Children learning size of the problem social thinking skills can be PAINFUL. It often takes direct instruction, lots of examples, and taking the time to relate it to their own lives.
But having some great strategies and resources can make it go so much smoother when figuring out how to teach social thinking. Check out these 3 strategies to help get your students to understand this important social skill quickly.
Side note – Are you struggling to figure out if a student is really struggling with this social/emotional skill? Check out this FREE 5 step process to writing a functional behavioral plan to help you sort it all out.
Social Thinking Size of the Problem Poster
Visuals are so important. They help students see what they are learning about. And they serve as a great reminder. Many times, students just need a quick visual to jog their memory and get back on track.
Hanging a larger size of the problem chart up for everyone in the classroom to see is great. Laminate that puppy and put it on the wall.
Visuals are also great when they are the size of a notecard and taped to the top of a desk. Then as the adult walks around the room, they can easily point to it. No worrying about where the visual walked off to because it is always right there.
Or if you find that a student is always struggling during a small group lesson, keep on handy by your teacher table.
If you are looking for a great visual that pairs size of the problem with a numbered scale, check this one out. This size of the problem visual compares the size to a volcano. Small problems are at the base and large ones erupting at the top. Not only is there a numbered scale and a relatable visual, there are also examples. This helps students get a better idea of where their problem fits.
Additionally, the other side of the volcano goes into size of reaction. The problem size and reaction should always be a match.
There are also two lesson plans included to teach children about this concept. This makes teaching size of the problem a simple print-and-go social skills lesson.
Click here for this great Size of the Problem Visual.
Size of the Problem Social Thinking Book
The book What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada is great for introducing problems in general. The book discusses how a problem appeared. It goes into how a problem can feel to someone. Finally, it finishes with the main character dealing with the problem.
I love that it never gives specifics on what the problem is. This gives you as the teacher lots of wiggle room to differentiate. Students can even imagine their own problem and walk in the steps of the main character with that specific problem.
If you are looking for a book on reaction, size, check out Of Course It’s a Big Deal! by Bryan Smith. This great size of the problem read-aloud social thinking book is all about learning to react calmly and appropriately to situations.
I love pausing throughout the book to have students give an idea of how the main character could handle his problem. After his reaction is played out in the book, I pause again to discuss it. I often use questions like:
- “What was the size of the problem?”
- “What was the size of the reaction?”
- “Did the reaction fit the problem?”
- “What would have been a reaction that fit the problem?”
* If you are looking for a great size of the problem visual to help guide this conversation, check out the size of the problem chart above.
Size of the Problem Social Thinking Activities
There are so many great activities that can be done around problem and reaction size.
Stating different scenarios is one of my favorite ones.
Scenarios help students think about a situation while not being involved in it. Being involved in a problem can cause stress and foggy thinking. So start with vague situations to get the thinking juices flowing.
As they get better at social thinking size of the problem identification, you can up the ante. Simply use situations that have happened to students in the past. Giving them this time to think about this when in a good thinking space, will help them down the road if the salutations arises again.
Looking for done-for-you situations?
Check out this size of the problem scenarios resource (click here!). It features 70+ scenarios.
Students read the situation and decided if it is a small, medium, or big problem. There are even student response sheets so you could do a fun walk-around-the-room activity with them.
Need a digital version for distance learning?
These Size of Your Problem Boom Learning decks are the digital version. They feature two reminder slides at the beginning to reinforce size of the problem. Both decks are self-checking so students know right away how they are doing. As a bonus, you get data gathered as they complete the decks. (Not sure what Boom Cards are? Check out this post for all the details!)
And because decks auto shuffle, you can assign them again and again. So great for reinforcement of this important social skill. Find The Size of the Problem deck (volume 1) here and Size of the Problem Examples (volume 2) here.
Students love anything that has to do with playing a game – so turn this into a game by playing size of the problem bingo.
Using this social/emotional topic, play an engaging Size of the Problem Bingo game. Make up situations that students have to decide how big the problem is. Use different pictures on the bingo cards to match the situations for students to mark off.
They will have a blast while secretly practicing their social skills.
Not so into making your own bingo cards? Check out this done for you resource. Simply print, cut some straight lines, find some bingo markers, and play.
Included are 30 different scenario calling cards and 10 unique size of the problem bingo boards. Boards have text and pictures or just pictures for easy differentiation. An interactive game like this will get them understanding this important social/emotional concept in a fun way.
Looking for More Size of the Problem Resources?
Size of the Problem Activities by Speechy Musings – a great size of the problem card game
How to Teach Size of the Problem by The OT Butterfly – awesome activity using cups and different sized balls to visually show students different size problems and reactions
Happy Teaching!
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