Embedded Files
Teaching With Wordless YouTube Videos
Teaching With Wordless YouTube Videos
Shared by Bobbi Moraski
I use a lot of Wordless videos from Youtube to help teach inferencing, predictions, and reading body language such as: Snack Attack, Pip, The Present, Glued, Soar and Coin Operated.
Social Skills Video Resources: Teaching Personal Space
Social Skills Video Resources: Teaching Personal Space
Video Modeling: Asking a Friend to Play
Activity Ideas For Teaching Personal Space
How To Teach a Child With Autism About Personal Space
All About Personal Space For Kids
How To Teach Kids About Personal Space: Ideas and Activities For Students
Five Ways to Teach Your Child About Personal Space
Talking to Kids About Personal Space With Help From Daniel Tiger
Daniel and Miss Elaina Make Pretzels: Personal Space
Four Differences Between Good Friends and Toxic Friends
Using Circle of Friends Meeting Activity to Promote Speech Goals
Using Circle of Friends Meeting Activity to Promote Speech Goals
Shared by Anna Kouba David City High School
A few of my students have goals to focus on improving their overall intelligibility. This week we played the telephone game. They quickly learned how quick the messages can change and how that impacts what someone is trying to share with them. We then discussed strategies to improve their speech skills and played the game again using the strategies to see if it would improve the outcome of the game! The kids had a lot of fun with it!
Tri-County Social Skills Resource
Tri-County Social Skills Resource
Shared by Jenna Fehringer
The 3rd grade Circle of Friends group has been learning social skills lessons from The Social Times by Kari Dunn Buron. This week's lesson was about tolerance and acceptance. The students completed an activity about how words have power. Each student came up with words that have the power to build you up or tear you down. They had so much fun discussing the words and how they make you feel!
Jenna’s Tip: The Social Times Magazine has great lessons you might be able to use with your Circle of Friends groups.
The Power of Play Food at Howard Fremont Public Schools
The Power of Play Food at Howard Fremont Public Schools
Shared by Ariana Struck
I haven't brought out play food in such a long time with my groups. Many of my students are older and the time for practicing eating skills has passed. The other day I was cleaning out our closet and had some items to send to another room (including play food). When the kids came in they had asked if they could play with it if we got done with the lesson early. I decided to pause our lesson and see how they interacted. By the end of our session we had a cook, servers, and patrons at a restaurant all working so well together, my focus student included. We discussed how to order and what to do if the order was wrong, but for the most part there was limited prompting as my other students were so excited to take charge and work together. I suggest putting time aside for some pretend play with those able, and see how social skills flourish.
Conversation Skill Practice
Conversation Skill Practice
Stacy Stewart’s COF Kids Practice Conversation Skills at Shelby Rising City Elementary
Our group used curriculum from the book With Open Arms to work on conversation skills. The next week the group reported back on how many conversations they had that week with the focus student. I timed two minute conversations and the kids switched and used conversation starters to converse with each other. It was a success!!!!!!
Overcoming Obstacles
Overcoming Obstacles
Overcoming Obstacles has an award winning free life skills curriculum complete with materials to download COF leaders may find useful for promoting healthy group interactions and teaching social skills. It’s divided into four age group curriculums: K-3rd, 3rd-5th, Middle School, and High School. Some examples of lesson topics include:
Becoming a good friend
Listening
Fairness
Coping Skills
Cooperation and Teamwork
Handling Peer Pressure
Resolving Conflicts
Communication
Confidence building
Managing your life
All the work has been done for you. The easy to follow lesson plan format is easy to follow and materials provided. Consider browsing and finding an area of interest and/or need for your group to explore in your COF meetings.
Using Bibliotherapy to Introduce the Group and Identify Special Qualities
Using Bibliotherapy to Introduce the Group and Identify Special Qualities
Shared by Amy Kopanic
Here is a lesson idea that was fantastic and helped kids connect with each other. We used this as an introduction to what COF is, the purpose of our group, and discovering that we are all unique in our own special way. We read the book Being Zoey: Meet the Misfits. We discussed how we are all special and unique in our own way, discussed accepting others for who they are and their own special qualities. We then allowed students to pick a shape (image below) and write 3 things about themselves and put their names on shapes. After all students complete this, we then mix up the shapes and read the 3 things about them without saying the name associated with the shape and then the other kids guess who it is... This is a great way to make connections with others in the group.
Social Skills Game Using Social Behavior Mapping
Social Skills Game Using Social Behavior Mapping
Submitted by Bobbi Moraski
I run a 30 minute COF group. We spend the first 15 minutes acting out social scenarios. Each group of 2 is given a scenario and they act out the unexpected and expected reactions, then the group discusses how others would feel and react. Sometimes we use Michelle Garcia-Winner and Pamela Crooke’s Social Behavior Mapping The scenarios are linked to real problems, for example “You are playing Gaga ball, everyone says you’re out, you know you’re not.” We spend the last 15 minutes playing a game that could be used during indoor recess. This has really helped our students bond with peers but also develop problem solving skills. Note: Social Behavior Mapping has been revised and is now titled Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World. The updated website is awesome and even has free stuff to check out!
Bobbi’s Tip:
Ask your COF students for real ideas of social situations to problem solve. They have great ideas that we don’t even know are problems.
Free Lending Library
Free Lending Library
Did you know your Educational Service Unit (ESU) lends ASD resources, many on this page, to school staff for free? For example, the resources shared by keynote speaker Paula Kluth at the 2023 ASD Network conference are available for door to door delivery at your school. It couldn't be any easier. Borrowing from the ESU gives you the opportunity to try out a resource before you spend money on it. School 2023-24 budget requests are happening, so it's a good time to check out resources to help teacher your kids with ASD.
How to access and borrow?
Go to bit.ly/ESU6Library (This is the link for ESU 6. If in a different ESU area, go to their library link.)
Select the ASD Library from the menu on the left hand side.
Search materials.
Copy link of material you'd like to check out.
Email the link for your request to: loree.woods@esu6.org Please include your name, school address, and phone number in the email.
Enjoy the resource for about a month. Some materials have shorter check out times.
Return item. Please don't forget this step!
Other ESU Lending Libraries:
ESU 8 Call: 402-564-5753
Calm Down Kit
Calm Down Kit
Check out this resource designed to help your students improve emotional regulation. It includes: 114 pages of activities, 20 coping tools, 20 meditation cards, 20 feelings cards, 13 posters, 10 mindful coloring pages, dozens of Action Steps, and more!
Back From Break Conversation Starters
Back From Break Conversation Starters
Shared by Kelly Madison
“For our first meeting after winter break I gave each student a sheet of paper that had a chart on it with 12 boxes. In each box I had written a statement that referred to winter break. Some of the statements were "Find someone who went out of town over winter break", "Find someone who received a new pair of shoes as a gift", "Find someone who celebrated New Year's Eve the same way that you celebrated", "Find someone who slept until 11:00 one day during break", and things like that. The goal was to have the students talk about their winter break and converse with others about their holiday and see if they had some of the same experiences. I had to set up a few of that peers to ask some of our focus students specific questions, but it all worked out and they all did some talking, which was nice. Most of my focus students can be pretty quiet, so this was a great way to have them talk with their peers. I loved watching them interact and I meant to take a picture, but I forgot!
Tri-County 3rd Graders Learn Social Skills AND Math With Coffee Shop Project
Tri-County 3rd Graders Learn Social Skills AND Math With Coffee Shop Project
Shared by Jenna Fehringer
Tri County Elementary just recently started a coffee shop with our third graders called TC Coffee. The Coffee Shop has helped the students work on math, social and work skills. They take orders, count the orders, count the money and deliver the coffee, cocoa or hot cider. When they were delivering the coffee one student said, "This is the best day of math ever!". Our speech path even made them aprons to wear, the students LOVED them!
Jenna's Tip: Even if something is hard for the students or a lot of work for the teacher, keep working on it! The students at Tri County have already learned so many valuable skills from the coffee shop, even though some days it takes a lot of guidance from the teacher!
Big Life Journal Growth Mindset: Navigating Friendship Issues
Big Life Journal Growth Mindset: Navigating Friendship Issues
Check out the many free printables. While their stated focus may be for parents, these materials are perfect for COF groups teaching friendship skills. Sample materials here and link to their website below.
Help Kids Navigate Friendship Issues
Superflex Skit Showcases Social Skills Learning at Fillmore Central
Superflex Skit Showcases Social Skills Learning at Fillmore Central
Shared by Becky Adkisson
We are planning to do a skit showing a scenario with Rock Brain and SuperFlex and presenting it to the classmates of our target student. This will allow them to see what we have been talking about and practicing in our Circle!
American Girl Social Skills Materials
American Girl Social Skills Materials
Shared by Kylie Soule
Our Circle of Friends is working on manners and learning about our changing bodies using the American Girls books.
This guide is also filled with great advice on everything from eating in fancy restaurants and handling troublemakers at parties to regaining composure after embarrassing accidents. Humorous illustrations, letters from other girls, and entertaining quizzes all make the lessons fun to learn.
Other books in this series:
The Care and Keeping of You Guide for Girls
Spread the Word Inclusion Day at Peter Sarpy Elementary
Spread the Word Inclusion Day at Peter Sarpy Elementary
Shared by Kerri Rothanzl
Shared by Kerri Rothanzl
Last week, the Circle of Friends group (4th graders) at Peter Sarpy Elementary helped our building celebrate Spread the Word Inclusion Day on March 2nd. They shared information about Inclusion by giving morning announcements. We took coffee and hot cocoa orders for all staff members and delivered. We put out banners for the entire building to sign their Pledge to Include and passed out Pledge stickers and wristbands. I e-mailed staff with resources to share with students about Inclusion and accepting differences (link to the Spread the Word Inclusion campaign website). The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools has several resources that students can access on the iPads or as a class:
Inclusion Tiles interactive game (appropriate for 3rd-6th graders)
Classroom Lessons (link to google drive with Lessons for Upper and Lower Elementary Grades)
Circle of Friends group members were excited to be so involved and help spread inclusion. It was a great day!
Conversation Idea
Conversation Idea
Shared by Dana Coleman
For our Circle of Friends last week we did a speed conversation activity. We noticed that the same kids were constantly gravitating towards one another so we did a lesson on conversation starters then set the room up where one side moves and the other stays every 2 min. I have pictures if you'd like me to send those.
Teaching Emotions at HRTS, Humbolt, NE
Teaching Emotions at HRTS, Humbolt, NE
Shared by Diana Platt
Our circle of friends groups explored reading people's faces and tone of voice by playing Bingo Emotions! We watched a short video of a child and had to choose which emotion the child was feeling. It was a great activity for discussing facial expressions, body language and tone of voice! Great fun was had by all!
This lessons and others like it can be found on the Everyday Speech website. According to Diana, there is an annual fee, but work it to have access to all their social/language skills teaching materials.
Practicing Communication With a Trust Walk
Practicing Communication With a Trust Walk
Shared by Mary Schlieder, Norris High School
I like to start up second semester with a community building activity and this one tied in nicely with the conversation focus we've had in the last couple of months. This activity comes from the book: Why Didn't They Just Say That? by Jennifer M. Schmidt. We partnered the kids up and provided them a list of places throughout the school building they'd be directing their blindfolded partners to go. Places included the cafeteria, the hallways, the auditorium, the office, the gym, etc. Before they left, we discussed ways to communicate effectively so their partner didn't walk into walls, desks, or other obstacles. You don't need the book to do this activity, but if you have it, there's a worksheet to guide your discussion. (Plus, this book is an excellent activity for your CoF groups if you work with adolescents.) Then halfway through, they switched so the other person was wearing the blindfold. At the meeting the next week, we talked about what worked about the communication and what didn't. The kids learned they needed to speak loudly enough, to stand close enough to their partner, walking in front afforded more "protection", but facing them was necessary to be heard, and to give clear, succinct instructions. We then related all that to general conversations. It was a good way to kick off the second half of our year!
Check out these online social skills teaching videos and workbook programs.
Check out these online social skills teaching videos and workbook programs.
The cost to have access to the social skills videos (there are 300 of them) is $99, however, they're high quality and maybe a good use of some of your grant money.
Everyday Speech Social Skill Videos
This program contains six reproducible workbooks with suggestions for role play and additional practice.
Ralston Snap Chat Selfies
Ralston Snap Chat Selfies
Shared by Kelly Madison
For our Circle of Friends' get-to-know-you activity at Ralston Middle School this year, I made an "All About Me Selfie" sheet, where students wrote down some of their favorite things, wrote down what job they'd like to have when they are 30 years old, and wrote down something that they like about themselves. One of our peer models suggested we use fun Snapchat filters while taking selfies, so that's what we did! Most of the students chose a filter and we had lots of laughs looking at the pictures! It was such a great idea! The following week, each student had to stand up, share the information that was on their form, and then one of their friends had to ask a question about the information given. What a great way to practice our skills of active listening and question asking. It was also fun to look at the different filters that students chose for their picture!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vbnpqHP7TxDM7r8eZfBPLw8ONpFE1_d7EWqfVWAf3SI/edit
Emotions BINGO
Emotions BINGO
Free! Video and BINGO game. Link to printable game cards are at the very beginning of the video.
Conversation Starters Ideas
Conversation Starters Ideas
Need a little help getting those high quality conversations between peers going? Try this!
Spending Your Grant Money!
Spending Your Grant Money!
It's that time of year--no, not the end of the school year (yet!)--It's time to spend your grant money! It makes a lot of extra work for the good folks at Autism Action Partnership when people don't spend their money. Here's a few ideas for anyone looking. I purchased these at the Nebraska State Autism Conference a few weeks ago.
Ralston Middle School Lesson: Working in Groups With Others
Ralston Middle School Lesson: Working in Groups With Others
Shared by Kelly Madison
Last month at Ralston Middle School, we focused our CoF lessons on "Working in a group/working with others". One of the fun activities we did was called "Making a Face." We paired two students and then blindfolded one of them. The friend without the blindfold, had to verbally guide the blindfolded friend from a table with assorted face parts (hair, ears, eyes, mouth) to their face on the whiteboard, and then he/she had to guide the friend to put the face part in the correct spot on the face! We had some interesting looking faces!! The kids did a great job of working together, listening to their partners, and being open-minded about being reliant on another person to finish a task! Here are a few pictures of the fun!
Using Video Modeling to Teach Including Others In Play,
Using Video Modeling to Teach Including Others In Play,
Shared by: Paula Pouliot
We have been very busy here at Two Springs Elementary School. We went to the Bellevue Berry Farm last month. We focused on inclusion. While we were there, staff videotaped and took pictures of the students in action. We used these videos and pictures as training tools to show the students great examples of including others and also those that showed situations where we could have worked a little harder to include others, particularly our target students.
To further exemplify the importance of including others, we did a simple team building activity of stacking cups, using strings and rubber bands. This was eye opening! It was great to see the students' progress as they began to purposefully include our target students towards the end of the activity!
Conversation Starters
Conversation Starters
Check out this short video on teaching and practicing conversation starters with your students. Conversation Starters
Circle of Friends Kids Read Books to Younger Children While Developing Social Emotional Skills,
Circle of Friends Kids Read Books to Younger Children While Developing Social Emotional Skills,
Shared by: Beth Roelfs
I am a believer in bibliotherapy. It has been an effective tool for individual students as well as small and large groups. I've used it extensively during social coaching and Circle of Friends sessions. During our school wide April focus on appreciation of differences we have our Circle of Friends members select books from a guided list. The students then set appointments to read these works to the Pre-K and elementary classrooms. Classroom teachers are then invited to use the theme of the book/s to initiate conversations and build understanding.
I would like to offer the social emotional messages to the entire school throughout the year rather limiting it to April. I intend to work with our counselor and teachers to reinstate a social emotional skill of the month. Previously we had a character trait of the month that was the focus building wide. Each class would sign up for a month. They planned a school wide skit or lesson to kick off the theme. The class was also responsible for an all school interactive bulletin board display. The counselor used these themes in her weekly guidance lessons and teachers would incorporate threads of the theme into teachable moments and appropriate intercurricular activities. One thing we didn't do was engage our librarian. I feel a book list for teachers and a display for students of available titles covering the topic would do a lot to enhance and extend the learning. We discontinued this practice because we became involved in the 40 Assets approach to character education. I feel we lost the strength of an all school focus and I feel it's time to revisit the idea. I can take the lead on starting that conversation. Some of the books I have used include:
'What's That Look On Your Face? All About Faces and Feeling' by Catherine S. Snodgrass
'Soda Pop Head' by Julia Cook
'Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice' by Julia Cook
'My Mouth Is A Volcano!' by Julia Cook
'Howard B. Wigglesbottom Learns It's OK to Back Away' by Howard Binkow and Susan F. Cornelison
'You Are (Not) Small' by Anna Kang
Conversations at Millard North Middle School
Conversations at Millard North Middle School
Shared by: Rachelle Hoops
Millard North Middle School is hosting a Friendsgiving meal and we are using it as a way to practice the conversation skills we have been learning about for the month of November.
Microphone Idea for Practicing How to Ask and Answer Questions Appropriately
Microphone Idea for Practicing How to Ask and Answer Questions Appropriately
Shared by: Cindy Larson
We are having such a great time in our COF. I have 3 groups going on, a group of 3rd graders, 4th graders, and 5th graders. This year the students designed COF T-shirts ( I saw from one of your pictures that another group did that) and we wear them on our meeting days. We started off the school year talking about be bossy vs. helping the target student. I purchased a microphone last year with COF money and we have been using the microphone to ask and answer questions appropriately. My student tends to repeat questions before answering them, so we are working on that. The kids love to use the microphone. We also have been creating some art projects together during our time. It's been great!
Here are some picture of the kids in our cool shirts! The back of the shirts say: Circle Of Friends Include Everyone
Incorporating Technology Interests Into Social Skills Instruction
Incorporating Technology Interests Into Social Skills Instruction
Shared by: Kathy Lewis
Here are pictures of our group geocaching with the NRD at Lake Wanahoo and having hot cocoa and fries after to warm up.
I need to do a better job of taking pictures because they are great teaching tools to help us discuss how behaviors/body language can include and exclude others. Technology is a definite interest of this group as some are looking up other locations of geocaches on the app to pursue later.
Using Social Behavior Mapping to Teach How Behaviors Affect Yourself and Others
Using Social Behavior Mapping to Teach How Behaviors Affect Yourself and Others
Shared by: Mary Schlieder
I've been using Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Behavior Mapping quite a bit this semester. I find my students on the spectrum have a difficult time understanding the perspectives of others and how their behaviors affect other people around them, and in turn, how they feel about themselves. Social Behavior Mapping is simple to use. On one side of the page you go through what unexpected behavior (not normal) looks like and how others feel about it and how they treat you in return, and the other side of the page is about what expected (normal) behavior looks like. Garcia-Winner's book has blank pages (which I use a lot as behaviors arise) as well as many pre-made with various social skills your students may be struggling with. I use it so much I actually wrote the templates on a whiteboard in my room--photo below--and use it to describe the behavior of characters in books we're reading, in our Circle of Friends meetings to discuss general social behaviors, and with individual students. When I use it with individual students, I make sure it's done privately. If you aren't familiar with this particular resource, your ESU likely has it for you to borrow. It's an excellent teaching tool and I highly recommend it!
5 Great Activities To Do With Your Social Skills Group (for teens)
5 Great Activities To Do With Your Social Skills Group (for teens)
Shared by: Kathy Lewis
Omaha Northwest Practices Interview Skills and Service Learning Activity
Omaha Northwest Practices Interview Skills and Service Learning Activity
Shared by: Julie Froemming
Here are some pictures of our students practicing interview skills. At the first meeting with our UNO partners, the UNO students interviewed our NWHS students and visa-versa. We had been practicing the "right" way and the "wrong" way to speak and behave in an interview. Our students did so well! We were all so impressed. They made Northwest proud!
Here are some pictures I took on today's second installment of our Circle of Friends Service Learning Activity at UNO with the Social Neurophysiology students. Today we toured the Biomechanics Lab and got a demonstration of their biomechanics science of motion measuring lab. It has special cameras positioned around the room which track small reflectors worn on the body which map and record the test subject's movements. It also has a force measurement panel in the floor which can record and graph the amount of force a person's muscles are exerting during various movements.
Next we toured the prosthetics lab where with the help of a 3D printer they make inexpensive prosthetic hands for poor children who could not otherwise afford a functional prosthetic. A traditional prosthetic hand costs in the nature of $20,000.00. These 3D printed hands cost more like $100.00 and can be made much more quickly. They can even customize them, making them look like a child's favorite super hero's hand, or one that can attach different synthetic fingernails so the child can paint her nails just like her friends. Customized prosthetics made the traditional way would cost many tens of thousands of dollars to make. For a child that will outgrow a prosthetic every two years or less, such costs would be prohibitive to say the least. With these 3D printed hands, a child could get a new one every year as they grow. The programming for this is also open source, so anyone can access it and use it to 3D print these prosthetics, anywhere in the world for just the cost of the PLA filament needed to print the hand's parts.
We then toured the virtual reality simulation development lab, where students program various simulations that can be used for a variety of assistive technology applications. This programming is also open source and can be downloaded and used with various virtual reality headsets like Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, or Oculus Rift, etc.
Returning to the neurophysiology lab, we took an Empathy Quotient/Systematization Quotient Personality test, an emotional recognition/response test, and a resting heart rate/elevated heart rate measurement test measuring the relationship between neurophysiological action and body response.
We continued our walking tour of the campus and had sessions on admissions and accommodations for students with disabilities.
A lot of very interesting and useful information was shared between our Circle of Friends and the UNO Social Neurophysiology students today, and I believe I can speak for all involved when I say it was interesting and fun.
Overton Eagles Teach Teamwork
Overton Eagles Teach Teamwork
Shared by: Beth Sloan
Just wanted to share what our group did last week. We wanted to talk about teamwork and what it meant to work as a team. We discussed the importance of good communication when working with someone to achieve a common goal. We had a really good time together and everyone worked hard to make a "great pumpkin"!
Sit With Us App
Sit With Us App
Sit With Us is a social networking app designed to promote kindness and inclusion in schools. Sit With Us was designed by a 16 year old girl who was a victim of severe bullying. It was terrible having to eat lunch alone every day, so her goal was to create an app to make sure that no kids felt like they had nowhere to go. So, Sit With Us was created! Inviting others to join the lunch table not only fosters a warmer, more welcome community, but also provides a great opportunity to make new friends. The app includes the following features:
Create a personal profile, including your interests.
Add friends, including a “favorite” list.
Search for lunches nearby.
Add a lunch and invite your friends to join.
Decide if you want to be a Sit With Us Ambassador for your school, and take the Ambassador’s pledge. (More information on how to start an Ambassador’s Club is on our web site.)
As an Ambassador, host open lunches from time to time that anyone can join.
Send messages to your friends or create group chats.
View your scheduled or past lunches.
Notifications ensure that you won't miss any updates on lunch requests or friend requests.
This might be something your Circle of Friends group might want to consider. Find more information:
Hungry, Hungry Hippo Game Based Social Skills Lesson
Hungry, Hungry Hippo Game Based Social Skills Lesson
Shared by: Jennifer Vest
Today our iSEE group had a fun game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo. We spent one day creating Hippo heads from left over boxes from our distribution center. Students could use markers, construction paper, tape, etc to decorate their Hippo Heads. Today we played four person games where they had the box on the table (We tried on their head and it didn't work so well.) and the balls were released from a box. Students watching threw balls back on the table until most of the balls were trapped. The person with the most balls from the group advanced to the finals round. We got to play it a couple times through to a finals round. It was a great activity for students to deal with winning and losing, encouraging others, participating in a group game, dealing with their box falling apart or not working the way they anticipated, and peers following the ever changing rules based on the last group's performance. Every student was engaged and had very creative ways of decorating and making upgrades to their Hippo Heads. Interactive Social Education Experiences (iSEE) group serves students at Millard West High School, Millard South High School and Millard West High School.
Lunchtime Games Teach Social Skills at York High School
Lunchtime Games Teach Social Skills at York High School
Shared by: Sheila Hubbard
Here are pictures of three of the eight groups of peers and focus students teaching and learning various games over lunch. York High has two monthly game lunches. The focus is on these interpersonal skills:
Cooperation
Taking turns
Listening and following directions
Patience
Having fun
Problem solving when it is a new game and the group is figuring out the directions
Groups are divided so a focus student is in each group. At times I let each group using consensus choose their own game. This means multiple games being played. Other times all groups play the same game and we keep track and announce the winning group.
Teaching How to Arrange and Attend Social Get Together With Friends
Teaching How to Arrange and Attend Social Get Together With Friends
While we arrange monthly out of school social events for our group, we decided to try something different this month. We did some social skills instruction on how to set up a time and place to hang out with a friend(s) outside of school. It's a skill our kids desperately need. Many have a desire to hang out with friends on the weekend, but struggle to pull it together. We're using some of our grant money for prizes. Every event our kids arrange and go to on their own is a drawing ticket for cool stuff. They have until the end of the month.
To teach needed skills, first we showed a humorous video of what happens when we don't know how to effectively plan a social outing. After that, we modeled a conversation illustrating what to say and do to make arrangements. Then, we divided our kids into groups of four and appointed one table leader to facilitate discussion at their table. We provided a Chromebook for the leader to type on and add to the Google Presentation summarizing the brainstorming conversations. The links to this presentation and instructions for how we're doing the drawing are provided here for you. Feel free to copy and use as you wish. Our students really seemed to enjoy this activity and got busy planning their own outings.
Model Me Kids Videos
Model Me Kids Videos
Shared by: Jen Faz and Mary Schlieder
Looking for good ways to use your grant money? Model Me Kids has excellent videos for teaching social skills to kids ages 2-17. We've been using the Model Me Conversation Cues this semester and plan to explore Model Me Confidence and Bully Prevention next semester. Peer modeling is used to teach skills, and both our peers and focus students seem to enjoy them. We've found the skills presented are relevant and done in way that holds the kids' interest. In addition to the videos, there are teacher guides, worksheets, and accompanying activities.
Peer Modeling Video In An Elementary School
Peer Modeling Video In An Elementary School
As you plan for your Circle of Friends groups, consider how you can use your peer mentors to help teach and support your students with ASD in classes. Take a look at this video of peer modeling in action:
Footloose! Dance Lessons for Prom
Footloose! Dance Lessons for Prom
When high school students with autism say they don't want to go to prom because it's "dumb" and "everyone knows a night at home playing Minecraft is way better", what they may really be trying to say is that, "I'd like to go to prom but it's a new social situation and I'm scared". We spend several meetings before prom teaching kids what to expect, what to wear, how to arrange to go with either a date or a group of friends, what happens at post prom, and this year for the first time, how to dance. Arrangements were made to have several show choir members lead our CoF group in common dances they'd likely encounter at prom. They did an awesome job and as you can see from the video, the kids had fun. While a few of the kids wouldn't dance, they stayed in the gym to watch and we're happy to say one of our biggest naysayers announced this week that he WILL be going to prom next month (with a girl, no less!), leaving Minecraft alone for the evening.
Video Lesson: I Am Kind
Video Lesson: I Am Kind
Video resource for teaching kindness to young children.
Video Lesson: Friendship Soup Recipe
Video Lesson: Friendship Soup Recipe
This creative video is designed to get elementary aged children thinking. A free lesson plan accompanies the video:
Making and Keeping Friends and Halloween Tolerance Resources
Making and Keeping Friends and Halloween Tolerance Resources
Shared by Teresa Calafiore
Check out these resources for elementary aged students!
Jill Kuzma's YouTube Video Links for Teaching Social Skills
Jill Kuzma's YouTube Video Links for Teaching Social Skills
Loaded with great resources to use with your groups!
Personal Space Lesson
Personal Space Lesson
Shared by: Jill Behrends Seward Elementary
Our 4th grade Circle of Friends group has spent our first weeks together getting to know each other with games and chit-chat during lunch and recess once a week. One skill that the peers wanted to work on with the target student was personal space. They wanted to teach the target student how to talk with kids at a more comfortable distance and how to give fist bumps or high fives instead of hugs, which we identified as an "unexpected behavior" which sometimes makes students feel uncomfortable. As a group we read the book Personal Space Camp by Julia Cook and the kids used hula hoops to experience what a comfortable amount of space is between people when chatting (as well as talking about how that space changes during our day depending on where we go- lunchroom, line, desk, carpet, etc.). Then, we had lots of fun with a hula-hooping tournament! It was a great activity that ended with fist bumps all around!
Video Taping Meetings and Fun Card Game
Video Taping Meetings and Fun Card Game
Shared by: Janet Metz, Pleasanton School District
Our secondary COF groups enjoys playing a card game called SHOULD I OR SHOULDN'T I. We also video our lunch meetings so that our focus student can watch and judge for himself if the skill he is working on is improving or not. He critiques his own behavior at the meetings. We then are careful to delete the video. Once a quarter I provide lunch for our COF.
Do's and Don'ts for Working With Students in Social Thinking Groups by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke
Do's and Don'ts for Working With Students in Social Thinking Groups by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke
Shared by Julie Stednitz
Conversation Skills Lesson
Conversation Skills Lesson
I'll go ahead and put this out there in the spirit of sharing ideas and resources. Here's one of my and Jen Faz's Circle of Friends meetings--We are co-facilitators of our CoF group this year. It's a video of a lesson we did teaching our kids the conversation model. It may ask for a username and password. Username: video_review Password: learning
Twin River Circle of Friends
Twin River Circle of Friends
Shared by: Christina Laska, Special Educator
This is a photo of one of our dinner nights. We discussed proper etiquette to help the kids prepare for Thanksgiving dinner with their families, including topics of conversations that are acceptable, what to avoid saying, doing, etc. All our Circle of Friends activities involve food of some sort. Every meeting is after school, usually later in the evening so kids on sports teams can be involved. We try to do as many activities in the community as we can so our focus student, a young man with Asperger syndrome, can learn how to navigate greater society. There are eight students in our Circle. For high schoolers, that seems like a balanced group. Because our focus student is a boy, I do have more boys in the group.
Rate It Role Plays
Rate It Role Plays
Shared by: Karen Wall, Wakefield School District
An activity this year the group has seemed to enjoy is our 'Rate It Role Play' activity. The kids are put into random teams and draw situations they must act out in role play. Each team (even the rest of their own team, if everyone is not participating) must come to an agreement if the way the students responded to the situation is appropriate or not by conversing then holding up a giant thumbs up or down. If the thumb is up, then they give positive feedback; if the thumb is down, they give constructive criticism, then must act out an alternative reaction they feel is appropriate. The students' groups get points for appropriate role plays and the winning team members get a prize.
Fun Meeting Activity to Teach Social Skills
Fun Meeting Activity to Teach Social Skills
Shared by: Becky Adkisson
We have used the Headbanz game with our elementary CoF and it is a favorite with our kids. They enjoy playing the game and are learning the importance of using eye contact to ask each other the questions, and also putting into practice the whole idea of the thought bubble and how we form ideas based on what others say and do as well as how we collect information to make smart guesses. These concepts are taught in the Social Skills Detective book which we use to discuss expected vs. unexpected behavior and thought bubbles. We have a group of four boys so we are also doing a lot of role playing from situations that arise from recess time when they are playing kickball or soccer.
Peer Resource for Non-Verbal Target Student
Peer Resource for Non-Verbal Target Student
The book In His Shoes by Joanna Velasco-Keating features a non-verbal main character with autism who will be attending a new school entering 6th grade. This book could likely be used with kids in grades 3-7. After each short (about 2 pages) chapter, there are discussion questions to use with your students. This could be a good meeting activity for your peer only meetings. Your ESU may have a copy to check out.
5 Point Scale and Article for Parents of Peers
5 Point Scale and Article for Parents of Peers
Shared by: Mary Schlieder
One of my 'go-to' resources is the book by Kari Dunn Buron, A 5 is Against the Law. It teaches kids a five point scale to identify social behaviors that are normal, odd, scary, and against the law. I use it whenever a need arises to teach kids to understand how others view their behaviors and are affected by them. I also teach the scale to Circle of Friends peers so they can help focus students in the classroom by asking for example, "What number are you at? Do you need help?". This book is appropriate for upper middle and high school levels. A version of the book for younger children is The Incredible 5 Point Scale.
I also discovered an article perfect for the parents of your Circle of Friends peers to help them reinforce your work helping kids understand classmates with autism put out by the Association of Elementary School Principals titled: Report to Parents: Helping Children Understand Autism. It might be helpful to hand out as you start your groups.
Conversation Cubes
Conversation Cubes
Shared by: Lori Zito and Johanna Denniston
We have used the Conversation Cubes to help students start conversations appropriately. Other skills such as turn taking, expanding on a topic, and ending a conversation appropriately were practiced as well.
Great Social Skills Teaching Resource for Middle School
Great Social Skills Teaching Resource for Middle School
Shared by: Morgan Kapels
One of my favorite resources is a book called, 100 Social Skills Every Kid Should Know. I borrowed this book from the AMAZING library that can be found at ESU 3. I typed up many of the rules into Power Points I show at our meetings. Peer mentors and focus students add their experiences and input on how to do the skills correctly. Since I'm working with middle schoolers, topics range from manners, bullying, friendships, etc. I have added visuals and open ended questions for discussion. Then at the end of the Power Point, the kids do role playing in groups of 4-6. I think they enjoy it and learn a lot.
Resources for Circle of Friends Meetings
Shared by: Paula Peterson
I use the Social Times periodicals, Friendly Facts, YouTube with my middle and high school groups, the Social Express,and several social communication board games with my elementary groups. I ordered 10 copies of a one year subscription to the Social Times. We meet during lunch so I read one article and we discuss it and role play some situations. Some of the kids like to take one with them, but most just want to listen and do the activity. I like some of the ideas from Friendly Facts. Since they are eating, we don't usually do any paper-pencil tasks, we usually talk and role play. I use YouTube with a group of 9th grade peers to learn more about Aspergers Syndrome. I have spent many hours searching some sites and like Inside out: My life with Asperger Syndrome, Aspergers Famous People, clips from Big Bang Theory with Dr Sheldon Cooper. We watch and discuss and talk about specific interests and quirks of our focus student (he does not attend this group as of yet). With my elementary groups, I mostly go outside to recess with them. We work on friendship skills, turn-taking, cooperation, expressing ideas, and listening to others. Some of the kids have had to go through the Social Express iPad app before I start outside with them. This is a great interactive app that the kids love which works on social thinking skills. It really breaks skills down into small steps for my target kids. I use the terms in the app to explain things when playing outside. I take time to talk individually with each peer when a situation arises with a focus student to teach them how they can help the student when I am not around. On cold or rainy days, we play one of several social skills board games I have. I have used the board games with the middle and high school groups a couple time also, though they work better with the little kids. Can't wait to hear what other groups are using!
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