BASIC
SOCIAL
LIFE
SKILLS
Basic Skills, literate, knowledge,
skills, employment, self-sufficiency,
parents, education skills, education
development, children, adults, living,
education, educational, reading, life,
writing, mathematics, communication
skill, culture, relate, conversations.
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SKILLS
IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SKILLS
CHILDREN AND SOCIAL SKILLS
WHAT PARENTS CAN DO?
SOCIAL SKILL TRAINING
ELEMENTS OF LIFE SKILLS
SOCIAL LIFE SKILLS LINKS
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SECTION 1
WHAT
ARE
SOCIAL
SKILLS
WHAT
ARE
SOCIAL
SKILLS
Social skills are ‘learned behaviours
that get positive responses from others’.
Some of the basic social skills include:
Listening:
facing the speaker,
one person speaking
at a time,
making eye contact.
Speaking:
beginning conversations,
keeping up conversations,
taking turns,
using an appropriate tone
of voice,
expressing feelings
and opinions.
Body language:
the expressions on your face,
the way you stand,
how close you are to
the other person.
Getting on with others:
being able to work in a team,
being able to stand up for
yourself, playing fairly,
joining in, encouraging,
giving useful feedback,
picking up on other’s feelings,
self control,
patience,
compassion.
Being able to deal
with conflicts and
disagreements:
problem solving,
bargaining,
acting as a
go-between,
making decisions,
patience,
compassion,
self control.
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SECTION 2
IMPORTANCE
OF
SOCIAL
SKILLS
IMPORTANCE
OF
SOCIAL
SKILLS
Most children learn social skills
through their regular daily lives,
without needing to be specially
taught.
Those children who don't learn
automatically, and who do not
get special attention to help,
may over time experience some
of the following:
Problems with their behaviour.
Difficulty with their schoolwork.
Difficulty handling their emotions.
Not being accepted by peers.
People of equal standing,
for example the 'peers'
of a student are other
students.
Problems getting along
with others.
Being bullied.
Low self-image,
What a person thinks of him
or herself.
Problems that may bring them
in contact with the law.
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SECTION 3
WHY
SOME
CHILDREN
HAVE
DIFFICULTY
DEVELOPING
SOCIAL
SKILLS
CHILDREN
DIFFICULTY
DEVELOPING
SOCIAL
SKILLS
There are a number of reasons why
some children do not learn social
skills.
They may not have been provided with
enough chances to learn them,
they may have learning difficulties
that make it harder to develop these
skills.
For example, many children with learning
difficulties may find it difficult to pick
up spoken and unspoken 'signals' from other
people, which must be understood to be able
to learn social skills.
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SECTION 4
WHAT
PARENTS
CAN
DO
WHAT
PARENTS
CAN
DO
Parents can teach their children many
important skills by playing with them.
In play, parents can show good sociable
ways of behaving.
Parents can also provide children with
opportunities to play with children of
their own age.
This may mean inviting other
children over to play,
going to play groups,
going to the playground,
becoming involved in
recreational or sporting
programs.
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SECTION 5
SOCIAL
SKILLS
TRAINING
SOCIAL
SKILLS
TRAINING
Many programs have been specially
designed to teach children social
skills.
One such program is:
‘STOP THINK DO’:
which uses traffic lights to show
the steps to follow for children
trying to get along together:
Stop (red):
means stop reacting automatically
and using bad habits.
Think (yellow):
means think about the choices you
have to solve the problem and the
likely results of these choices.
Do (green):
means choose the behaviour
with the best result and do
it confidently.
Some of the methods
used to train in
social skills may
include:
instruction:
different behaviours are taught
in some detail and an attempt
is made to carefully explain why
they are so important in getting
along with others.
role playing:
this is where, after having the
behaviours explained, the child
is encouraged to act out short,
real-life situations.
modelling:
this is where the trainer
demonstrates the behaviour
that best matches the
situation or draws attention
to a peer.
PEERS:
People of equal standing,
for example the 'peers'
of a student are other
students.
homework:
where the newly learned behaviour
is practiced in real-life situations
that are likely to be very rewarding
for the child.
Novita Children's Services
http://www.novita.org.au/
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SECTION 6
ELEMENTS
OF
LIFE
SKILLS
1 Choices:
Level 1 students begin to identify
healthful/harmful choices for safety,
nutrition,
behavior,
hygiene,
participate in a simple
class service project.
2 Working with Others:
Level 2 students learn to
communicate feelings,
investigate how choices
affect themselves and others,
complete cooperative activities,
participate in a group
environmental service
project.
3 Healthy Living:
Level 3 students develop decision
making and problem solving skills,
continue to explore and practice
healthy choices,
participate in a community class
service project.
4 Social Issues:
Level 4 students investigate
strategies to address social
issues involving;
family,
nutrition,
communicalbe diseases,
drug and alcohol addiction,
recognize and manage
situations involving;
prejudice,
bias,
peer pressure,
complete team service project.
5 Basic Life Skills:
Level 5 students investigate
interpersonal relationships
involving issues such as;
personal ethics,
equality,
diversity,
sexuality.
Students develop skills for
independent living,
personal and community safety,
complete an independent Life
Skills Portfolio project.
6 Advanced Life Skills:
Level 6 students refine skills
neccessay for successful
independent living such as;
time management,
collaboration,
resiliencey.
Students will also develop
leadership qualitites and
identify strategies to cope
with stress,
conflict resolution,
personal loss.
Students will conduct a community
needs assessment and complete a
service project to assist others.
7 Healthy Living Skills:
Level 7 students will participate
in simulated independent living
activities,
refine personal and social skills
necessary of successful living,
create a personal health plan,
obtain basic first aid skills,
participate in a community
service event.
8 Leadership and Individual Development:
Level 8 students complete an
independent living experience,
investigate and develop strategies
for informed decision making,
conflict resolution,
applies leadership skills to develop
and implement a community service
project.
Students will have the skills for
self-sufficiency in a variety of
living environments.
WIKIPEDIA
THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA
http://wiki.bssd.org/index.php/Life_Skills
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SECTION 7
SOCIAL
LIVING
SKILLS
LINKS
American Educational Research Association
http://www.eric.ed.gov/
Basic Skills for Living
http://www.basicskillsforliving.ca/
Choice Skills
http://www.choiceskills.com/
eMINTS
http://www.emints.org/
Exceptional Teaching
http://www.exceptionalteaching.net/
Independent Living Skills Web Sites
http://www.byfhome.com/WebSites.htm/
KIDS IN BETWEEN
http://www.kidsinbetween.com/
Legacy Character Education Resources
http://www.character-education.info/
MENTAL HELP
http://www.mentalhelp.net/
National electronic Library for Mental Health
http://www.library.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/
Novita Children's Services
http://www.novita.org.au/
Phillip Roy, Inc
http://www.philliproy.com/
YOUTH SERVICE AMERICA (YSA)
http://www.ysa.org/
Workplace Basic Skills
http://www.workplacebasicskills.com/
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