A variety of learning methods, step-by-step instructions, and lots of visual supports help students learn the skills needed to develop and maintain friendships.
- Develop age-appropriate social language and interaction skills
- Develop and maintain friendships
- Interact successfully in the classroom
- Understand peers' perspectives
The activity pages consist of interesting graphic organizers, photos, and art supported with specific, clear directions. Students practice these skills:
- recognizing friendly faces and friendly actions
- understanding others' feelings
- making polite requests
- group etiquette
- dealing with arguments and making apologies
- giving compliments and being a good sport
- how to handle secrets and tattling
These learning strategies are used to help students understand and use the fundamental skills in making and keeping friends:
- direct instruction
- other guided practice
Extra helps include:
- friendly behaviors checklist
- answer key
You may purchase Making Friends individually or as a 6-book set. The 6-book set consists of:
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Conversations
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Emotions
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Making Friends
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Making Social Inferences
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Nonverbal Language
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Predicting Consequences
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- Children with language difficulties, particularly those with pragmatic impairments, need specific teaching to help social understanding (Taylor-Goh, 2005).
- Research has established the reciprocal relationship between language skill and social acceptability among peers (Gallagher, 1993).
- The abilities to adjust messages to listeners' needs, initiate conversation successfully, ask appropriate questions, contribute well to ongoing conversations, communicate intentions clearly, address everyone when joining a group, and make more positive than negative comments are related to peer acceptance and sociometric status (Putallaz & Gottman, 1981; Rubin, LeMare, & Lollis, 1990; Gallagher, 1993).
- Conversation partners require skills in both verbal and nonverbal interactive behaviors (Sillars, 1991).
- Social skills intervention can improve children's social cognitive skills (Timler, Olswang, & Coggins, 2005).
- Targeted language intervention with at-risk students may result in more cautionary, socially acceptable behaviors (Moore-Brown, Sanger, Montgomery, & Nishida, 2002).
- Only 7% of the information we communicate to others depends upon the words we say; 93% depends on nonverbal communication (Mehrabian, 1971).
- Students with language disorders often perform much like younger, typically-developing students on measures of pragmatic development (Lapadat, 1991).
- Social and emotional development lay the foundation for later success in school, work, and life. Addressing students' social and emotional needs also increases their capacity to learn (Franklin, 2008).
- Language facility is a key component of social competence (Gallagher, 1991; Guralnick, 1992).
Spotlight on Social Skills Elementary Making Friends incorporates these principles and is also based on expert professional practice.
Franklin, J. (2008, January 29). Social and emotional learning: Educating the whole child. Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved February 7, 2008, from http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/208/01/28/lifestyles/mind_and_body/23106916.txt
Gallagher, T. (1991). Language and social skills: Implications for clinical assessment and intervention with school-age children. In T. Gallagher (Ed.), Pragmatics of language: Clinical practice issues. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group.
Gallagher, T. (1993). Language skill and the development of social competence in school-age children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 24, 199-205.
Guralnick, M. (1992). A hierarchical model for understanding children's peer-related social competence. In S. Odom, S. McConnell, & M. McEvoy (Eds.), Social competence of young children with disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Lapadat, J.D. (1991). Pragmatic language skills of students with language and/or learning disabilities: A quantitative synthesis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24, 147-158.
Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent messages. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Moore-Brown, B., Sanger, D., Montgomery, J., & Nishida, B. (2002, April 30). Communication and violence: New roles for speech-language pathologists. The ASHA Leader, 7, 4-14.
Putallaz, M., & Gottman, J. (1981). An interactional model of children's entry into peer groups. Child Development, 52,
Rubin, K., LeMare, L., & Lollis, S. (1990). Social withdrawal in childhood: Developmental pathways to peer rejection. In S. Asher & J. Coie (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Sillars, A.L. (1991). Behavior observation. In B.M. Montgomery & S. Duck (Eds.), Studying interpersonal interaction. New York: Guilford Press.
Taylor-Goh, S. (2005). Royal college of speech & language therapists: Clinical guidelines. United Kingdom: Speechmark.
Timler, G., Olswang, L., & Coggins, T. (2005). "Do I know what I need to do?" Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 73-85.