Teach Relationship Skills
Why should I do it:
- Interpersonal skills are an important part of students’ development
- Improves self-esteem
- Increases student buy-in
- Creates a more cohesive class and group
- Helps students help one another
- Increases instructional time
- Decreases time spent repeating directions, rehashing lessons, etc.
- Improves students’ moods, affect, and emotional stability
- Helps students to interact with adults
- Helps students to elicit help from teachers and others
- Teaches students important life skills for dealing with others
- Reduces conflicts, arguing, and fighting
- Improves the environment of the room/school
- Helps students make and keep friends
- Improves coping skills
- Increases self-confidence
When should I do it:
- All students can benefit from being taught relationship skills
- With students who seem to be “loners”
- With students that are frequently involved or starting or taking part in drama
- With students that say no one likes them or they have no friends
- With students who have trouble asking for help
- When students seem socially awkward
- When students cannot get along with others
- When students instigate, annoy, bug, etc., others
- With students who are immature
- When other students shun, avoid, or ostracize others
- When students bully or are bullied
- When students create or spread rumors
- When students have trouble sharing, compromising, listening to others’ opinions, etc.
- When students seem intolerant of others
How do I do it:
- Use any opportunity to model and role play relationship skills, like when a student name calls and others choose not to play with them, when a student shares, when a student helps another, etc.
- Teach lessons on relationships, friendships, getting along with others, tolerance, etc.
- Take students aside to discuss and have them reflect on how their behaviors affect others, what behaviors would make others want to be friends with them, etc.
- Have students partner up and work on projects together
- Assign work partners
- Help kids set goals with making friends or getting to know others
- Try the supports and resources below
Support & resources for technique: