ABSTRACT

For many, social thinking is hard-wired at birth and strengthens, quite naturally, through progressive experiences and encounters with others. However, for a variety of reasons, some children find it harder to think socially, develop socially and use their social tools suitably when it really counts.

‘What’s the Buzz?’ is the original social skills programme and became an instant best-seller, used by practitioners around the globe with children and young people, helping them to successfully transfer these skills into their everyday lives.

What’s the Buzz? For Early Learners :

  • is a simple, structured programmes to teach students in early learning and early primary school settings, within the 4 to 7 year age range.
  • is designed to bring children together, including those who may be on the autistic spectrum
  • explicitly demonstrates methods of how children can get along with one another and nurture friendship groups.
  • Uses a developmental model to ensure its relevance throughout

By drawing on the modelling of targeted social skills, role play, explicit guidance, feedback and games, this resource is imaginative, very practical and is enhanced with visual materials and worksheets to accompany each lesson.

https://www.whatsthebuzz.net.au

Also available from Routledge: Mark Le Messurier and Madhavi Nawana Parker (2011) What’s the Buzz: A Social Skills Enrichment Programme for Primary Students

chapter |19 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|12 pages

Meeting friends and discovering differences!

“Let's meet Archie”

chapter 2|14 pages

Joining in

“Archie wants to join in”

chapter 3|13 pages

Sharing and taking turns

“When sharing got hard”

chapter 4|16 pages

Cooperation

“Archie and the stick insect”

chapter 5|13 pages

Waiting

“Archie has to wait”

chapter 6|13 pages

Making it better

“Archie has a fight”

chapter 7|16 pages

Winning and losing – ‘gracefully'

“Archie loses”

chapter 8|21 pages

Fact or opinion? Staying friendly over different ideas

“That's your opinion!”

chapter 9|17 pages

Working with feelings

“Archie has big feelings”

chapter 10|14 pages

Angry feelings

“Archie forgets”

chapter 11|15 pages

Building healthy bodies, happy minds and steady feelings

“Too tired to think?”

chapter 12|15 pages

Honesty – telling the truth

“Archie and the Lego® dump truck”

chapter 13|17 pages

Saying “No” – being assertive

“Keep it a secret!”

chapter 14|13 pages

Empathy

“The wonder of the web”

chapter 15|18 pages

Worry – knowing about it, and dealing with it

“Archie's morning talk”

chapter 16|13 pages

Time to say goodbye

“The lost goodbye”