Chapter 4

This chapter gives examples of group social skills examples. One is class meetings. I love Tribes groups for different reasons. I always had one at the beginning of the week, after the long weekend. Then I ended the week with one. I know a teacher last year that had a class meeting every day. Whatever the regularity, make sure there is a structure for your class meetings and thetopic of the meeing is determined at the beginning. I LIKE THIS ONE and to tell you the truth, have not practiced it like this my whole teaching career with any regularity. During your daily lesson, each lesson should be two-fold. They should include one academic objectives AND ONE SOCIAL SKILL objective. i.e. appopriately raising a hand, modeling it, why it is important, and then providing positive reinforcemnt to students that show exhibit that behavior. Frequent positive feedback should always be countered with atleast 4 positive feedbacks if you give a negative feedback. Pay attention to that ratio so they do not get beaten down. Be specific with your praise: "I like the way you are standing patiently in line." HERE'S A DOOZY: THE SAME EXPECTATIONS SHOULD BE USED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SCHOOL TO SEND THE MESSAGE THAT ALL OF THE ADULTS HAVE THE SAME EXPECTATIONS AND ARE IN AGREEMENT ON THE RULES. Think of how many problems could be prevented or avoided (and how much time would be saved) if every adult in the environment (including office, lunch, and recess staff) consistenly expected, reinforced, and helf students accountable for the same behaviors. There is an awesome table on page 41, Table 4.1 that is titled Common Classroom Routines. It tells about the basic behaviors that all teachers MUST cover to have a successful classroom. Give it a look at. The authors give you PD books if you want to delve further into Social Skills Resources. It also have a list of books that each library should have to open up discussion with the students. I will make sure to have atleast one of those books in each of the categories. I can also get them from other schools in the district if needed. Let me know your thoughts as your read this chapter!