Nurturing Social Skills
Welcome to my blog post on nurturing social skills for elementary students. I will be sharing important information on social emotional learning and some social skill games designed for our younger students here at Detroit Prep. These games are not only fun and engaging but also promote effective communication and cooperation among young leaders.
Understanding Social Skills
Social skills play an important role in the overall development of our students during their early years. Students are still learning how to interact with others, express their emotions, and navigate social situations. By developing social skills at this stage, we can set a strong foundation for their future success in relationships, academics, and life in general.
Incorporating Social Emotional Learning In the Learning Environment
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an educational approach that focuses on developing social and emotional skills in students. SEL helps students better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions, and demonstrate empathy for others. These behaviors are used to help students make positive, responsible decisions; create frameworks to achieve their goals, and build positive relationships with others.
Social Skill Games!
Here at Detroit Prep we focus on ways to help students succeed in the academic environment. Below are two incredible social skill games that help with our student development mainly used in social work small groups.
Game 1: “Feelings Charades”
Objective: Help students recognize and express different emotions.
How to play:
Write down various emotions on small pieces of paper and place them in a bowl.
Have one student pick a piece of paper from the bowl without showing it to others.
The students will act out the emotion without speaking, while other students guess the emotion.
Once the emotion is guessed correctly, encourage the class to discuss situations that might cause that emotion and how they can respond empathetically.
Game 2: “Conversation Starters”
Objective: To help students initiate and maintain conversations.
How to play:
Prepare a set of conversation starter cards with open-ended questions or prompts.
Have students sit in pairs or groups.
Each student takes turns drawing a card and asking the question or sharing their thoughts on the prompt.
Encourage active listening, turn taking and follow-up questions to keep the conversation flowing.
Nurturing social skills is essential for our students' overall development and future success. By incorporating social skill games educators provide students with valuable opportunities to practice and apply their skills in a fun and engaging way. The games listed above are used at Detroit prep in both the classroom and social work small groups here at Detroit Prep.