Social and Emotional Learning
Pragmatic Language Skills
Pelican Talk knows this is one of the most IMPORTANT areas of learning. After all, communicating with others is the reason WHY we use speech and language... and emotional awareness is a BIG part of this.
Below our resources and tipsheets related to Social and Emotional Learning including the FREE KOALA FEELINGS CARDS.
IMPORTANT! When it comes to teaching about "expected" social behaviours, social "norms" and emotional regulation, we always have to question, who is setting these norms? For most part, the answer is neurotypical adults (non-autistic adults). This can often lead to a very biased view of what is acceptable and has been shown to lead to anxiety and feelings of inadequacy by autistic individuals.
Any adult teaching any child about social behaviours must have an understanding of neurodiversity.*
*Autistic children and children diagnosed with ADHD can be described as neurodivergent meaning their brains process emotional and social information differently to neurotypical individuals.
Never do we want to make a child feel broken or impaired just because their way of interacting and processing social information is different to the "typical" way. Please take the time to read more about neurodiversity here.
Having said this, children may present with differences in social interactions for many reasons. Experiences of childhood trauma and social isolation can affect how a child develops in their social and emotional capabilities.
Puppets
Pelican Talk LOVES puppets so much we have our own puppet website, Puppets for Learning. We also run a training package Using Puppets for Social and Emotional Learning. Email us if you are interested in hosting a training day - or you can join in on a training day in Melbourne or our next Zoom series . Click here for details of our upcoming face-to-face and zoom training sessions.
Puppets are brilliant for exploring emotions. Just look at poor Gail the Snail. How do you think she's feeling and why? Discussing feelings and thinking about WHY others might feel a certain way is vital for understanding social relationships.
Social Puppets is a program by Pelican Talk that targets 25 social scenarios common in the early childhood setting. With a strong focus on social understanding and emotions, this is a fun way to model, discuss and practise social in teractions using puppets.You can purchase Social Puppets here. (It comes with a program and 2 gorgeous kid puppets).
KOALA FEELINGS CARDS AND ACTIVITIES
NEW IN 2022 and THEY'RE FREE!
Download Set 1and 2 and 3 are below... More will follow!
Follow us on Facebook to access the entire series free.
Explore emotions and feelings using these FREE cards and printable activity sheets. All free. Follow us on Facebook to find out when the next set is released.
REMEMBER - All feelings and emotions are OK to feel. Knowing how we feel and, through this, managing the intensity of our emotions is what is important.
Set One targets happy, sad, scared and angry. Click here to download cards and activity sheet.
Set Two targets excited, calm, shy, disgusted. Click here to download cards and activity sheet.
Set Three targets annoyed, proud, tired, loved. Click here to download cards and activity sheet.
Exploring (Guessing) Others' Thoughts and Intentions. I love using animated clips, to discuss what a character might be thinking, why they might have done something, why they changed their mind etc. Snack Attack and The Present are two of my faves. Kids love them too.
FreeTipsheets and Checklists
Below are links to free tipsheets and checklists relating to social and/or emotional learning and pragmatic language skills.
Demonstrating Emotions with a Puppet
A Great Article on Theory of Mind in Young Children
Barrier Games - A Great Tool For Theory of Mind
Non-Verbal Communication Checklist
Explaining Sarcasm (includes pictures)
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Products
SOCIAL SAM is our SUPER POPULAR social language resource. It contains 41 illustrated stories targeting social situations - plus so much more! (You can send the pictures to a tablet and save your printer ink!) See Social Sam in our online store here.
Find your character, check what they are doing in the scene. Think about how they might be feeling and why. Lots of activities for "walking in someone else's shoes."See Fun Park in our online store.
BOOM CARDS are a super cheap way to learn idioms. In fact, they are so cheap, the Animal set is FREE! Check out Pelican Talk's here.
BARRIER GAMES are wonderful for conveying clear messages and for receiving them. See My First Barrier Games in our online store.
For more great resources, have a peep here.
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