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Your Social GPS

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Ian Day

Tier 1
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Your Social GPS Lesson Plan

Students will define key social skills (active listening, empathy, conflict resolution), analyze their importance, and apply them through interactive scenarios to enhance interpersonal effectiveness.

Developing robust social skills is vital for building strong relationships, succeeding in academic and professional environments, and navigating diverse social situations with confidence.

Audience

11th Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussion, scenario analysis, and practical application.

Materials

Your Social GPS Slide Deck, Warm-Up: Social Check-In, Teacher Script: Your Social GPS, Discussion Guide: Real-World Scenarios, and Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight

Prep

Review Materials

10 minutes

  • Review the Your Social GPS Lesson Plan, Your Social GPS Slide Deck, Warm-Up: Social Check-In, Teacher Script: Your Social GPS, Discussion Guide: Real-World Scenarios, and Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight to familiarize yourself with the content and flow.
    - Ensure projector and computer are set up for the slide deck.

Step 1

Warm-Up: Social Check-In

5 minutes

  1. Begin with the Warm-Up: Social Check-In activity to gauge students' initial thoughts on social skills.
    2. Facilitate a brief class share-out based on their responses. (Refer to Teacher Script: Your Social GPS for guidance).

Step 2

Introduction to Social Skills

7 minutes

  1. Present the Your Social GPS Slide Deck slides 1-3, introducing the concept of social skills and their importance.
    2. Use the Teacher Script: Your Social GPS to guide the discussion on active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution.

Step 3

Real-World Scenarios Discussion

12 minutes

  1. Divide students into small groups or lead a whole-class discussion using the Discussion Guide: Real-World Scenarios.
    2. Encourage students to apply the discussed social skills to the scenarios provided.
    3. Circulate and provide support/facilitate deeper thinking. (Refer to Teacher Script: Your Social GPS for prompts).

Step 4

Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight

6 minutes

  1. Conclude the lesson with the Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight activity.
    2. Ask students to share one social skill they want to focus on improving.
    3. Collect cool-down responses as an exit ticket.
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Slide Deck

Your Social GPS: Navigating Connections

How do you navigate your social world?

Welcome students and introduce the engaging title. Ask students to consider what 'Social GPS' might mean in the context of their daily lives.

What Are Social Skills?

  • Definition: The abilities we use to interact and communicate with others.
    - Why they matter: Build relationships, resolve conflicts, succeed in school and work.

Explain that social skills are the tools we use to interact effectively with others. Emphasize that these skills are learned and can always be improved. Ask students for examples of social interactions they find challenging or rewarding.

Key Social Skills for Success

  • Active Listening: Fully focusing on what others are saying.
    - Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
    - Conflict Resolution: Finding peaceful solutions to disagreements.

Introduce the three key skills for today. Briefly define each and ask students if they can think of situations where these skills are particularly important.

Practice Time: Real-World Scenarios

Let's put our skills to the test!

Discuss the provided scenarios and how you would apply active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution.

Explain that they will now apply these skills to real-world situations. Encourage active participation and thoughtful discussion within their groups or as a class.

Level Up Your Social Skills!

Social skills are like muscles – the more you use them, the stronger they get!

Keep practicing, keep connecting!

Summarize the importance of continuous skill development. Reiterate that practice makes progress. Encourage students to think about how they can use these skills today.

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Warm Up

Warm-Up: Social Check-In

Take a moment to think about your interactions with others. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being "Needs a lot of work" and 5 being "I got this!"), how confident do you feel in these areas?

  1. Active Listening: How well do you feel you truly hear and understand others when they speak?



  2. Showing Empathy: How good are you at understanding and sharing the feelings of others?



  3. Resolving Conflicts: How effectively do you handle disagreements or arguments?



Briefly explain why you gave yourself the rating you did for one of the areas.











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Script

Teacher Script: Your Social GPS

Warm-Up: Social Check-In (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning/afternoon, everyone! Today we're going to talk about something super important for navigating our daily lives: social skills. Think of them as your personal social GPS."

"Let's start with a quick Warm-Up: Social Check-In. Please take a few minutes to silently reflect on the questions on the warm-up sheet. Rate your confidence in active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution, and then briefly explain one of your ratings."

(Allow 3 minutes for students to complete. Circulate the room.)

Teacher: "Alright, who would like to share one of their ratings and why they chose it? No pressure, just sharing your honest reflections." (Call on 2-3 students. Affirm their responses and thank them for sharing.)

Introduction to Social Skills (7 minutes)

Teacher: (Transition to Your Social GPS Slide Deck - Slide 1)

"Our lesson today is called Your Social GPS: Navigating Connections. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'social GPS'? How do you think we use a 'GPS' in our social interactions?"

(Allow 30-60 seconds for responses. Affirm ideas.)

Teacher: (Advance to Your Social GPS Slide Deck - Slide 2)

"Exactly! Just like a GPS helps us find our way, social skills help us navigate our interactions with others effectively. What do you think are some situations where good social skills are absolutely essential?"

(Allow 1 minute for responses. Guide towards examples like group projects, job interviews, family gatherings, making new friends, resolving disagreements.)

Teacher: "Today, we're going to focus on three key social skills that are incredibly important for success in all aspects of your life."

(Advance to Your Social GPS Slide Deck - Slide 3)

"The first is Active Listening. This isn't just about hearing words; it's about truly understanding the message someone is trying to convey, both verbally and non-verbally. It means putting away distractions, making eye contact, and showing that you're engaged. Why is it so hard to be an active listener sometimes? And why is it so important?"

(Allow 1 minute for responses. Guide towards distractions, pre-judging, making people feel valued.)

Teacher: "Next, we have Empathy. This is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It's about putting yourself in someone else's shoes. How is empathy different from sympathy? Why is empathy so powerful in building strong connections?"

(Allow 1 minute for responses. Guide towards connection vs. pity, understanding perspectives.)

Teacher: "Finally, Conflict Resolution. Disagreements are a natural part of life. This skill is about finding peaceful and fair solutions when you have differing opinions or needs with someone else. What's one common mistake people make when trying to resolve a conflict?"

(Allow 1 minute for responses. Guide towards yelling, blaming, not listening, escalating.)

Real-World Scenarios Discussion (12 minutes)

Teacher: (Advance to Your Social GPS Slide Deck - Slide 4)

"Now it's time to put these skills into practice! I've prepared some Discussion Guide: Real-World Scenarios for you to work through. You can work in small groups, or we can discuss them as a whole class – what do you prefer?"

(Based on student preference, either facilitate whole-class or divide into groups. If in groups, give 6-7 minutes for discussion, then bring back for share-out. If whole-class, facilitate discussion for the full 10-12 minutes.)

(As students discuss, circulate and prompt them with questions like:)

  • "Which of the three skills is most relevant here?"
  • "How would active listening change the outcome?"
  • "What empathetic response could you give?"
  • "What specific steps would you take to resolve this conflict peacefully?"
  • "How might the other person be feeling?"

Teacher: (After discussion, bring the class back together if in groups.)

"Let's share some of your insights. What was a key takeaway from discussing these scenarios? Which skill felt the most challenging to apply, and why?"

(Call on 2-3 students to share.)

Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight (6 minutes)

Teacher: (Advance to Your Social GPS Slide Deck - Slide 5)

"Excellent work today, everyone. To wrap things up, we're going to do a Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight. On your cool-down sheet, I want you to identify one social skill – from today or another you know – that you want to actively focus on improving in the next week. Write down a small, concrete action you can take to practice it."

(Allow 3-4 minutes for students to write.)

Teacher: "Who would like to share the skill they chose and a small action they'll take?"

(Call on 2-3 students to share. Collect the cool-down sheets as students leave or as an exit ticket.)

"Remember, social skills are like muscles – the more you use them, the stronger they get! Keep practicing, keep connecting. Great job today!"

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Discussion

Discussion Guide: Real-World Scenarios

Work with your group to discuss the following scenarios. For each scenario, consider:

  • Which social skills (active listening, empathy, conflict resolution) are most important here?
  • How would you apply these skills in this situation?
  • What would be a positive outcome?
  • What would be a negative outcome if these skills were not used?

Scenario 1: Group Project Clash

You are working on a major group project for history class. One member, Alex, hasn't been contributing much, and the deadline is fast approaching. Another member, Jamie, is getting visibly frustrated and just snapped at Alex during your last meeting.













Scenario 2: Misunderstanding with a Friend

Your best friend, Sam, seems upset with you, but you don't know why. They've been giving you short answers and avoiding eye contact. You've tried asking what's wrong, but they just say, "Nothing, I'm fine."













Scenario 3: Different Opinions on a School Policy

During a student council meeting, there's a debate about a new school policy regarding phone use. You strongly believe phones should be allowed during lunch, while another student leader argues passionately that they should be banned entirely to encourage more interaction. The discussion is getting heated.













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Cool Down

Cool-Down: Skill Spotlight

Reflect on today's lesson and your own social interactions.

  1. What is ONE social skill (from today's lesson or another you know) that you want to actively focus on improving in the coming week?



  2. What is ONE small, concrete action you can take to practice this skill? Be specific!
    Example: If I want to improve active listening, I will put my phone away when a friend is talking to me.












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