Dear Parents,
In this weeks Social Skills session we are covering the topic “Following The Group Plan”. This topic focuses on what it means to be part of a group and is a very important social concept. Being part of a group is a foundational skill to so many other aspects of children’s social lives. Some of these aspects include: having friends, working in a classroom, participating in a future career and being a part of the wider community.
In this session we aim to teach that when everyone is thinking about and doing the same thing, it’s called the Group Plan. When everyone is following the plan, we are thinking of each other. This in turn makes everyone feel calm and comfortable. Some examples of how a child might follow The Group plan is:
- Working with their friends in a group to finish a group project
- Sitting on the mat during reading time with friends, being quiet when the teacher is talking and raising their
hand if they want to say something or, listening and staying quiet when one of their peers are talking - Playing in a sports team and following the rules of the game and showing good sportsmanship
- Playing with friends and using skills of cooperation and joint problem solving
As part of this activity, students will listen to the book The Group Plan and look at the pictures from the book. At the end, there is an activity for them to draw themselves following The Group Plan and then draw another picture of themselves not following the Group Plan. There is also a Think Sheet that some students may wish to complete that further explores the topic.
During the week, it would be great to use the term “following the Group Plan” when you and your child are working on something together. This might be a school work activity or even an activity around the house ie. packing away the washing. The Group Plan might be “to work together to finish this Maths/English/Reading activity” or “to work together to pack away all the dried laundry.” You might want to challenge your child even further by doing something wacky and having them point out that you’re not following the Group Plan. For example, you could sit on the couch and pretend to watch TV while they packed away the laundry. This might make them stop and ask why you aren’t helping. You could point out that you “forgot to follow the Group Plan”.
Sometimes, children learn best when we as adults, use ourselves as models!
We hope the students enjoy these activities and look forward to the next few topics.
Miss Bruns (Occupational Therapist) and Miss Walker (Speech Pathologist)
Following The Group Plan (Book Read)