We all know that school classrooms and playgrounds are a huge experience for students. They are navigating not only their education but also learning and adapting to many new social situations. School is much more than just a location for learning the curriculum but where many students will learn the communication skills that carry over with them into adulthood.
So as teachers and staff, what can we do to help those who are feeling left behind or excluded by their peers?
Teach the importance of body language
This is a great lesson that can be included in drama classes especially. You can have them perform the same scenes and dialogues with different body language to show the impact and effect it can make others feel. This not only brings to light students own behaviours but also helps to give them the ability to decipher other peers body language and non-verbal communication.
Team work activities to encourage communication
In the classroom we can create scenarios which encourage students to communicate with other students outside of their usual friendship group. This helps create an entry conversation point which can help students with the initial barrier of starting a conversation with a fellow peer.
Focus on teaching empathy
If we can provide children with a clearer understanding into how others feel they are much more likely to respond with a positive form of communication. If a student can put themselves in the shoes of another they might indeed reach out with a word of kindness and potentially encourage the other student to become more involved in the social circle.
These are just three ways we can help our students improve their social skills and hot they communicate with their fellow peers. Each child is different though and its important to look out for key indicators that can point you into a direction of what they might specifically need. Just remember not to intervene and allow the social changes to happen naturally rather than being forced upon them.
Our teams on camp focus heavily on encouraging communication between all of our students and use a variety of activities to not only teach them key wilderness skills but also to develop their social skills and hope to inspire them to get excited about learning and working together as a team.
