Introduction

In today’s world, effective communication is essential for children’s personal, academic, and professional success. One of the key aspects of communication is understanding the dynamics of a conversation. To help our young learners develop their conversational abilities, we introduce the concept of Conversation Drivers and Conversation Stoppers. Conversation Drivers are actions or words that keep a conversation moving in the right direction, while Conversation Stoppers abruptly end a conversation before it’s ready to conclude. This blog post will provide you with a no-prep activity, discussion questions, related skills, and additional resources to help your Kindergarten students develop their conversation skills.

No-Prep Activity: Two Sides

Two Sides is a simple, engaging, and effective activity to teach Conversation Drivers and Stoppers to Kindergarten students. It requires no preparation or materials from the educator. Follow these steps:

1. Divide your students into pairs. One student will play the role of “A” and the other will play the role of “B”.
2. Explain the concept of Conversation Drivers and Conversation Stoppers to your students, highlighting the importance of keeping a conversation moving in the right direction.
3. Provide a conversation topic to the pairs, such as discussing a favorite movie or toy.
4. Ask the students to start a conversation. The student playing the role of “A” should try to use Conversation Drivers, while the student playing the role of “B” should use Conversation Stoppers.
5. After a minute or two, ask the students to switch roles and continue the conversation.
6. When the activity is over, bring the class back together and discuss their experiences.

Discussion Questions

Use these discussion questions to stimulate further conversation and reflection on the activity:

1. How did it feel when someone used a Conversation Driver? How did it feel when someone used a Conversation Stopper?
2. What are some examples of Conversation Drivers and Conversation Stoppers that you noticed during the activity?
3. Why is it important to use Conversation Drivers in our daily interactions?
4. What strategies can you use to become better at using Conversation Drivers and avoiding Conversation Stoppers?
5. How can practicing these skills help you build stronger relationships with others?

Related Skills

Along with Conversation Drivers and Stoppers, there are other related skills that can help students become better communicators and improve their social-emotional development:

• Active Listening: Paying close attention to the speaker and showing genuine interest in what they are saying.
• Asking Open-Ended Questions: Encouraging deeper discussions by asking questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, which helps in building strong connections.
• Nonverbal Communication: Using body language, facial expressions, and gestures to convey messages and emotions effectively.

Next Steps

Now that you have an engaging activity to teach Conversation Drivers and Stoppers, it’s time to put it into practice and watch your Kindergarten students thrive in their social-emotional development. To access more valuable resources and sample materials, we encourage you to sign up for free samples at Everyday Speech. These resources will help you continue to nurture the essential skills your students need for success in their personal, academic, and future professional lives.