Introduction

Sharing and turn-taking are essential social skills that help students in special education build positive relationships with their peers. These skills promote cooperation, empathy, and understanding, which are crucial for their overall social-emotional development. This blog post will introduce an easy no-prep activity to teach sharing and turn-taking, provide discussion questions to stimulate further conversations, and suggest related skills that can be taught alongside these core abilities.

No-Prep Activity

This activity, called “Pass the Object,” requires no preparation or materials from the educator and can be easily adapted to different group sizes. It aims to help students practice sharing and turn-taking in a fun and engaging way.

1. Ask the students to sit in a circle.
2. Select an object, such as a ball or a stuffed animal, that can be easily passed from one student to another.
3. Begin the activity by passing the object to the student sitting next to you and saying, “Here you go, (student’s name). It’s your turn.”
4. Encourage the student to take the object, say “Thank you,” and then pass it to the next student with the same phrase you used.
5. Continue the activity until the object has been passed to every student in the circle. Make sure each student has a turn and uses the appropriate phrases to practice sharing and turn-taking.
6. After the activity, discuss the importance of sharing and taking turns with the students, reinforcing the concepts they just practiced.

Discussion Questions

Use these questions to encourage further discussions about sharing and turn-taking:

• Why is sharing important when we play with our friends?
• How do you feel when someone shares their toys or belongings with you?
• What can you do if someone doesn’t want to share or take turns? How can you handle the situation?
• How can we practice sharing and turn-taking in our everyday lives, both at school and at home?
• Can you think of a time when you shared something or took turns with a friend? How did it make you feel?

Related Skills

Teaching sharing and turn-taking skills to students in special education can be complemented by introducing other related social-emotional skills, such as:

• Communication: Encourage students to express their feelings and thoughts openly, and teach them how to listen and respond to others.
• Empathy: Help students understand and respect the feelings of their peers, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Conflict resolution: Teach students how to identify and resolve disagreements in a peaceful and constructive manner.
• Cooperation: Promote teamwork and collaboration by engaging students in group activities that require them to work together towards a common goal.

Next Steps

If you’d like to explore more activities and resources to help teach sharing, turn-taking, and other essential social-emotional skills, we invite you to sign up for free samples of our materials. Our resources are specifically designed to support educators working with students in special education, making it easy for you to incorporate these valuable lessons into your daily routines.