching techniques (for example, structured discussions, social stories).
- Facilitate the generalisation of social skills to peers through role-playing and video modeling.
- Transition from a structured teaching situation to everyday situations – the student may need supports to achieve this.
- Check for social validity – can the student use the new skills in different situations?
Ideas to support self management
Ideas to support self management
When students have strong social skills, they feel more confident negotiating and problem-solving in difficult situations.
Provide specific teaching to:
- teach assertiveness – practise saying “no” to things they know are wrong
- instill resiliency – practise strategies for facing difficult situations
- model empathy – discuss how they feel in different situations and help them to identify how others may feel
- practise problem-solving – students need to know how to identify their feelings and manage their impulses.
Useful resources
Useful resources
Emotional literacy: Teaching students to name and recognise emotions for social success
This website includes strategies, lesson plans, social narratives, and resources for teaching vocabulary to describe feelings and emotions.
Publisher: ThoughtCo
Categories of play from the social skills toolbox
An explanation of categories of play supported by specific activities for individualised, direct instruction, and support.
Publisher: Do2Learn
4 types of social cues
This article explores four types of social cues that can be commonly misread. It provides information on how they are used, why they matter and what can happen when kids miss them.
Publisher: Understood
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Support and strengthen peer relationships”:
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Current page Teach social skills
Return to the guide “Supporting positive peer relationships”
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Positive peer relationships
Strategies for action:
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Support and strengthen peer relationshipsShow suggestions for Support and strengthen peer relationships
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Facilitate collaborative learningShow suggestions for Facilitate collaborative learning
