Holiday gatherings can be a challenging time for high school students, especially those learning to navigate complex social interactions. Everyday Speech’s “Thanksgiving: What Do You Say When?” interactive worksheet offers a practical and engaging way for helping students practice communication skills for the holidays. Designed to help students respond thoughtfully and politely, this activity focuses on building confidence and communication skills in a festive context.
Why Teach Communication Skills for Family Gatherings?
Holiday events often bring together a mix of relatives, friends, and acquaintances, creating social situations that can be overwhelming for students. Teaching communication skills for these gatherings helps students feel prepared and capable of engaging in conversations. Everyday Speech’s activity provides a structured way for students to practice these skills, promoting positive interactions and reducing social anxiety.
Exploring the Activity: “Thanksgiving: What Do You Say When?”
This worksheet provides realistic holiday scenarios where students must think about appropriate responses. Each prompt encourages students to reflect on their words, consider others’ feelings, and practice polite communication. By preparing responses in advance, students can approach holiday conversations with ease.
Example Scenarios:
- If you don’t want to eat some of the food that is served, what can you say?
This scenario teaches students how to politely decline without offending the host, fostering respect and gratitude. - When you see your cousins that you haven’t seen in a while, what can you say?
This helps students practice reconnecting with relatives and initiating conversations, building social confidence. - If you want to leave the table, what can you say?
Here, students learn polite ways to excuse themselves, demonstrating social awareness and respect. - If you know whoever cooked the meal put a lot of time into it, what can you say?
This scenario emphasizes gratitude and appreciation, core values of holiday gatherings.
Benefits of Practicing Holiday Conversation Skills
The Helping Students Practice Communication Skills for Holiday Gatherings activity goes beyond holiday preparation. It builds foundational communication skills students can use year-round. Here are some benefits:
- Polite Interaction: Students learn to communicate thoughtfully and respectfully in social settings.
- Social Awareness: The prompts encourage students to consider the feelings and perspectives of others.
- Reduced Anxiety: By preparing responses in advance, students feel more confident entering social situations.
- Improved Relationships: Practicing gratitude and politeness helps students build stronger connections with family and peers.
How to Use the Worksheet in Your Classroom
The activity is simple to integrate into your classroom and can be adapted for group work, one-on-one instruction, or independent practice. Here’s how to make the most of it:
1. Set the Scene
Start with a discussion about the holidays. Ask students how they feel about family gatherings and what challenges they face in these situations. This sets the tone for the activity and helps students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.
2. Practice Responses Together
Go through the scenarios as a group, brainstorming responses. Model appropriate answers and explain why certain responses work better than others.
3. Role-Playing
Pair students up or work in small groups to role-play the scenarios. This adds an interactive element and gives students the chance to practice their responses in a safe environment.
4. Reflect
After completing the worksheet, discuss the activity. Ask students how they felt about the scenarios and what they learned. Encourage them to share additional holiday situations where they might need help responding.
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Everyday Speech: Your Partner in Social Communication
Everyday Speech’s resources go beyond holiday-specific activities. From video modeling lessons to interactive games and visual aids, Everyday Speech provides tools to teach essential social communication skills in engaging and meaningful ways. The Thanksgiving conversation activity fits seamlessly into a broader curriculum focused on communication, empathy, and self-awareness.
For high school special educators, these resources are invaluable for preparing students for real-world interactions. With tools like the Helping Students Practice Communication Skills for Holiday Gatherings activity, you can equip students with the skills they need to navigate social situations with confidence.
Closing Thoughts: A Practical Social Communication Lesson
The holiday season is an ideal time to focus on gratitude, connection, and social communication. Everyday Speech’s Helping Students Practice Communication Skills for the Holidays activity gives students the tools to engage thoughtfully and respectfully during Thanksgiving and beyond. By practicing their responses to common holiday scenarios, students build confidence, reduce social anxiety, and strengthen their relationships.
Bring the spirit of Thanksgiving into your classroom this season. With this activity, your students can gain the communication skills they need to navigate holiday gatherings successfully. Celebrate the season with a lesson that’s practical, meaningful, and fun!
Sample Video
Students learn best by watching others their same-age model the behavior! Check out a sample video modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 14 days here!
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