Instructional Interventions for

Interpersonal Relationships with Peers

 

Examples of behavior

 

·        Tattling

·        Rude/impolite

·        Interrupting conversations

·        Refusing to share and/or take turns

·        Difficulty interacting with peers (joining a group, playing a game, initiating and continuing social conversations, taking turns, etc.)

 

Desired alternative behavior(s)

 

·        Will use pre-taught steps in determining when to tell  the teacher versus when to let it go untold (e.g., telling if there is a safety issue)

·        Will listen quietly while others talk and wait his/her turn to speak

·        Will  take turns while playing a  game in informal settings

·        Will independently share toys/materials during group activities

·        Use skill in various school settings (e.g., hall, lunchroom, study hall, all classrooms)

 

General instructional strategies that might be useful in teaching the desired behavior(s)

 

  • Teach the difference between unnecessary tattling and reporting serious behavior
  • Role playing
  • Model acceptable behavior (teacher and peers)
  • Behavior contracting
  • Supervised play/structured activities during recess or other free time
  • Class meetings
  • Teach manners, politeness
  • Gentle correction if behaviors are occasional or if reported behavior is not serious
  • Precorrection/prompts
  • Don’t punish other students solely on the basis of tattling

 

Instructional materials that might prove useful in teaching the desired behavior(s)

 

·         Skillstreaming series for social skill instruction; PREPARE Curriculum.   Creating the Peaceable School.  Research Press, P.O. Box 9177, Champaign, IL 61826.  1-800-519-2707  www.researchpress.com

·         Don’t Laugh at Me:  Creating a Ridicule Free Classroom from Operation Respect created by Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary).  Packets for Grades 2-5. 6-8, after school, and summer programs.  Can be downloaded free of charge from www.dontlaugh.org

·         Good Thinking and the Tough Kid series (Tough Kid Book, Discipline Kit, Social Skills Book, Tool Box, New Teacher Kit, audio and video series)

Sopris West, 4093 Specialty Place, Longmont, CO 80504.  1-800-547-6747

www.sopriswest.com

·         Thinking Mistakes (an elementary curriculum) by Orv Clark and Wayne Hull.  Available from CESA 6.  Contact Bunny Boelter ([email protected])

·         Changing Behavior by Changing Thinking (secondary level) by John Bemis.  [email protected]

·         TRIBES Curriculum (a research-based community building program)

CenterSource System, LLC, 7975 Cameron Drive, Bldg. 500, Windsor, CA 95492

707/838-1061. www.tribes.com

·         Short Term Play Therapy with Disruptive Children

Childswork/Childsplay, 135 Supont St., P.O. Box 760, Plainview, NY 11803

1-800-962-1141.   www.childswork.com

·         Social Stories & Comic Book Conversations by Carol Gray.

The Gray Center, 2020 Raybrooke SE, Suite 101, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

616/954-9747.  www.thegraycenter.org

·         Scripting:  Social Communication for Adolescents by Patty Mayo and Pattii Waldo.  Thinking Publications,  P.O. Box 163, Eau Claire, WI 54702-0163.  1-800-225-4769. www.thinkingpublications.com

·         Team-building activities for Every Group, More Team-Building Activities for Every Group, and 104 Activities that Build:  Self-Esteem, Teamwork, Communication, Anger Management, Self-Discovery, Coping Skills by Alanna Jones.  RecRoom Publishing, P.O. Box 404, Richland, WA 99352.  1-888-325-GAME.  www.gamesforgroups.com

·         www.behavioradvisor.com

·         www.disciplinehelp.com

·         www.interventioncentral.org

 

 


 

Adult attention

Escape/avoidance

Power/control

Peer affiliation

Justice/revenge

 

Teacher:

 

Instructional strategies to promote desired alternative behavior

 

 

 

 

 

 

And/or

 

 

 

 

 

Instructional strategies to reduce the target behavior

[Note:  when alternate behavior is incompatible with target behavior, the same strategy may work both to promote & to reduce]

 

 

 

-       Praise for correct behavior

-       Direct teaching of social skills to whole class

-       Self monitoring

-       Token economy

-       Redirect the student

-       Guided practice

-       Nonverbal signals for “good job”

-       Investigate reported behaviors quietly

-       Have clear expectations

-       Teacher helper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          Teach student to write down concerns and discuss them later  one-on-one

-          Teach social skills for peer interaction

-          Structure social situations but still allow students freedom to learn and develop independent skills

-          Provide opportunities for practice and feedback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          Choices

-          Leadership opportunities

-          Pre – teach

-          Student input on consequences

-          Student input on acceptable vs. not acceptable

-          Teach negotiating skills

-          Teach perspective taking/empathy

-          Involve the student in structured activities to learn turn-taking and social problem solving

-          Use vignettes, social stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          Create and reinforce activities in which students work together for a  common goal

-          Group contingency

-          Friendship groups to work on social skills (making friends)

-          Supervised play groups in unstructured settings or free time

-          Teach perspective taking

-          Teach team building

-       Allow the student to teach skills to younger students

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student:

 

Instructional consequences for alternative appropriate behavior

 

 

 

 

 

And/or

 

 

 

 

Instructional consequences for inappropriate target behavior

 

 

 

-      Positive adult attention

-      Earn token or other reward

-      Adult mentor

-      Be teacher helper

-      Work with teacher or other key adult

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Have student identify how to get adult attention appropriately

 

 

-      Choice in peer group (who is in it, how much time spent)

-      Select activities

-      Work with younger children

-      “Buy outs” – do 4 and you can skip 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Have student identify how to appropriately escape

 

 

-      Leadership opportunities

-      Choices

-      Teacher helper

-      Time limits for using any toy or piece of equipment; automatic switching at end of time

-      Peer mediator

-                  Give student leadership role

 

 

 

-          Have student identify how to appropriate get power or control

 

 

 

 

-         Choose activities with peers

-         Have a peer mentor

-         Be a mentor for a younger student

-         Opportunities to get positive peer attention

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-             Have student identify how to get peer attention appropriately

 

 

 

Avoid the use of

-      Removing the student

-      Attention for inappropriate behavior

 

-        Removal from class or playground

-      Public confrontation

-      Power struggles

-            Lecturing the student

 

-        Public confrontation

 

 

Special considerations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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