Classroom Social Skills Dinosaur Program 1 Running head ...

Classroom Social Skills Dinosaur Program 16
Children are helped to recognize the clues in their bodies that tell them they are becoming angry
and to learn to use self-talk, deep breathing, and positive imagery to help themselves calm down.
Teachers also use guided imagery exercises with the children (having them close their eyes and
pretend to be in a cocoon or turtle shell) to help them experience the feeling of being relaxed and
calm. Videotapes of children handling anger or being teased or rejected are used to trigger roleplays
to practice these calming down strategies.
Throughout the discussion of vignettes and role-play demonstrations, the teachers and
puppets help the children to change some of their negative attributions about events. For example,
the puppet Molly explains, “Maybe he was teasing you because he really wanted to be your friend
but didn’t know how to ask you nicely” or, “You know, all kids get turned down sometimes when
they ask to play; it doesn’t mean the other kids don’t like you” or, “You know, he might have
bumped you accidentally and not on purpose.” The Pass the Hat Detective Game is played to help
the children determine when an event might be an “accident” versus when it might be done “on
purpose” and how each event could be handled.
Molly Manners Teachers How to Be Friendly and How to Talk with Friends (Allosaurus and
Brachiosaurus Units 6 and 7)
Few teachers need to be convinced that friendships are important for children. Through
the successful formation of friendships, children learn social skills such as cooperation, sharing,
and conflict management. Friendships also foster a child's sense of group belonging and begin to
facilitate children's empathy skills—that is, their ability to understand another's perspective. The
formation (or absence) of friendships has an enduring impact on the child's social adjustment in
later life. Research has shown that peer problems such as peer isolation or rejection are predictive