Help Me Fit In

1
Help Me Fit In!!!

• A Webquest on Social Skills
• By Sarah Pickett
• LTC 519
• Summer 2003

2
Introduction

• A local rehabilitation center has just relocated
  to your area. The center is going to be geared
  towards serving students with emotional and
  behavioral disorders in the primary age range.

3
Funding

• A large portion of the grant that funds this
  center is strictly for the area of communication
  and social skills therapy.

4
The Problem

• Recent studies have shown that often times,
  children are more receptive when they are being
  taught something by another student.

5
The Centers Solution

• For this reason, the center is piloting a new
  program that will teach students about social
  skills and the instructors will be high school
  age students. The program is scheduled to last
  four weeks.

6
The Task

• You are to prepare a lesson presentation to
  submit for a position at the center. The center
  has given you a list of steps that they want you
  to align your presentation by. You are to submit
  the lesson presentation to the center director.
  The requirements for the job and the curriculum
  guidelines are as follows.

7
Requirements

• Applicants have to be 16 years of age and must be
  in high school.

8
Requirements

• Instructors will be hired based on an interview
  procedure in which their character, academics,
  and social behavior will be reviewed.

9
Requirements

• Applicants will also be required to compile a
  lesson presentation that accommodates the social
  skills curriculum given to the applicant by the
  center.

10
Employment

• Instructors will be paid a negotiable wage and
  will be hired for a four week time period.

11
Background

• As an instructor you will need to know a little
  about each student. You will be given the
  opportunity to student each students case report
  so that you may design your lesson presentation
  in a way that will best meet the childrens
  needs.

12
Confidentiality

• Remember that confidentiality is a must at all
  times when reading these folders. You will be
  asked to sign a confidentiality liability form to
  get access to the folders.

13
Center Curriculum For Teaching Social Skills

• Many kids have very little knowledge of how to
  properly interact with other kids and classmates.
  The reason for this is often they do not have
  the simple skills they need for basic
  communication.

14
The Centers Philosophy

• The center believes that these skills can be
  taught in much the same way that academic skills
  can be. The center has chosen the following six
  steps for you to align your lesson presentation
  with. They are as follows

15
Step One

• Discuss the Need for Social Skills
• Students need to understand why these skills are
  important. Students need to comprehend how
  problems they encounter are caused by poor
  social skills.

16
Step Two

• Select a Social Skill
• Focus only on one skill at a time. Students tend
  to get to overwhelmed when you throw too much
  material to them at once. Once the skill is
  mastered, then move on to a new one.

17
Step Three

• Teach the Skill
• Various methods may be used to present the
  material to the students. Refer to reference
  materials and other resources to obtain ideas for
  this step.
• Examples technology, reading, group-work, etc.

18
Step Four

• Practice the Skill
• Structure activities that promote the use of
  effective social skills. The more students
  practice the skill, the more they will retain it.
  

19
Step Five

• Pause and Reflect
• Students need to reflect upon how well they are
  using their new skills Ask them what you can do
  to help them and what they need more work on in
  their own opinion.

20
Step Six

• Review and Reflect
• Students need reminding that this is a compound
  process. They need a chance to be refreshed on
  mastered skills as well as learning new ones.

21
Structures for Practice

• Roundrobin
• Think-Pair-Share
• Rally-table
• Mix-N-Match
• Mix-Freeze-Pair

22
Social Skills the Center Promotes

• taking turns
• praising
• sharing materials
• asking for help
• using proper names
• patient waiting
• accepting differences

23
More Social Skills

• active listening
• managing materials
• sharing tasks
• resolving conflicts
• communicating clearly
• encouraging each other
• saying kind things

24
Conclusion

• Students can and will learn effective social
  skills if the instruction is meaningful. Your
  mission is to develop a presentation using these
  steps that will make the program as effective as
  possible.

25
Tips For the Presentation

• Applicants need to keep in mind the different
  types of learners when preparing their lesson
  presentation. Accommodations should also be made
  if needed for lower level learners. Research is
  imperative to a good presentationRead! Read!
  Read! Good luck to all applicants!

26
Credits/Resources

• www.ldonline.com
• www.teachervision.com
• www.teachersown.com
• www.lifeskills4kids.com
• www.eduplace.com