It was back to the basics with this social communication group. The lesson was based around 3 popular games that kids (usually) love to play. They are Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect the Dots, and Rock, Paper, Scissor, Shoot. All of these games require joint attention, problem solving, reasoning, and discussion.
Tic-Tac-Toe
- Students communicate with each other to determine who will be X and who will be O.
- Students must engage in perspective taking to try and infer the next move that their opponent will make.
- Students need to discuss if there was a winner or a cat’s game.
Dot-To-Dot
- This game can be harder to explain
- On each turn, a player draws one straight line between any 2 black dots
- Students win each box that they complete by putting their initials in the box
- This game usually takes time and students often wind up chatting as they complete the board
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot
- In this game, students must discuss the rules beforehand and remind themselves during each round
- Rock beats Scissors, Paper beats Rock, Scissors beats Paper
- It is also important that both players make their move at the same moment to ensure fairness. This is a great skill to enforce.
Using these games in Social-Communication Groups has many purposes:
- These games are fun, students are more likely to engage when they are involved in a fun activity.
- These games reinforce important skills.
- The ability to play these games will be a life-long tool for these students as they are fairly common games.
Enjoy! Please tell us about simple and common games that you have incorporated into your Social Communication Groups.