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Group 1: Beginning Social Skills 

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Group 1: Beginning Social Skills
Skill 4: Asking a Question

Steps:
  1. Decide what you’d like to know more about.
  2. Decide whom to ask.
  3. Think about different ways to ask your question and pick one way.
  4. Pick the right time and place to ask your question.
  5. Ask your question.
Trainer Notes:

Ask about something you don’t understand, something you did not hear, or something confusing.

Think about who has the best information on the topic; consider asking several people.

Think about wording; raise your hand; ask nonchallengingly.

Wait for a pause; wait for privacy.

Suggestions for modeling:
  • School or neighborhood: Main actor asks teacher to explain something he/she finds unclear.
  • Home: Main actor asks mother to explain new curfew decisions.
  • Peer group: Main actor asks classmate about missed schoolwork.
Comments:

Trainers are advised to model only single, answerable questions. In role-plays, trainees should be instructed to do likewise.

From McGinnis, E., & Goldstein, A. (1997). Skillstreaming the elementary school child: New strategies and perspectives for teaching prosocial skills. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Note: This article is an excerpt from Social Skills and Academic Achievement.


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