Model appropriate social skills. Demonstrate positive skills through your interaction with the students and other adults. Listen to their concerns, respect their opinions and offer support and encouragement.
Engage students in role-play about specific social situations they may encounter. For example, preschool students may act out a scene in which a student takes another student's crayon. Discuss appropriate responses for this situation. Elementary students could act out a scene in which a group of students witness another student being bullied. Talk about how the bullied student might feel, why the bully might behave this way and how the observers could respond.
Teach the students a variety of social concepts, like compromise, respect, honesty and kindness. Ask the students to define the concepts in their own words. Help them form accurate descriptions. Discuss how to demonstrate the concepts by asking questions such as, "What are some things you can do to show respect to others?" or, "How would you like others to show kindness to you?"
Provide students with opportunities to practice effective social skills. Organize group activities, like games or assignments, and encourage use of the skills taught in class. Preschool students can play games such as duck-duck-goose or role-playing games like school or house. Elementary students can play board games or form teams and have a scavenger hunt. Older students can be given a group assignment such as a research paper or science project to complete for a grade.