Social Skills Lessons for Basic Interactions - Respect, Behavior, Manners & More

Use these lessons to teach critical social skills to older kids, including being respectful, following directions, working with others, accepting criticism, respecting others' opinions, minding your own business, and more. This resource includes 10 lessons, each with several activities for extended practice. A total of 42 activities are included!

Digital Version

Update: I've added a digital version for each lesson using Google Drive. You can access the entire unit (student pages only) and each individual lesson using Google Drive. Please note that educator plans are included separately.

Table of Contents

Introduction Materials

• Educator Guide

• Pre-Assessment

Lesson 1 What Are Social Skills?

• Activity 1: What Are Social Skills?

• Activity 2: Changing Our Behaviors

• Activity 3: Knowing the Expectations

• Activity 4: How Might You Act?

Lesson 2 Positive Qualities

• Activity 1: Positive Qualities

• Activity 2: What Positive Qualities?

• Activity 3: Positive Qualities Slips

• Activity 4: Qualities I Strive To Be

Lesson 3 Positive Thinking Skills

• Activity 1: Positive Thinking Skills

• Activity 2: Positive or Negative?

• Activity 3: Let's Make It Positive

Lesson 4 Being Respectful

• Activity 1: Being Respectful

• Activity 2: How We Show Respect

• Activity 3: Using My Manners

• Activity 4: Don't Be Rude, Dude

• Activity 5: Is This Respectful?

• Activity 6: Respectful Cards

Lesson 5 Following Directions

• Activity 1: Following Directions

• Activity 2: Even When We Don't Want To

• Activity 3: Directions Test

• Activity 4: Let's Follow Directions (listening)

• Activity 5: Let's Follow Directions (reading)

Lesson 6 Working with Others

• Activity 1: Working with Others

• Activity 2: Our Group Ground Rules

• Activity 3: Group Ground Rules

• Activity 4: Getting Along with Others

• Activity 5: Are They Working Well?

Lesson 7 Accepting Criticism

• Activity 1: Accepting Criticism

• Activity 2: Constructive or Unhelpful?

• Activity 3: How to React to Criticism

• Activity 4: Reacting to the Criticism

Lesson 8 Respecting Others' Opinions

• Activity 1: It's Okay to Think Differently

• Activity 2: Respecting the Opinions of Others

• Activity 3: What You Might Say

• Activity 4: Conversation Practice

Lesson 9 Sharing Your Thoughts

• Activity 1: Sharing Your Thoughts

• Activity 2: What Do You Think About...

• Activity 3: Conversation Practice

Lesson 10 Minding Your Own Business

• Activity 1: Minding Your Own Business (MYOB)

• Activity 2: Are They Minding Their Own Business?

• Activity 3: Tattling or Reporting?

• Activity 4: Tattling or Reporting Practice

Note that both color and black/white options are included and clearly listed in the table of contents.

Why Teach Social Skills

Social skills are the abilities and competencies we use to navigate the social world. These skills tell us how to act and what to say in particular social situations. With strong social skills, kids and young adults can more easily build friendships, get along with others, work collaboratively in groups, handle frustrations, and have an overall improved quality of life.

While some kids and young adults learn social skills just from observing and interacting with those around them, many do not. These kids might struggle to develop friendships, have difficulty working in partners or groups, experience challenges in following directions, act in ways perceived as rude or mean, or misread the social cues of others. To these youngsters, the social world is confusing and challenging. Some students who may struggle with social skills specifically include those with autism, ADHD, ODD, intellectual disabilities, and a variety of other needs.

How to Use

These lessons and activities would be an asset to educators who want to teach social skills to young adults. This resource includes 10 lessons, each with several activities for extended practice. A total of 42 activities are included! Depending on the time of your class or sessions, you may choose to split up the lessons into several days. Alternatively, you can select which activities best suit the needs of your students. It is helpful to first start by giving the pre-assessment. Then, go through each lesson in order to build on critical social skills. After all social skills lessons are completed, give the post-assessment to show students their growth in learning new skills!

Save Over 20% with the Bundle!

{ Social Skills Lessons for Older Kids BUNDLE }

Use these lessons to teach critical social skills to older learners. Units teach about basic interactions, managing emotions, and empathy and perspective-taking. Just some of the lessons target being respectful, following directions, accepting criticism, working with others, understanding emotions, dealing with anger, understanding perspectives, accepting different perspectives, flexible thinking, understanding social cues, developing empathy, using perspectives to resolve conflicts, and MUCH more. This resource includes 3 core units with 30 lessons, each with several activities for extended practice. A total of 142 activities are included!

*****************************************************************************

Tips for Customers!

Click on the ★ above to follow my store!

If you have questions or problems please contact me through Product Q & A and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Disclaimer: These resources and materials are for supplementary support/education purposes and not intended as a replacement for counseling, education, or other necessary supports. Educators, parents, counselors, and others who utilize these materials are encouraged to seek out additional support, as needed.

*****************************************************************************