Here is a Great Book for Targeting Social Skills!

Sometimes working on pragmatic language (social skills) can be tricky and frustrating...for students and educators.  Today a stellar ISU graduate student I have the privilege of working with introduced me to a great book:  Social Rules for Kids: The Top 100 Social Rules Kids Need to Succeed by Susan Diamond.  (Quick aside:  one of the BEST parts of working at Metcalf is having the opportunity to learn from my undergraduate and graduate students as they work with me!)

After glancing through a few lessons, I immediately ordered the electronic version on my iPad and I must say...I'm in LOVE with this book!

Topics discussed range from "Using a Friendly Greeting" to "Be Both a Listener and a Speaker" to "Be Calm if I Give an Incorrect Answer" to "Try to Ignore Others' Annoying Behavior" to "Be Funny but Not Too Silly" and "Say it Right with Voice Tone."

There are a wide range of topics and skill levels that can be targeted using this book.  Already, I have shared it with some teachers for use with a 4th grade student (in particular the "Be Funny but Not Too Silly topic) and with our PreK teacher (in particular the "Using a Friendly Greeting" topic).  I plan to use the lessons in the book to target skills and to shape discussions with a variety of students.

Pragmatic language can be difficult to effectively target in an effective and sensitive manner and this book does a great job of discussing topics in a child-friendly and appropriate way.  We know that it is crucial for students to have good pragmatic skills so that they are able to effectively communicate with their teachers, peers and families and so that they are able to make and maintain meaningful friendships throughout their lives. This book looks to be a wonderful tool to increase pragmatic skills across a variety of situations and relationships.

I hope you enjoy this book.  Feel free to leave a comment if you have suggestions for other great resources targeting social skills/pragmatic language, questions about this book or these skills, or any other discussion points!

Have a wonderful day,

Ms. Matyasse