As we approach the end of the school year, it is not uncommon to see an uptick in disruptive behaviors. There are two strategies I recommend in conjunction with each other that are an asset-based way to keep your students focused on academics and corral our high-flying friends. Of course, these strategies can be implemented at any time, and spring is a great time to start. I also recommend beginning your year using these strategies and keeping them going all year long. I truly believe they work!
Typically, teachers introduce one T-graph per unit, meaning that in a year, students will learn context 4-6 social skills and be able to practice them in context.
Above is a photo of a GLAD strategy called the "T-Graph for Social Skills." The focus skill is cooperation. This strategy is founded on research done by Dee Dishon and the Model of Cooperative Learning. The purpose of this strategy is to directly and explicitly teach social skills and to build language around social skills. You can teach a variety of social skills using this strategy. GLAD recommends teaching cooperation, patience, grit, reliability, persistence, and sharing. Of course, you can modify these recommendations to fit the unique needs of your classroom. When first introducing this strategy to your students, you'll likely want to start with a broad, general social skill that applies to the type of classroom environment that you are fostering.
Materials Needed
Yellow chart/butcher paper
Black Mr. Sketch Markers for outline
2 different colored Mr. Sketch Markers for categories.
Step 1
Just like most GLAD strategies, you'll want to build this chart with and in front of students. You'll have some information penciled in ahead of time but a majority of this strategy is student-driven. When you present this strategy to your class, you will want to start with a black-line drawing of an oval and a T-chart, as pictured below:
You might be wondering why this GLAD strategy is done on yellow paper while all other strategies are done on white paper. This is done purposefully to call attention to the social skill, rather than the content knowledge and skills students learn from other charts.
Step 2
The teacher will write the desired social skill in the oval at the top of the chart. This is done in black marker. Then, the teacher will give students a turn-and-talk to brainstorm what social skill means. After calling the class back together, the teacher will add student-generated ideas and meanings of the social skill around the oval, creating a web or mind map.
Step 3
Once students have primed their brains for this social skill, the teacher will move to the left side of the T-chart, using a colored marker. At the top of the T-chart, the teacher will write "See" and make a quick sketch of the eyes. Then, will prompt the students with the sentence stem, " What does (social skill) look like? The teacher will then provide students with another turn-and-talk to generate ideas about what social skill looks like. When working at the elementary level, I also provide a scaffold of, "If our principal came into our classroom right now wearing earplugs, what would they see when kids are showing (social skill?)." You can also role-play with students to encourage responses.
After a quick turn-and-talk, the teacher will record student responses about what the skill looks like. All responses must be recorded in the positive. So, rather than saying "no hitting" the teacher will work with students to reframe that idea into a positive such as "students have a calm body." Once the ideas are recorded, the teacher will add a small sketch next to the idea.
Step 4
On the right side of the T-chart, the teacher will use a different colored marker and write "Hear" with a small sketch of an ear. Then, will prompt the students with the sentence stem, " What does (social skill) sound like? The teacher will then provide students with another turn-and-talk to generate ideas about what social skill looks like. Again, you may need to provide students with a scaffold-like, "If our principal came into our classroom right now wearing a blindfold, what would they hear when kids are showing (social skill?)" You can also role-play with students to encourage responses.
After a quick turn-and-talk, the teacher will record student responses about what the skill sounds like. These ideas are also framed in the positive. When students generate ideas that are direct quotes that someone might here when they're demonstrating the social skill, you'll add quotation marks around those specific words." Small sketches should be added to the ideas.
Step 5
You'll want to revisit this chart often. We call these types of charts "working documents" or "living documents" meaning that they are referred back to and added on to often throughout the year. As students learn more about the social skill they will be encouraged to add additional ideas.
Student Accountability - Team Points
Now that you've taught social skills, you might be wondering how you're going to hold your students accountable for using and applying social skills in their daily learning. Awarding Team Points is a great way to keep students engaged, on track, and focused on using this newly learned social skill throughout the day.
Likely, you already have your students in "teams" either by table group or other cooperative learning setup. If you don't, you'll want to create teams of four students and assign each team a color. Throughout the day, team points are awarded to teams who demonstrate the skill highlighted on the T-graph.
When first implementing team points, you will assign a cooperative learning task to students and tell them that it is worth ___ team points. When the learning task is complete, you will ask students to reflect on their work considering the social skill. If they agree that they demonstrated social skill during the task, you'll award the team with their points. As the year progresses and students become more familiar with this strategy, you will assign a point value to the work and then ask students how many points they believe their team earned during task worktime. Students will need to rationalize/prove their reasoning. This creates an opportunity for student accountability and metacognitive skills.
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