Goal: To improve initial social skills
Objective(s): The student will demonstrate willingness to share time and materials with others.
Process Steps:
1. Decide if you want to share something.
2. Decide whom you want to share with.
3. Choose a good time and place.
4. Offer to share in a friendly and sincere way. (McGinnis and Goldstein, 1980)
Discuss
Definition: Elicit definitions of sharing from the students. For example: Giving something (toy, cookie) to someone else; Friends playing together nicely with the same toy (crayons, blocks).
Rationale: Elicit reasons why sharing is important.
Where/When/Comments:
• Discuss appropriate times to share with others. Students
give examples of sharing.
• Talk about how the other person might feel if the student
does or doesn't share.
• If the student can only share with one person, discuss how
others may feel left out.
• Discuss how to choose a good time: when another person
needs or would enjoy using something of the student's.
• Discuss sincerity.
• Tell the students that while it is normally good to share,
sometimes we have to think of ourselves. Ask students to consider
the following situations and ask them if they think the person
should share:
a. Tom has a brand new bicycle that he has just started to ride.
His neighbor Billy comes over and asks to have a turn riding. Tom
knows that Billy is just learning to ride, and might fall and
scratch the bike.
b. Mary saved her money from her allowance to buy candy. Her
sister spent her allowance on doll clothes. She asks Mary to
share the candy. (St. Louis Public Schools, 1990 p. 60)
c. Carl and Sue have worked most of recess building a tower of
blocks so they could knock it down. Tony and Barbara see the
tower and ask of they can join in knocking it down.
• Help students see that sometimes it's okay not to share.
Ask students how they should tell others that they don't want to
share. Have students role play the above situations and tell the
other students politely but firmly that they don't wish to share.
Teach students not to debate or argue with the other person but
to state clearly and simply their position and repeat this until
the person understands that they are not going to share this
time.
• Point out to students that they can sometimes find another
solution if they don't want to hurt the other person's feelings.
For example, Tom in the situation above could suggest that Billy
get his own bike so they could ride together. (St. Louis Public
Schools, 1990 p. 61)
Set the Stage:
• Teacher brings in food item that must be divided to share
with the class. (Example - pie, cake, pizza, 2 liter soda,
fruit). Discuss the sharing of the food item. "How would you
feel if you had been left out? What if the division had been
unequal? What if someone wasn't hungry?"
Model/Role-play with Feedback
• Teacher models process steps:
Situations: using crayons, toys, snacks, books, clothes, nail
polish, games, tapes, and play time.
• Teacher makes visual aid of process steps for students to
display.
Role play situations:
• You offer to share your pencils or paper with someone who
doesn't have any.
• You offer to share a treat with someone.
• You offer to share a game with a friend.
• You offer to share your toys with someone.
• You share part of a snack with someone who forgot his.
• You share the Nintendo game with your brother.
Application with Feedback
• Teacher provides a coloring activity with only on box of
crayons per group.
• Videotape spontaneous role plays.
• Self charting of times they have shared.
• Give a pair of students one piece of paper and one pencil.
Have them draw a picture. (Walker and et al, 1988 p. 168
Accepts).
• Give each student one color of paper. The paper should be
cut into strips. Each student is to make a chain using one strip
of each color. (Walker and et al, 1988 p.168 Accepts)
• Cook and share food with another class or teachers.
• Homework sheet with parent feedback.
• Give class a block of time for computer use and have them
develop their own schedule.
• Students report on an example of sharing they plan and
implement within a one-week period.
• Playground-organizing and playing games.
• Plan a schedule for sharing classroom jobs.
• Students have to share a single item snack.
Social Skills Curriculum Guide, 1992
Special School District of St. Louis County