Taking Part

This curriculum provides step-by-step strategies and activities for teaching 33 social skills that are essential to children’s social development. Animal characters/puppets are used to introduce the skills and to help in various practice and maintenance activities.

Skill lessons are divided into six units:

• Making Conversation
• Communicating Feelings
• Expressing Oneself
• Cooperating with Peers
• Playing with Peers
• Responding to Aggression and Conflict

Each skill is divided into clearly defined behavioral steps that incorporate thinking, feeling, and doing. At each stage of instruction, students are given examples of appropriate skill use, asked questions to enhance their understanding of the skill, and provided with specific feedback as they practice the skill. Children are encouraged to apply their newly learned skills at school, at home, and on the playground.

Children will enjoy learning skills as they interact with the animal characters used in the program—Felicia Fox, Benny Frog, Hank Hawk, Carla Bluejay, Shelli Squirrel, and Will Rabbit. Puppet–mask outlines representing each animal character are provided.

The characters are used to present a motivational story for each skill and to help in various practice and maintenance activities. The authors note that some children prefer role-playing as animal characters rather than as themselves or as human characters.

This second edition of Taking Part has been field-tested at sites selected to represent a full range of ages, geographic locations, economic levels, and cultures.

Appendixes provide reproducible materials, including student handouts, program posters and blackline masters.