Language for developing social skills

Behaviour patterns

•  Recognise that is hour to go to the canteen

This activity can be done in 5 minutes before having lunch. The class will be organised in small groups. For example if students are sitting in the assembly, the teacher can take advantage of this and divide them using the strategy of counting from 1 to 4. Besides, if we have an assistant teacher she can go placing the tables and putting the cards down.

The teacher will start the game when she finds the children quiet. They’ll put up the cards and they have to work out the order of a particular recipe or the production of a particular aliment. Meanwhile, both teachers will be around the tables to help them and ensure that children use the expected language: I think this is the first, I think this is the second, I think this is the third, I think this is the fourth, I think this is the last one.

After the time considered by the teacher, altogether will correct the order. Finally, everyone can line up in front of the door after one per group deliver the cards to the teacher.

The milk production cycle

Feelings

• Recognise feelings: happy, sad, angry…

This activity requires having the children in the carpet making a circle. Therefore we must insist on making little noise with the chairs. Then the teacher will ask to a child to stand up and choose one of the cards she is holding in their hands. In this card appears a picture which represents a situation. And this situation expresses a feeling. This child has to think what is this feeling that the situation expresses and looking for the correct picture on the floor. These are different faces: happy, sad, angry…

Greetings and goodbyes

• Good morning. How are you? Fine, thank you

First altogether sing a song which contains the language we want to practice. Then, the teacher checks the class register to use the language again but this time individually.

Class routines

• Show a willingness to tidy up

To finish the lesson or moving into another activity we can use this song, so our students will know that is hour to go home or doing something else, but before we have to clean the classroom.

Personal hygiene and health

• Going to the toilet

Before going to the playground we can stablish the routine of going to the toilet. We can sing a rhyme when the time is arriving so children know is hour to go to the bathroom: 

“I know how to use the toilet I really know my stuff

I know how to use the toilet ‘cause now I’m big enough”

Sharing and participating

• Enjoy celebrations and parties: halloween night

Halloween is a party quite funny we can enjoy with the children.

For this activity we need a multi-media resource in which we can put the song called Halloween night (you can find the link at the end of the next page). Besides, five costumes for a ghost, a vampire, a skeleton, a witch, a werewolf and a mummy. Obviously these costumes don’t have to be bought in a shop. We can use a white robe for the ghost; a red coat, a red crayon and a gummy jaw for the vampire; a hat and a sweeping brush for the witch; brown crayons to paint the bird for the werewolf; and finally toilet paper for the mummy.

Also is good idea to organise the class in a way in which we have large space and create a frightened environment. For this reason the best way to organise the class is put all the tables on one side, for example at the end of the classroom. So we are closer to the PDI or the ITC resource we choose. Regarding the environment we can down the blinds a little, so the classroom is darker than it uses to be. Besides if we have time we can print bats and pumpkins to stick in the class.

First we have to decide if we want to disguise five children of our own classroom or there is the possibility of asking to another teacher if she allows that five or her children participate in our activity, so our class entirely enjoy the activity in the same way. In any case, we will explain them the order in which they have to enter in the class, when they have to enter and if they have to make any noise.

To show the instructions for the song we can ask the following questions and do them altogether:

How do we walk when we are frightened? (And we walk slowly with the hands like if we wouldn’t want to be discovered)

How is our face when we saw something creepy? (And we shout with the hands in our face)

If we can walk around the class we can do it, but if our classroom doesn’t have enough space we can simulate it.

Finally we down the blinds a little, leave the door open so the children disguised can enter and put the song. We are ready to enjoy!

Showing respect

• Realise the importance of taking it in turns to speak: the talking hat

The game consists of using a tool which allows us to carry out the turn taking. Although we explain the little ones that we have to respect the turn to speak and listen to our partners before we talk, it doesn’t always occur. We only need a hat and a sandglass.

We can start showing how the game works. We can choose one child and say to them “He can talk”, while we are nodding. Then remove the hat and say “He can’t talk”, refusing with the head.

After, we include another child and the sunglass. We put the hat to the same child before and we say “He can talk”, nodding with the head. Then we show the sandglass with the time finished and we say “He can’t talk and he passes the hat”. So we remove the hat of the first child and we put it in the second child, and we say “Now he can talk”, pointing the new child and nodding.

Then we can start. We give the hat to a child and he has to answer the teacher questions until the time finished. Then, he has to pass the hat to the partner who is sitting beside.

To have a well vision of all the people who talks we can organise the class in circle and the sandglass will be in hands of the teacher.