Imagine that you are a teacher or other professional working with a particular age-group. One of the girls with whom you are working, Alyssa, rarely interacts with her peers. She is obviously quite lonely but apparently has no confidence in her ability to make friends. In three paragraphs, describe three different strategies you might use to help Alyssa acquire good relationships with her peers

Question

For each strategy, describe what you might do in explicit, concrete terms.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Following are examples of strategies described in Chapter 15 (the response should describe and illustrate at least three of them or reasonable alternatives):
- Help Alyssa ease into an ongoing social group (e.g., ask other children if Alyssa can join their game or sociodramatic play).
- Conduct small-group activities in which Alyssa must work closely with one or two other children.
- Ask Alyssa to assist a peer who has a physical disability.
- Identify and address any physical and linguistic barriers to interaction (e.g., if Alyssa is in a wheelchair, she may have difficulty joining groups in the cafeteria, or if she is deaf, her peers may not understand ASL).
- Explicitly teach social skills (e.g., through role-playing activities).
- If Alyssa has a bad reputation as a result of previously inappropriate behavior, put her in situations where her new social skills will be readily apparent to her peers.
- Advocate a general attitude of respect and inclusiveness in the overall social group.
- Be a backup system that provides companionship and emotional support until Alyssa has established friendly, supportive relationships with one or more peers.
Note: Some students may also draw on Chapters 12, 13, and 14 in answering this question. Strategies consistent with recommendations in those chapters should also be given credit.