Helping Students Build Friendships at the Start of the School Year | Social Skills Guide
The start of the school year is when friendships form, and some students need support to join in. This 70-page guidebook shows how to help every student make friends, including shy, anxious and neurodivergent learners.
What's Inside
- Why friendship matters at the start of the school year
- Understanding social development and friendship skills
- Setting the stage: classroom environment and culture
- Icebreakers and community-building activities
- Teaching social skills explicitly
- Supporting shy, anxious or neurodivergent students
- Cooperative learning, play, handling conflict and repairing friendships
- Empathy through stories, welcoming new students, digital friendships, families and specialists
- Printable tools: activities, templates and checklists in the appendix.
How It Helps You
- Gives icebreakers and community-building activities
- Shows how to teach social skills explicitly
- Helps students handle conflict and repair friendships
Ways to Use It
Use it for the first weeks of school, in social skills groups, counseling sessions or at home with families.
Who It's For
Special education and general education teachers, school counselors, social skills groups and parents.
Format
PDF, 70 pages. Instant download, print or read on any device.
Need more than one?
If social skills guides like this one support your students, there are many more practical guides in one collection. The Special Education Guides Bundle brings together 31 related resources in one download, and you save 80% compared to buying each item separately.
