I love working on social skills with students, but sometimes I feel like we do more talking than working. Know what I mean? We discuss, we do some role play, but it seems sometimes that my kids miss that carryover/application piece.
I wanted to change that, so I invented one of my students’ favorite educational games: The Social Skills Challenge!
This old cork board sat around my house for ages. I honestly don’t even remember when or where I purchased it, but boards just like it are easy to find at your local craft store or on Amazon. Mine is about 18×24. I long hoped to find a purpose for the board in my speech class, so The Social Skills Challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity!
Since SLPs often have very limited space, you could use these Challenge Cards on a bulletin board or whiteboard with some ribbon and clothespins, or put the cards into a bowl and draw! Each card has an attainable social challenge for kids to complete. Challenges might be ‘Return a greeting without being asked’ or ‘Ask a friend to play’. I wanted something that wouldn’t seem daunting to my kids but would still push them to use the skills we target.
I also created Reflection Slips. Reflection Slips ask students to consider how they felt while completing their challenges. Ask students to fill them out during class, or keep a stack outside your room. Kids can stop by to fill them out after they complete the challenge, then put them in a bucket or box.
The game includes six customizable blank cards. Mine are laminated so we can use dry-erase markers to create new challenges. These are great for including more specific challenges, or even challenges geared toward a specific student.
You can see a slideshow of additional pictures by clicking on the preview in the description HERE. Enjoy!
3 Responses
What are some of the challenges that have worked well?
So far all the ones in the set have been good. If I need more I challenges I look for things more specific to students school interactions.