Our education system continues to go on and on about test scores and academic benchmarks, the truth is many students are falling behind because they lack the social skills for school success. And as resources for students in this area are just never enough, it often falls to us teachers to fill in the gaps.

But here's the good news… there are plenty of ways we can teach socials skills for students that can be easy, fun, and effective.

Read on for the most important social skills for school and some quick ideas of how to get started teaching them to your students.

Click to jump to…

• 5 Important Social Skills For School
• Social Skills #1: Expressing Feelings
• Social Skills #2: Self-Regulation
• Social Skills #3: Setting Boundaries
• Social Skills #4: Respectful Disagreement
• Social Skills #5: Conflict Resolution
• Social Skills For Students

5 Important Social Skills For School

Some people might think teaching social skills in the classroom is an extra that we just don't have time for. But the truth is, we can't afford to not teach social skills.

So why are social skills important in school? They are crucial in helping students to…

• Focus and engage during lessons
• Interact positively with classmates
• Handle challenges and disappointments

How many times have we had a student miss part of a lesson because they are de-escalating from an episode, recovering from recess drama, or unable to focus?

How many times have we been pulled away from what we're trying to teach to help them?

If we spent just a little bit of time every week teaching and reinforcing some basic social skills, there is no doubt that everyone would benefit.

So what social skills do students need? These are the top 5 that made my list of social skills for students:

1. Expressing Feelings: We all get big feelings sometimes. The more students practice identifying them and communicating them in positive ways, the more they can effectively handle emotions when they come up.
2. Self-Regulation: This is a huge one for the classroom. Students need examples of strategies they can use to help them calm down and re-focus when their bodies or minds are getting in the way of their learning.
3. Setting Boundaries: While this one goes far beyond the bounds of the classroom and into overall child safety, there are important foundations we can lay for students to start standing up and advocating for themselves.
4. Respectful Disagreement: If students could learn to discuss and disagree kindly and respectfully, think of all the fires we wouldn't have to put out!
5. Conflict Resolution: Even the best of friends have fights now and then. Students can become more independent in handling these friendship bumps, apologizing and forgiving, and moving on.

Now that we have a list of 5 important social skills for students to be learning practicing at school, let's dive into each one in more detail. Teaching these explicitly is so important for students to be able to start using these skills independently. (That's why I created the Social Skills curriculum!)

Social Skills #1: Expressing Feelings

Expressing feelings is a great place to start if you're new to teaching social skills in the classroom. There are lots of fun ways to teach students to identify their emotions and express them in appropriate ways:

• Try creating a chart that shows different emotions. You can have student volunteers act out the different emotions, or even turn it into a game where the other students have to guess which emotion is being acted out. Post the chart somewhere in the classroom and ask students at different times to identify how they are feeling.
• A great book to read with your class for this classroom social skill is Big Feelings.
• You can also create a feelings form and have it available for students to fill out at different times. The feelings form should let them easily identify their current emotion. This is great social skills practice for students who need support with communicating big feelings.

Social Skills #2: Self-Regulation

Self-regulation would make the top of any child social skills checklist. This skill is so necessary for success in the classroom, it definitely deserves our attention when we set out to teach social skills.

So how can we help students with self-regulation?

• Teach explicit strategies: You can decide which strategies are workable for your classroom, but some great options are things like using a fidget, drawing a picture, doing ten jumping jacks, talking with a friend, taking deep breaths, visiting a calm corner, etc.
• Practice these strategies: Without repetition and reminders, students will never learn to actually use the strategies you've taught. Model them, suggest them, and post them in a visible place in the classroom for students to refer to.
• Create a calm down space: Many teachers choose to create a “calm corner” in their classroom, full of the materials that students might need to self-regulate or de-escalate. Your calm corner might have a comfy chair, some books to look at, charts with breathing exercises, fidgets, or drawing materials. You can direct a student to the calm corner, or students can ask if they can go spend time there.
• Set clear boundaries: You might worry that your students will take advantage of these tools, and that's valid. There should be clear rules around when these strategies can be used or when the calm corner can be used. If a student doesn't respect those rules, then you'll need to provide a consequence – this might look like limiting the available options, or you deciding when they can be used.

Social Skills #3: Setting Boundaries

Setting boundaries goes beyond learning social skills and has everything to do with child safety. Teaching our students how to set boundaries helps empower them to stand up for themselves and handle tricky situations with confidence. But it can also help us a whole lot too – empowered students need less help from their teacher to solve every little problem!

I like to break down setting boundaries into four main strategies:

1. Speak Up: students talk to the person when they think something isn't right
2. Walk Away: students can walk away and go do something else
3. Get Help: students can get the help of an adult if something isn't safe
4. Self Affirm: students can say kind words to themselves if their feelings were hurt

Practicing these strategies with scenarios in class together is a great way to help students understand when to use each strategy. And of course, I love a good craft for reinforcing these social skills for school.

Social Skills #4: Respectful Disagreement

Can we just take a moment to think about how many adults don't know how to respectfully disagree?? I mean, if there was ever a skill that needs to be taught young…

Helping students learn to respectfully disagree can be simple! Try these ideas:

• Give sentence frames to work from that use the positive language you want students to practice.
• Model this for students throughout the day.
• Provide opportunities for students to share differing points of view so they can practice.

Social Skills #5: Conflict Resolution

As teachers, we spend a lot of our time putting out fires and trying to help students through conflicts. But our students can and should learn be learning these skill too! Conflict resolution is an important social skill for students to start practicing early on.

One pet peeve I have as a teacher is insincere apologies. But students need support with how to make their apologies more meaningful. One great way to do this is to break it down into clear steps for them:

1. Say sorry for what you did
2. Say why it was wrong
3. Say what you'll do differently next time
4. Ask what you can do to make them feel better right now

These four steps help students really understand why they were at fault, and it helps the other student feel like they are being heard and taken care of.

Social Skills For Students

I hope these social skills for school have given you some inspiration to try out some social skills activities with your students.

I know it can feel like you don't have time to fit one more thing in, teaching these skills will pay off big time in the long run. Your students will be more independent, your classroom will run more smoothly, and ultimately students will be more able to focus on learning.

If you want more activity ideas, check out my blog post 9 Amazing Ideas to Teach the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in Your Classroom.

What social skills for school are you going to try out? Let me know in the comments!
xoxo
Laura

Resources For You

Articles For You

The Best Growth Mindset Classroom Ideas For Primary Grades

9 Amazing Ideas to Teach the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in Your Classroom

How To Use Mindfulness In the Classroom: A Complete Guide

The post 5 Important Social Skills For School To Teach Your Students appeared first on Love Grows Learning.

Read on for 9 wonderful books to help children learn about setting boundaries in friendship!

(Looking for fun and engaging social skills activities for your classroom that are planned, low-prep, and ready to go? Click here to check out the bundle!)

Setting Boundaries In the Classroom

Setting boundaries is an important skill that students will need to learn as they navigate school settings. Sometimes, it’s a classmate getting into their personal space. Or it could be a friend who is taking advantage of them. These social situations are totally normal learning for our students. But we can help them by teaching them some skills to navigate these situations. 

Learning about setting boundaries and conflict resolution in school will help students build these important social skills. And these skills only get more important as we get older.

Children’s Books About Setting Boundaries

Children’s books are a wonderful tool to learn about lots of different social skills. When it comes to setting boundaries in friendships, it’s so helpful for students to see examples. Hearing an engaging story helps bring the example to life. Then students are more able to understand the strategies and how they might be able to use them too. 

I’m so excited to share these children’s books with you to help teach these important topics to students. These books fall into three categories: Setting Boundaries, Friendships, and Conflict Resolution.

This post includes affiliate links. If a purchase is made through one of these links, I may make a small commission.

Skills For Setting Boundaries

These books are wonderful for teaching general skills and strategies for setting boundaries. These can help children with setting boundaries in relationships, whether it be friends or others. 

Speak Up

A group of children go through their day, and we see the many opportunities for them to use their voices to speak up and help make the world a better place. This books helps children understand that they have the power to communicate and make changes. 

I Can Say No

This book emphasizes that children have the choice to say “no” in situations of safety, and also in situations with friends. This is a great book for those students who always go along with what other children suggest. Emphasizing that we all have the choice to say “no” is so important for our shyer students.

Speak Up, Wonder Pup

I like this book because it teaches specific skills for children to stand up for themselves. After reading this book, students have some real strategies that they can take away and try out later. The puppy characters are also highly engaging for young students.

Setting Boundaries In Friendships

These books are specific to setting boundaries with friends. With these books, students can understand that sometimes the people we are friends with aren’t always kind. It’s important to learn how to communicate and take of ourselves in those situations.

The Not So Friendly Friend

This book helps children navigate friendships that are sometimes toxic and hurtful. It can be hard to recognize when a friend’s actions are no longer friendly. In this story, the main character learns to make a decision about choosing to play with the people who treat her well.

Willow Finds a Way

Willow is a shy, quiet girl who has a loud and bossy friend. In this book, Willow learns how to speak up and stand up for herself. This book helps teach the fine line of when a more vocal friend is taking advantage of a quieter friend. 

Big Friends

Two friends learn how to become a trio when someone new wants to join their fun. Throughout the story, the characters deal with jealousy, hurt feelings, and feeling left out. A friendship trio is a common situation for children to experience, and this book offers tools for how to navigate this scenario.

Conflict Resolution With Friendships

Conflict resolution and setting boundaries go hand in hand, and students need support building these skills. If a child struggles with setting boundaries, they may also need help understanding conflict resolution. When friendship problems arise, learning to recognize the feelings of others and respond in a loving way is a helpful and important skill. Seeing the characters in these stories and the issues they face can help students remember those skills.

The Way I Act

This book shows that our actions have consequences, and that we need to learn to handle these consequences. A great read to help students take responsibility for their part in friendship conflicts.

How to Apologize

This book is full of examples of when and how to apologize, emphasizing the importance of an apology that comes from your heart. One of my biggest pet peeves is an insincere apology. I love that this book helps students understand the difference between real and fake apologies.

Sorry (Really Sorry)

A story of farm animals who are having a bad day. The animals learn that unhappiness can spread easily, but that apologizing can help everyone feel better again after hurt feelings. 

Teaching Children To Set Boundaries

Learning to set boundaries in relationships is a lifelong skill. And of course, these books are just the beginning. But any foundation we can lay for children is going to be helpful as they get older. The earlier we start talking about these important topics, the more equipped children are to handle these situations as they come up.

If you’re looking for more ideas on setting boundaries, you can check out my Social Skills Curriculum, which has crafts and an anchor chart on this topic.

Which book are you going to use first? Let me know in the comments!
Xoxo Laura

Resources For You:

Articles For You:

9 Amazing Ideas to Teach the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in Your Classroom

9 Amazing Children’s Books For Self Regulation In Learning Environments

The Philosophy For Classroom Management That Changed My Life

The post 9 Wonderful Books About Setting Boundaries In Friendships For Children appeared first on Love Grows Learning.

Today I’m sharing 9 ideas you can try out in your classroom to help teach the importance of social emotional learning to your students. (My favorite idea might be the very last one – so make sure you read to the end!)

(Looking for fun and engaging social emotional learning activities for your classroom that are planned, low-prep, and ready to go? Click here to check out the bundle!)

Supporting Social Emotional Learning In Your Classroom

I'm so excited to share these ideas with you! They are simple but effective – you can use them with your students to help support their social emotional learning skills throughout the school day.

1. Feelings Chart

Talking explicitly about feelings is so important for emotional regulation. Many children need practice with recognizing and identifying their feelings. Having a feelings chart posted in your room can help students be more mindful of their emotions throughout the school day. 

I love this anchor chart version, which is large enough to make it an interactive activity! Any time you want to practice this skill with your whole class, have your students put a sticky note next to the emotion they’re feeling. You can also post the feelings chart somewhere where students can easily refer to it throughout the day.

2. Children’s Books

Children’s books are undoubtedly one of the very best tools for teaching students about the importance of social emotional learning skills. As students get involved in the story, they relate to the characters. Then they’re more likely to remember the importance of social emotional learning skills later, when situations come up in their own lives. I like to refer back to some of our favorite characters, and say things like “What would Chrysanthemum do right now?” or “Do you remember what Piggie did when she was feeling this way?” 

I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite social emotional learning books right here. These are highly engaging but also full of teaching moments!

3. Calm-Down Strategies

One of the most important social emotional learning skills to teach children is how to self-regulate. When students are extra wiggly or extra emotional, it’s very hard for them to focus in class. I recommend creating a set of strategies for calming down that are acceptable in your classroom. Review these regularly with your students, so that they are familiar with their choices. Then when you have a student who is needing some help calming down, you can offer these strategies.

I love having a visual for the strategies, so that students can see them and point to what they need. You can also turn this into a learning game and have students help sort the strategy cards onto the chart!

4. Calm Corner

Having a special place in your classroom where students can go to calm down can be very helpful for social emotional learning. There are lots of choices for what can go in your calm corner – from fidgets to stuffies to visuals. Just make sure you set rules for when and how students can go to the corner. Here are some of my favorite calm corner set-ups:

5. Modeling

Modeling is a simple but powerful tool that we can use to help our students understand social emotional learning skills. As situations come up for you during the day, you can model certain strategies or behaviors for your students. Seeing these skills in action helps students with understanding and applying these skills. Some examples of this might be: 

• “Wow, I’m feeling very overwhelmed from this noise. I’m going to take some deep breaths to calm myself down.”
• “I was feeling upset this morning, so I decided to try to be mindful of my emotions. When I thought about it, I realized I was sad because I didn’t get to say goodbye to my husband this morning. So I wrote him a note to give to him later and now I feel better.”
• “I’m feeling really tired all of a sudden. I’m going to have a drink of cold water to help wake up. At recess, I’m going to eat my protein snack to help my body.”
• “I think I said something to my friend that hurt her feelings. I’m feeling bad about it now, so I’m going to make sure I apologize the next time I see her. I’m also going to give her a drawing to make her feel better.”

6. Games

You can even turn social emotional learning into a game! For example, you could make up scenarios and have students act out apologies. Or you could make a deck of cards with different calm-down strategies and have students draw a card and practice that strategy. Here is a set of cards that’s a fun way to practice different ways of setting boundaries in various scenarios.

7. Brain Breaks

Including brain breaks and movement breaks is especially helpful for social emotional learning. The truth is, we ask a lot of our students throughout the day! Little breaks between lessons can help students reset their minds and bodies and prepare for the next thing.

Some fun ways to have a short break can be:

• Singing a song that has some movement to go along with it
• Doing some quick yoga positions 
• Watching a GoNoodle or a short movement YouTube video

8. Learning Crafts

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I love using crafts to help students learn and practice new concepts. So of course, I think crafts are the perfect tool for practicing the importance of social emotion learning skills. Here are some of my favorite social emotional learning crafts for kids:

9. Puppets

If you want to instantly increase engagement – bring out the puppets! I love using puppets throughout the school day to add some fun to different lessons. So yes, I do have a special social emotional learning puppet…

His name is Rocco the Raccoon, and he comes to read us social emotional learning books or to ask the students for advice on social situations. My students adore Rocco. And his visits give them the chance to do some critical thinking around social emotional topics.

The Importance of Social Emotional Learning For Students

Social skills seem to be evermore important for us to teach in schools. The more we can infuse these topics regularly into our day, the better! I hope these fun ideas inspire you to do this important social emotional learning work with your students.

Which idea are you going to try first? Tell me in the comments!
xoxo
Laura

Resources for you:

Articles for you:

9 Amazing Children’s Books For Self Regulation In Learning Environments

The Philosophy For Classroom Management That Changed My Life

6 Easy and Effective Classroom Management Tip Ideas For When Your Class Is Out of Control

Why Social and Emotional Learning Is Essential for Students

The post 9 Amazing Ideas to Teach the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in Your Classroom appeared first on Love Grows Learning.