"Socialthinking - Home." Socialthinking - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Aug. 2015.
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Think Social!The whole Social Thinking program is broken into many specific curriculums. One curriculum I have used is Think Social! Written by Michelle Garcia Winner and it is a curriculum book that works with children on developing and teaching social-cognitive and communicative skills. Any child or adult who has more difficulty in these areas can benefit by the step-by-step methods that are in the book for teachers. The curriculum sequences through eight chapters and 69 lessons that teach students the basics of working and thinking in a group. A group can be a small group in a classroom, a typical classroom setting or any setting out in the real world that involves people. Each chapter goes into detail about how to use interpret language (verbal and nonverbal) to understand times when communication will happen. The detailed lessons range from a kindergarten level through adulthood. The activities can be modified for the needs of all people. This curriculum has been proven to improve the social skills of those who use it and is becoming an “evidence-based practice” by No Child Left Behind.
Some of the focuses in this curriculum is teaching children Social Thinking Vocabulary and exploring self-awareness through video clips and social groups. Each chapter ends with Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goal suggestions as well as a list of educational standards that relate to the lesson. The curriculum was designed with these disabilities in mind but is not limited to: Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD-NOS), High-Functioning Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Hyperlexia and Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD or NVLD). |
Lesson Example from the Curriculum: Expected Vs. Unexpected Behavior |
This lesson is a sample lesson from the curriculum of Think Social! I have specifically used this lesson in a Social Thinking group for two kindergarteners and two first graders. This group was held during the afternoon once a week and was called "Social Adventures". How I structured this for this young of a group was jumping right in to find out what they know. We made a group list of "Expected" and "Unexpected" behavior during group time. Going off of their knowledge, I then guided them in directions based upon what I know of them. For example, one particular student is known to frequently become out of control when talking about toilets so I said to them "Do you think it is unexpected or expected to talk about toilets during group?" and they all agreed it was unexpected and people in the group may think it's weird. Throughout the year when we were in group, we kept a running list of expected and unexpected behavior and we had it hanging near us during group time. When students were participating in "Unexpected" behavior I would refer to the chart. We had deeper discussions about other times during the day what behavior was expected vs. unexpected. When students were doing unexpected things throughout the school day, the staff would use the language to the student that their behavior was unexpected.
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This video is discussing a lesson/discussion on "being bored". The lesson also brings up how the language of expected behavior vs. unexpected behavior comes into play throughout all lessons.