Warm Up: Pass the Smile

Objective: To activate students' understanding of positive peer interactions and create a positive group atmosphere.

Instructions:

1. Have students sit in a circle.
2. Introduce a soft ball or talking stick (if available). Explain that when you hold the ball, it's your turn to speak.
3. Start by holding the ball and saying, "I like playing with friends because we can share our toys!" (or something similar).
4. Pass the ball to the student next to you. That student then says one thing they like about playing with friends, and then passes it to the next person.
5. Continue until every student has had a turn.

Teacher Notes:

• Encourage shy students with a gentle prompt or by offering an example.
• For students with Autism, you might model the response clearly first, or provide a visual cue for when it's their turn.

Happy/Sad Face Cards

Instructions for Teacher:
Print and cut out these cards. Distribute one set (one happy face, one sad face) to each student for the Cool Down activity.

Happy Face Card

😊

I feel HAPPY!

Sad Face Card

😞

I feel SAD!

(Repeat for additional cards as needed for the group size)

Cool Down: How Do You Feel About Sharing?

Objective: To encourage students to reflect on their feelings about sharing and kind words, reinforcing positive social behaviors.

Instructions:

1. Distribute the Happy/Sad Face Cards to each student. Alternatively, students can use thumbs up (happy) or thumbs down (sad).
2. Read the following scenarios one at a time.
3. After each scenario, ask students to hold up the face card that shows how they would feel, or use their thumbs up/down.

Scenarios:

• How do you feel when your friend lets you play with their favorite toy?
  
• How do you feel when someone says, "That's mine! I don't want to share!"
  
• How do you feel when your friend says, "Please may I have a turn?"
  
• How do you feel when someone takes a toy from you without asking?
  

Discussion Prompts:

• "Why do you think it feels good to share?"
• "What can we do when we feel sad because someone wasn't kind?"

Teacher Notes:

• Reiterate that sharing and kind words make everyone feel happy and help us be good friends.
• Pay attention to students' responses to gauge their understanding and emotional connection to the concepts.
• For students with Autism, provide clear visual cues alongside verbal instructions. You might point to your own happy/sad face card as you ask the question.

Sharing is Caring Activity Cards

Instructions for Teacher: Print and cut out these cards. Use them during the "Sharing Scenario Activity" to present different social situations to the students.

Scenario Card 1: Two Friends, One Ball

Image: Two children looking at a single ball, one child holding it tightly, the other looking sad.

Prompt: Liam has a bright red ball. His friend Mia wants to play with it too. Liam is holding it close and doesn't want to let go.

Question for Students: What should Liam do? What could Mia say?

Scenario Card 2: Block Tower Fun

Image: Two children building a block tower, one child reaches for a block the other child is also reaching for.

Prompt: Sarah and Ben are building a big block tower together. They both want the same yellow block to finish the roof!

Question for Students: What can Sarah and Ben do to share the block or take turns?

Scenario Card 3: Drawing with Crayons

Image: A child drawing with a box of crayons, another child sitting nearby watching.

Prompt: David is coloring a beautiful picture with a whole box of crayons. His friend Lily doesn't have any crayons and wants to color too.

Question for Students: What could David do? What could Lily say?

Scenario Card 4: Wanting a Turn

Image: A child on a swing, another child standing patiently nearby.

Prompt: Emma is on the swing, and she's been swinging for a while. Her friend Noah is waiting for a turn.

Question for Students: What could Emma do? What could Noah say nicely to ask for a turn?

Scenario Card 5: Helping a Friend

Image: A child whose blocks have fallen over, looking sad, and another child looking at them.

Prompt: Max's tall tower of blocks just fell down, and he looks very sad. His friend Chloe sees what happened.

Question for Students: What could Chloe do or say to help Max feel better?

Activity: Sharing Scenario Activity

Objective: To provide students with opportunities to identify and practice appropriate social responses in common peer interaction scenarios, focusing on sharing and kind words.

Materials:

• Sharing is Caring Activity Cards

Instructions:

1. Gather students in a small group, perhaps sitting on the floor or around a table.
2. Explain that you will look at some pictures (or read some stories) about friends. "We are going to think about what good friends do in these situations!"
3. Take out the Sharing is Caring Activity Cards one by one.
4. For each card:
   • Show the picture and read the prompt clearly.
   • Ask the guiding questions provided on the card (e.g., "What should Liam do? What could Mia say?").
   • Encourage students to share their ideas. Facilitate a brief discussion for each scenario.
   • If appropriate and time allows, invite students to role-play the correct behavior.
5. Provide positive reinforcement for all attempts and correct answers. Reiterate the importance of sharing and using kind words in each scenario.

Teacher Notes:

• For students with Autism, break down instructions into smaller steps. Use visual cues (pointing to pictures, modeling actions) to help comprehension.
• Focus on concrete examples and clear expectations. Avoid abstract concepts.
• If a student struggles, gently guide them to the correct response or offer a choice (e.g., "Should Liam share, or keep the ball all to himself?").