Social Scenarios Activity

Training & Curriculum Specialist Social & Emotional Development Lesson 3 Explore Social Scenarios Activity Reflection	WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG ACTIVITY ID: 26581 Name Certifier Date
Use what you have learned in this lesson to identify ways to support staff members as they promote social emotional development. Read the scenarios that follow and write how you would respond. When you are finished, compare your answers to the suggested responses. Jakob Jakob is a very bright 2-year-old boy who likes everything related to Thomas the Tank Engine. He also likes reading books and going to the park with his parents and his dog, Murray. Jakob has cerebral palsy that affects all areas of his development. He attends your program and mostly plays by himself. Spend some time observing in Jakob’s classroom. Learn more about his interests, strengths and needs. Talk to his family about their goals for him. Work with the staff member to incorporate Jakob’s love of Thomas the Tank Engine into class activities or peer interactions. If other children like trains, encourage them to play together. Help staff members adapt the materials as needed to help Jakob (i.e., permanently connect a few trains so they are easier to grasp and don’t fall apart, build a seat that Jakob can use while playing at the train table). Brian Brian is a 4-year-old preschooler. He has two older brothers who often take his toys from him at home and rarely let him play with his favorite superhero figures. When he is at your family child care program, he has a hard time sharing toys and materials with the other children. He often takes blocks or plastic animals into a separate room and gets frustrated when other children want to play with him or share the materials. You might try writing a scripted story for Brian about playing with friends and toys at school. You can include language to help Brian know how to say “No” politely if he wants to play alone, and to help him recognize situations when it’s important to share. You can also set specific times (perhaps during arrival) when Brian can play alone with his favorite toys. Then, build in other structured times when he is learning to play with others. Adults can stay close to make sure play goes smoothly and to model social skills. Margo Margo is an 8-year-old girl. She just got to the summer program and realized her best friend, Megan, is not coming today. They had been looking forward to playing together on the trip to the pool. Margo sits at the breakfast table and sulks. She says she doesn’t want to go to the pool or do anything else today. Encourage staff to sit and talk with Margo. Label her emotions, “Margo, I can tell you are disappointed Megan isn’t here today.” Help her come up with solutions to the problem: “Margo, I know you were looking forward to swimming. What else would make it feel fun? Let’s talk to some other kids about the pool.”

Reflection

WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG

ACTIVITY ID: 26581

Name

Certifier

Date

Use what you have learned in this lesson to identify ways to support staff members as they promote social emotional development. Read the scenarios that follow and write how you would respond. When you are finished, compare your answers to the suggested responses.

Jakob

Jakob is a very bright 2-year-old boy who likes everything related to Thomas the Tank Engine. He also likes reading books and going to the park with his parents and his dog, Murray. Jakob has cerebral palsy that affects all areas of his development. He attends your program and mostly plays by himself.

Spend some time observing in Jakob’s classroom. Learn more about his interests, strengths and needs. Talk to his family about their goals for him. Work with the staff member to incorporate Jakob’s love of Thomas the Tank Engine into class activities or peer interactions. If other children like trains, encourage them to play together. Help staff members adapt the materials as needed to help Jakob (i.e., permanently connect a few trains so they are easier to grasp and don’t fall apart, build a seat that Jakob can use while playing at the train table).

Brian

Brian is a 4-year-old preschooler. He has two older brothers who often take his toys from him at home and rarely let him play with his favorite superhero figures. When he is at your family child care program, he has a hard time sharing toys and materials with the other children. He often takes blocks or plastic animals into a separate room and gets frustrated when other children want to play with him or share the materials.

You might try writing a scripted story for Brian about playing with friends and toys at school. You can include language to help Brian know how to say “No” politely if he wants to play alone, and to help him recognize situations when it’s important to share. You can also set specific times (perhaps during arrival) when Brian can play alone with his favorite toys. Then, build in other structured times when he is learning to play with others. Adults can stay close to make sure play goes smoothly and to model social skills.

Margo

Margo is an 8-year-old girl. She just got to the summer program and realized her best friend, Megan, is not coming today. They had been looking forward to playing together on the trip to the pool. Margo sits at the breakfast table and sulks. She says she doesn’t want to go to the pool or do anything else today.

Encourage staff to sit and talk with Margo. Label her emotions, “Margo, I can tell you are disappointed Megan isn’t here today.” Help her come up with solutions to the problem: “Margo, I know you were looking forward to swimming. What else would make it feel fun? Let’s talk to some other kids about the pool.”