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Children's Chatter Matters
Term 3: Pragmatics and Social skills - (From Vic Curriculum Personal & Social Capabilities)
Activity 7 focus: Strategies for coping with difficult situations. They persist with tasks when faced with challenges and adapt their approach when first attempts are not successful.
Find a game or activity that your child is really good at, this could even be one of their favourite computer games. Pretend that you know nothing about this game and want to learn more. Encourage your child to give you explicit instructions on how the game is played.
Make constant mistakes but use the phrases such as; “That’s ok, I’m just learning” or “I’ll get there, I just need to practise, thank for your help”. Continually check that you are on the right track. Give your child lots of positive feedback about their instructions and how much you enjoy the game. Your child could teach a number of family members or friends how to play this game.
Reverse this activity by working with your child as they tackle a tricky learning situation, encourage them to adopt similar phrases as they make mistakes and take risks.
Using books can be an effective way to encourage children to gain a different perspective and develop their ability to identify and acknowledge the strengths and skills of others and give praise.
Activity 8 focus: Students recognise and appreciate the uniqueness of all people.
Play the Same and Different game in the car with your child. Take turns to name any two people in the world (they can be friends or famous people you are both familiar with).
Discuss two characteristics of how those people are similar, then two differences ie: what makes them unique. This could be their likes/dislikes, race, gender, religion etc. Talk about how we are lucky that everyone is a little bit different, we can learn from each other. How people from different cultures etc contribute positively to our world.
For example: Justin Bieber & Beyonce. Similar = Entertainers, American. Differences: gender & race
Toppling by Sally Murphy is an excellent, easy read that covers issues such as accepting others differences, building relationships and dealing with hardship.