Free Social Skills Lesson Plan for 9th Grade Students

Topic: Social skills

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify and practice at least 3 different social skills, including giving compliments, asking for help, and accepting criticism.

Materials

• A deck of playing cards
• Transparencies or slides with examples of giving compliments, asking for help, and accepting criticism

Warm-up

• Begin the lesson by asking students to think of a time when they experienced a social challenge or felt nervous about interacting with others. Have them share their experiences with the class.
• Next, have students think of a social skill they would like to learn and share their selection with the class.

Direct Instruction

• Explain to students that social skills are skills we use to interact with others effectively. These skills can help us to make friends, avoid conflicts, and feel more comfortable in social situations.
• Show students the stack of cards and explain that these cards represent different social skills.
• Go through each social skill and explain what it means and how it can be used in social situations. For example, if one of the social skills is "eye contact," explain what it means to make eye contact with someone and how it can be used to show interest in what someone is saying.
• Have students work in pairs to practice using the social skills on the cards. Encourage them to role play different social situations and use the cards to show how the social skills can be applied.

Guided Practice

• Give each student a set of index cards and have them create their own deck of social skills cards.
• Have students work in pairs and give one student a scenario (e.g. meeting a new friend at a party). The other student should then use their social skills cards to help them think of ways they could act in the given scenario.
• Have students switch roles and repeat the activity with a new scenario.

Independent Practice

• Have students work in small groups and create a social skills board game or activity.
• Encourage students to use their social skills cards as part of their activity.

Closure

• Review the four social skills that were covered in the lesson.
• Have students share their social skills cards and give examples of how they could use them in a game or activity.

Assessment

• Observe students as they play the games or perform the activities that they created, and provide feedback on their use of social skills.