Fostering Social Skills
Children who are lacking social skills can learn them from children who are socially competent. The teacher can organize special play session where less effective children are paired with children who have acquired effective social skills. Through play experiences, the less skilled child can learn to play more effectively.
Overcoming Social Isolation
Some children may understand social skills but are unable to use them. Sometimes pairing these children with a younger child will give them the confidence they need. When socially isolated children are exposed to play sessions with younger children, they may become more socially involved because they fell comfortable with younger children.
Learning Social Alternative
Many children use aggression because they do not understand alternative strategies to resolves conflicts. Planned activities can be used to teach children alternative strategies that are more successful than aggression. The teacher initiate skits, puppet activities, and group discussions involving hypothetical situations. Children can become involved in the problem and in determining alternative solutions. Children are encouraged to increase the number of appropriate strategies they might try.
Learning Prosocial and Empathic Behavior
Children who are popular are helpful and cooperative. Many children are not helpful because they do not recognize situations in which they can be of assistance. The teacher can create opportunities for a child to demonstrate helpfulness or point out situations when the child can be helpful to another child who is in need or distress.
Can I Play?
Many young children have difficulty entering a play group. One solution may be for the teacher to guide the isolated child to a smaller play group or a more cooperative group.
The teacher can tutor the child to identify the play theme and think of role that can be played that would contribute to the group’s play.
Improving Social communication skills
Children who have difficulty maintaining a play episode are unable to communicate effectively with playmates. Teacher can provide guidance on how to clarify communication within the play episode. The teacher can instruct a child to be more specific in an explanation. An unpopular child can be guided to be sensitive to the negative emotional cues that indicate that another child does not like the unpopular child’s behavior or actions.
Helping Children Who Have No Friends
Peers should not be forced to play with a child; however, there are ways that teachers can facilitate that child’s acceptance into the peer group. The teacher can interpret the child’s positive intentions to the other children and guide them toward helping the child successfully play with them. Teacher’s strategies can facilitate peer understanding and empathy for the child who has difficulty in making friends. The peer group can then help the child become more successful in play interactions.
By Sue C. Wortham “Early Childhood Curriculum; Developmental Bases for Learning and Teaching” USA: Pearson 2006 - P 263-264
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