Classwide Social Skills Program


The Classwide Social Problem Solving Program
(Grades 5 - 8)


The Classwide Social Problem-Solving Program offers students from Grade 5 to 8 a strategy for approaching social problem situations. A follow-up program to the Classwide Social Skills Program, it has been three years in development. Because the main instruction comes from videotape, the program is designed to be especially ³teacher-friendly² , using teenage actors to depict challenging situations. A series of seven videotapes presents students with a four-step process of social problem-solving: (a) pause and relax; (b) think about options; (c) select a plan; and, (d) evaluate the plan.

The first tape instructs the class in the step of the social problem solving. It opens with a conflict between two students who are arguing over a CD that was not returned.

There are exercises throughout the tape, lead by the classroom teacher.


Students learn how to pause to think through alternatives.


Students generate alternative solutions, that involve:
Leaving


Ignoring


Getting Help


and Compromising


From those options the student picks a solution and then evaluations how well s/he did.

Students also apply the social problem-solving skills to their own situation, by completing a "student guide". Here, they set goals about their social behavior and keep track of their implementation of the skills.


THE PROGRAM CONSISTS OF 7 VIDEOTAPES AND A TEACHER MANUAL THAT CONTAINS A STUDENT GUIDE.

Return to homepage