Goal: To improve skills for expressing feelings
Objective(s):
1. The student will recognize the feeling of embarrassment.
2. The student will express, react or deal with the feeling of embarrassment in an appropriate manner.Process Steps:
1. Decide what happened to cause you to feel embarrassed.
2. Think of what you can do to feel less embarrassed.a. Ignore it
b. Decide what to do next time.
c. Say to yourself, "It's over, people will forget it."3. Act out your best choice. (Goldstein, 1988 p. 161)
Discuss
Definition: To feel embarrassed means to feel scared to be glad or scared to be sad.
Rationale: It is uncomfortable to feel embarrassed. Dealing with the feeling through the skill steps helps you to cope with your short term emotions and decide what to do next time.
Where/When/Comments:
• Discuss how you can recognize signs of embarrassment (i.e.
face feels flushed, heart pounds, you don't want to look at
people).
• Have the students list some embarrassing situation.
Discuss a few of these in greater detail. Ask students what to do
or say in the situations (if they want to correct the cause,
minimize their embarrassment, ignore it, distract the others, use
humor). (Mayo and Walto, 1986 p. 253)
Model/Role-play with Feedback
• You get a first pair of glasses.
• Your mother catches you necking with boyfriend or
girlfriend.
• You overheard when discussing private things.
• You give the wrong answer to a question in class.
• You drop and break something of your parents'.
• You fall down on the playground or make a bad throw in a
game.
• Your father sees you acting like a move star while looking
in a mirror.
• Your pants are unzipped. Show how you would deal with your
embarrassment.
• You spill your water when you are eating at a restaurant.
Application with Feedback
• Observe PE class or lunch room for potential situations.
• Have students report back after 1 day or 1 week of
monitoring their ability to deal with embarrassment.
• Pair students and have them act as "embarrassment
monitors" for each other for a specific period of time.
• Watch TV shows. What embarrassing moments happen on shows?
Explain and discuss.
• Write in journals about embarrassing situations.
Social Skills Curriculum Guide, 1992
Special School District of St. Louis County