Curated OER
Game Related Social Skills
Most of us like to play games, but knowing what to do when a game doesn't go the way one expects is a learned skills. Adolescents with behavioral disorders practice responding to a variety of situations that arise during game play. They...
Do2Learn
Reciprocal Conversation
Keep the conversation going with a social skills activity. Designed for learners with autism, the lesson guides peers through the back-and-forth of a conversation, encouraging them to wait their turn before responding.
Do2Learn
Appropriate Topics of Conversation
Conversation skills are key for having good social skills, but it can be tough for some especially those with autism. Use an activity that walks ASD pupils through topics that are and aren't appropriate for various audiences as they fill...
Do2Learn
Waiting Your Turn to Speak
Have you ever been so excited to talk that you interrupted another person? Help young conversationalists wait their turn to speak with a social skills activity.
Do2Learn
Ending A Conversation
Sometimes beginning a conversation isn't the hard part—it's ending the conversation that can be challenging. Autistic and mainstream learners alike can benefit from a resource that provides a reference handout with ways to end a...
Curated OER
The Conversation Box
Learners on the autism spectrum can have difficulty maintaining a two-way, reciprocal conversation. Support these students with the Conversation Box activity, in which they practice conversations with their peers using the prompts and...
Indigo Daya
Coping Skills
Adolescents experience strong amounts of stress during the formative teenage years. An excellent printable and activity can help learners discuss and develop coping skills for dealing with difficult times.
Do2Learn
Staying on Topic
Get from the beginning of a conversation to a successful end with a communication activity. Learners practice staying on topic with a worksheet that prompts them to ask questions and make comments related to the subject of the conversation.
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
Do2Learn
Respecting the Ideas of Others
Communicating clearly is one part of a successful conversation, but listening to others is just as important. Individuals with special needs plan calm responses and reactions to differing opinions with a collaborative activity.
Curated OER
Girders and Wrecking Ball Activity
As learners build the "girders" of conversation by staying consistent on a particular topic, they avoid the "wrecking ball" of an off-topic comment. To help students develop this important conversation skill, this resource provides...
Curated OER
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens Worksheet
Based on the bestselling series, this worksheet details seven habits of highly defective teens, and prompts young learners to consider their own social and emotional tendencies. What kinds of experiences do your pupils have...
Do2Learn
Participating With Others
For learners with autism spectrum disorder, participating with others in a social setting can be stressful and overwhelming. A brainstorming activity prompts pupils to consider the expectations of a particular social occasion, including...
Curated OER
Chain Connection and Un-Connection Activity
Learners practice remaining on topic during a conversation using printouts of chains as visual models for their work. Chains are placed in sequence while students stay on a shared topic of conversation, and a broken chain is used as...
Curated OER
Changes, Choices, and Lessons
The teen years are nothing but a series of personal, social, and academic changes. Help kids understand what to expect as they mature and give them ways to make good decisions. After discussing they types of changes they'll go through,...
Do2Learn
Responding to Questions
Why is it important to answer a question? Assist learners with their growing communication skills with an information sheet that explains how questions are meant to gather information.
Do2Learn
Sharing Materials
If you've ever broken up an argument about a toy or classroom item, you know how difficult it is to convince class members to share. The concept is even more complex for those with autism spectrum disorder and for learners who have...
Media Smarts
Gender Messages in Alcohol Advertising
Make your students critical consumers of media, and foster an awareness of how culture is reflected and shaped by media. This resource covers how alcohol advertising presents and promotes gender stereotypes. After a discussion on...
Curated OER
Anger, Aggression and Adolescents
Young scholars examine the relationship between anger, aggression and teenagers. As a class, they share a difficult situation in their own lives and review the techniques to properly deal with it. In groups, they discuss how they feel...
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 2: Learning About Adolescence
The Native American symbol, The Circle of Life, represents life's spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well being. By way of deep discussion, and two games, the lesson plan uses the Circle of Life to explore the stages of...
Childnet International
Self Esteem
To middle schoolers, there's nothing worse than being excluded from a peer group. Developing important self-esteem skills can not only get them through awkward adolescent times, it can carry them through the rest of their lives as...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Adolescent Characteristics
Students examine the various characteristics of adolescence. In a Powerpoint presentation they observe the physical, emotional, and social traits of adolescence. In groups, they investigate researchers associated with developmental...
Do2Learn
Paying Attention and Listening to Others
It's always fun to talk about something you're interested in, but it's just as important to listen to what someone else has to say. Guide class members into becoming stronger listeners with an interactive brainstorming activity.
Nemours KidsHealth
Self-Esteem
It's important to have healthy self-esteem, but it't not always easy for a teen to identify and maintain it. Support your pupils' healthy self-esteem through grand conversations, daily positive self reflections, and scenario problem...