Hey guys! I wanted to put together a really easy and fun lesson using the Conversation Drivers & Stoppers materials. Read on for lesson suggestions & instructions!

Objective: Maintaining a Conversation  

Level: Emergent

Age: Pre-K-K- Elementary

Skill Progression:

To Use:

Print out the Conversation Drivers & Stoppers concept image, read about the concept you’ll introduce, and select which materials you think will be best for your students.

Related resources: See our full list of social skills games.

Intro Materials:

Use pages 10-16 of the Conversation Drivers & Stoppers Premium Activity Packet to introduce the skill. Print out the two main Conversation Driver and Stopper cards on page 10 to use as visual tools.

Make sure to talk about the following:

• Conversation Drivers are behaviors we use to keep a conversation going.
  • These include staying on topic, asking others questions, and conversation share.
• Conversation Stoppers are actions that will stop a conversation before it’s ready to be over.
  • These include shifting the topic too early, only talking about yourself or your interests, and doing all of the talking.

Complete the sorting activity with your students to give them examples of which behaviors fall into each category.

Main Activity:

Watch the Fork in the Road – Conversation Drivers & Stoppers Extension Video Lesson. This video is a longer compilation of scenes, so for a shorter lesson watch up until the time 4.43.

During or after watching, talk about:

• If Zach used a Conversation Driver or Stopper
• How Zach’s actions made Leah feel
• What Zach should have done instead

Review:

Follow up with pages 3-8 of the Conversation Drivers & Stoppers Premium Activity Packet for a scenario-based activity. Students are given scenarios and asked to label them as either Conversation Drivers or Stoppers.

Next Time:

To continue working on and expanding this topic, I recommend the following activities:

• Complete or finish watching the Fork in the Road – Conversation Drivers & Stoppers Extension Video Lesson (it’s 12.05 minutes long, so plan ahead).

• For more fun activities, play the online game Social Skills Quiz Show in either the Basic Conversation Skills or Advanced Conversation Skills version (depending on your students’ skill level).

Happy Teaching,

Brittany