Using Social Stories in the Kindergarten Classroom
The beginning of the year is all about getting to know each other and building your classroom community. In all of that community-building, your students will notice the similarities and differences they have with their peers. There will be so many different personality types, learning styles, developmental needs, and more right there in your room. Students notice these differences, but they do not always make the connection that different types of people have different needs.
One of the best ways to approach the beautiful differences that make up your classroom is to use social stories. What are social stories, and how are they helpful?
What are social stories?
Social stories are brief stories written to depict a common social situation. These stories were originally developed to help ASD students understand the nuance of social behavior. This is typically more difficult for students on the spectrum to identify). Over time, these stories have also become a popular classroom teaching tool for counselors, school psychologists, and teachers! In Kindergarten, social maturity is something that develops as the year goes on. Stories are a great way to teach young students how to handle a certain situation before they find themselves in it. This proactive approach to emotional regulation and social interaction benefits your classroom management all year long.
What are the benefits of social stories?
Stories provide so many benefits to students. First, they build empathy in young learners. The more students read about social scenarios, they more they approach those situations in real life with patience and understanding. Second, stories about social issues gives students additional tools to solve their problems. This arms students with tools and strategies, rather than allowing them to simply act out on emotions. Finally, stories build and inclusive classroom. If the stories illustrate differences seen in various types of students, your students will make connections back to the differences in their own classroom!
The ‘Just Right for You’ Story
Get started with social stories today by grabbing my ‘Just Right for You’ story. This story helps students understand that different students have different learning needs. The text emphasizes the idea that worrying about what is just right for you will always get you what you need. There is no need to worry about what your neighbor is getting. If it seems more or less than what you got, just remember that they are getting what is just right for them! You can grab the story HERE.
Happy teaching!
