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Boys & Girls Town Social Skills
In the summer of 2007, Elkton
Elementary teachers, principal, and counselor attended training for the
Boys Town Educational Model. The explanation below is taken from the
Boys Town website (http://www.boystown.org/pros/training/education/ed_model.asp):
"The Boys Town
Education Model (BTEM) was developed in 1979 and is an extension of the
Boys Town Family Home Program (Coughlin & Shanahan, 1986) and the
Teaching Family Model (Phillips, Phillips, Fixsen & Wolf, 1973). The
BTEM has been adapted to train classroom teachers, building
administrators, and support staff to implement three critical elements:
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A school-wide
social skills curriculum,
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An
administrative intervention process, and
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A proactive
classroom behavior management approach.
These three
critical elements contribute to a system-wide approach that fosters
respectful and caring staff/student interactions by fundamentally
changing the way schools address discipline and deal with student
behavior."
The first element
of this model, the school-wide social skills curriculum, is taught
during classroom guidance activities and is re-taught and reinforced
during regular classroom learning. The social skills emphasized and
their steps are listed below. Please encourage your child to practice
these skills, as these are not just "school skills" but LIFE skills!
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Following
Instructions:
1. Look at the person
2. Say 'Okay'
3. Do what you've
been asked right away
4. Check back |
Getting the
Teacher's Attention
1. Look at the
teacher
2. Raise your hand
and stay calm
3. Wait until the
teacher says your name
4. Ask your question |
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Accepting a
Criticism or Consequence:
1. Look at the person
2. Say 'Okay'
3. Stay calm |
Disagreeing
Appropriately:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a pleasant
voice
3. Tell why you feel
differently
4. Give a reason
5. Listen to the
other person |
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Accepting 'No'
for an Answer:
1. Look at the person
2. Say 'Okay'
3. Stay calm
4. If you disagree,
ask later |
Making an
Apology:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a serious,
sincere voice
3. Say "I'm sorry
for..." or "I want to apologize for..."
4. Explain how you
plan to do better in the future
5. Say 'Thanks for
listening' |
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Greeting
Others:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a pleasant
voice
3. Say 'Hi' or
'Hello' |
Accepting
Compliments:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a pleasant
voice
3. Say 'Thank you' |
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Having a
Conversation:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a pleasant
voice
3. Listen to what the
other person says
4. When there is a
break in the conversation, ask a question or share your thoughts |
Sharing
Something:
1. Let the other
person use the item first
2. Ask if you can use
it later
3. When you get to
use it, offer it back to the other person after you have used it |
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Asking for
Help:
1. Look at the person
2. Ask the person if
they have time to help you
3. Clearly explain
the kind of help that you need
4. Thank the person
for helping |
Working with
Others:
1. Identify the task
to be completed
2. Assign tasks to
each person
3. Discuss ideas in a
calm quiet voice and let everyone share their ideas
4. Work on tasks
until completed |
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Asking
Permission:
1. Look at the person
2. Use a calm and
pleasant voice
3. Say 'May I...'
4. Accept the answer
calmly |
Listening:
1. Look at the person
who is talking and remain quiet
2. Wait until the
person is through talking before you speak
3. Show that you
heard them by nodding your head, saying 'Okay,' 'That's
interesting,' etc. |
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Staying on
Task:
1. Look at your task
or assignment
2. Think about the
steps needed to complete the task
3. Focus all of your
attention on the task
4. Stop working only
when instructed
5. Ignore
distractions and interruptions from others |
Appropriate
Voice Tone
1. Listen to the
level of the voices around you
2. Change your voice
to match
3. Watch and listen
for visual or verbal cues and adjust your voice as needed |
Parent Resources Ms.
Bogue's Home |