module 7

EDU235Chapter07.ppt

Chapter 7
Helping Children Develop Social Competence

Social Competence

Making and keeping friends are extremely important
Teaching social skills is part of the curriculum in schools and child care programs

Ask students to think about how and when they learned social skills. Also consider organizations such as sports teams, 4-H, Boy Scouts, etc.

Strategies to Help Children
Make Friends

Identify children’s social strengths and weaknesses
Coach children in effective ways of behaving toward friends
Praise children for successful interactions

Strategies to Help Children
Make Friends (continued)

Teach prosocial skills for dealing with children who act mean
Model good social skills
Discuss characteristics that foster friendships
Discuss meaning of respect
Use dramatic play, games, and role-playing to teach social skills

Activities that Develop Friendships

Make a Friend
OK, We’ll Do It
Best Friends Are …

Divide class into three teams to participate in the activities, one activity per group. Have each group report back to the class about how the activity the activity could be implemented.

Conflict Resolution

Decide to resolve the conflict
Each side tells what happened
State what each person needs to resolve the conflict
Explore possible ways to resolve the conflict
Later, evaluate the situation to determine whether the resolution is working

Strategies for Conflict Resolution

Increase children’s ability to read nonverbal cues
Help children see that others may have a different view
Provide many opportunities for trial and error
Encourage children to draft a conflict plan

Point out that the children’s new stage of cognitive thinking according to Piaget is why children are able to see other people’s points of view. Students might be refered to previous reading in chapter 5.

Activities to Encourage
Conflict Resolution

Silent stories
Cultural scenes
Fighting fair
Role-playing

Shopping trip
Build a tower
Brainstorming
Picture problems

Self-image

Before moving to the next slide, have students briefly personally reflect on how they view themselves. They can list characteristics on a piece of paper.

Two Components of Self-image

Our perception of ourselves
Perceptions conveyed by others

Invite students to review their lists and identify for themselves which characteristics are their perception of themselves, which are perceptions conveyed by others, and which are both.

Strategies for Enhancing
Self-Esteem

Have a genuine interest in each child
Recognize each child’s uniqueness
Support self-esteem through meaningful activities
Conduct group meetings
Provide many ways for children to feel successful

Activities that Foster Self-Esteem

Greetings
Interior decoration
Getting to know you
Puppet talk

TV talk
Silhouettes
Getting to know me
Family tree

Encourage students to think how to facilitate these activities and be sensitive to cultural differences as well as family style differences. For example, think about the impact of a family tree activity on a child that has been adopted or a child in a biracial family.

Cooperation

Cooperative Behavior

Cooperation does not come easily to children
Children are beginning to understand that others have needs
Supportive adults help children with cooperation

Ask students what they think the term “cooperative behavior” means. Students while most likely have some ideas that are similar.

Strategies for Increasing Cooperative Behavior

Model expected behavior
Emphasize cooperation rather than competition
Design space to accommodate groups of varying sizes

Lead discussions about sharing, fairness, taking turns, and negotiating
Plan activities that require children to work together toward a common goal

Strategies for Increasing Cooperative Behavior (continued)

Changing Children’s Behavior

Help Children Reverse Destructive Behaviors

State demands clearly and specifically
Avoid common cliché statements of expectations
Consider stating expectations in the form of rules
Non-negotiable
Negotiable
Optional

Students can work in small groups do list what might be appropriate expectations of the children in this age group.

Help Children Reverse Destructive Behaviors ctd.

Deal with every infraction as it occurs
Time-out
Logical Consequence
Reinforce Positive Behavior

Students can work in small groups do list what might be appropriate expectations of the children in this age group.

Strategies for Changing
Destructive Behaviors

Try to understand behavior
Help children develop an honest sense of their own competence
Help children praise themselves
Allow children to express feelings
Model acceptable behavior

Help children devise ways to act on feelings of sympathy
Encourage children to put feelings into words
Create a nonaggressive environment
Be consistent

Strategies for Changing
Destructive Behaviors (continued)

Communications That Help to Change Behaviors

Responses to Children That Can Bring About Change

Acknowledge children’s feelings
Describe the situation
Help children recognize how their behavior affects others

Behaviors That Create Problems for Individuals or the Group

Excessive aggression
Quiet and distant demeanor
Overly active behavior
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Special needs

Students can refer to their textbook for each of these types of problems to learn the similarities and differences in how to handle each type of behavior challenge.