Teaching your students social skills can set them up for better peer interactions and help them more easily navigate social settings. Understanding and respecting personal space is an important social cue that you can help your students learn and practice.
Try teaching personal space using four (4) zones represented as rings encircling them. You can even assign each ring a color to help reinforce the zone and how close they should be to the individuals that fall within each zone.
- Family (blue) – it is socially acceptable for your students to be close to members of their family so they are included in this inner circle, closest to the student
- Friends (green) – the next zone includes your students’ close friends, the pals they hang out with the most at school or at home; it would not be unusual for your student to hug them when they say hello or offer a high five or fist bump
- Acquaintances (yellow) – this zone includes adults, such as teachers at school, friends’ parents, neighbors, or people that your student only just met; your students should be respectful of their space and not treat them too familiarly
- Strangers (red) – this is going to be the zone furthest from your student’s body as these are people your student has never met, doesn’t know personally, or is not familiar with at all.
Helping your students understand these zones of personal space and appropriate ways to greet and treat others within those zones is important to developing their social skills.
Bonus tip: Keep in mind that not all students are comfortable with hugging or touching others, despite their familiarity with them. Consent is always necessary and high fives, fist bumps, or a simple head nod and hello are always acceptable ways to greet others!
The special education resources on this page were authored by Watson Institute’s special education consultant, Andee Morris, M.Ed.
Power Point Presentations
I Understand Personal Space Facilitator’s Guide
I Understand Personal Space Power Point Presentation
Resource Materials
I Understand Personal Space Activity
I Understand Personal Space Magnet Cards
I Understand Personal Space Mini Schedule
I Understand Personal Space Outline
I Understand Personal Space Parent Note
I Understand Personal Space Homework
I Understand Personal Space Teacher Note
Pre/Post Assessment
A pre and post lesson assessment is included in each lesson. Use of the assessment is an instructor preference. Many of the ‘homework’ pages for a lesson can be used as a pre/post assessment device alone or as part of the provided assessment. Each homework page can be checked by the instructor as well as the student.
Review all included pages of the lesson to determine what ‘assessment’ method will meet your needs. If the student is able to achieve a + in the majority of items of the pre-assessment, or if the student has been observed to display the skill topic of the lesson often, then the lesson may not be introduced or can be taught with a group as review and/or reinforcement.
I Understand Personal Space Pre/Post Assessment
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