Language development has a strong emotional or affective base that is integrated with its cognitive and physical foundations. Teachers who want students to fulfill their potential as literacy learners work to create an environment where all children feel accepted and valued. They help children to communicate their needs and ideas respectfully and honestly, and know that this requires time and instructional supports. Supported Role Play for Social Problem Solving is one such support. It contributes to children's language growth in a central area of human development and to the achievement of English language arts objectives.

Supported Role Play for Social Problem Solving

The activities described on the following pages are intended particularly to support development of the following English language arts objectives.

Students will demonstrate:

• emerging use of oral language to bring meaning to what they observe, feel, hear, and read.
• emerging ability to use listening to understand the meaning and intent of others.
• increasing abilities to collaborate and co-operate with peers to create and participate in a variety of activities.
• increasing abilities to use role play and simulation to:
  • express knowledge and understandings
  • express their own cultural identity
  • extend understanding and appreciation of their own cultural identity
  • appreciate similarities and differences in cultures, lifestyles, and experiences.

A strength of this strategy is that it involves children in developing a valuable life skill--one that can be applied directly in daily classroom life and used continuously in all other social situations. As well, learning the language of co-operation and respect for self and others supports children's fuller participation in learning situations. This is particularly true because a major focus of social problem solving involves learning to keep calm and listening carefully to others. A further strength of learning the language and behaviours for social interaction through a role play approach is that it also strengthens children's abilities to understand and empathize with others--an ability that supports their understanding of literature.

Materials

• Chart paper, markers, drawing and writing materials, puppets or dolls.

A further support for children's social problem-solving abilities is that offered by the Second Step program (1992).

Procedures

Supported role play for social problem solving involves these main steps:

• demonstration by the teacher
• discussion and recording of desired behaviours
• review and practice through a new role play enacted by one or two children.

1. Choose a focus for a role play demonstration such as "Ways to Share Materials/Toys". Generate two or three scenarios portraying better and worse ways to solve the problem that was selected as your focus. Be sure to portray both appropriately assertive behaviours and submissive behaviours. You want to teach children not to submit to aggression as well as appropriate ways to assert themselves. Sometimes, you may want to model that the best way to assert your rights is to leave the scene.
2. Use puppets or dolls to enact the role plays or enlist the support of a teacher associate, adult volunteer, or older children from another class.
3. Rehearse the role play once before presenting it to your class. Decide on the language you want to use in both your positive and negative examples. The use of a puppet or doll in the role of an aggressor is better than that of another child or adult as you do not want to model humans using aggressive behaviours. Even with a puppet or doll, it is best to pretend to hit someone, but not to actually use physical violence in a role play. The same is true of name calling and racial slurs--talk about them with your class but do not use them in role playing. If you want to do a role play involving name calling or racial slurs, set the scene by explaining that this type of act has just taken place and start the role play from there (for example, you might say to the puppet, "You can't call me that. Don't say that to me again." while modeling a firm voice, standing tall, and looking the aggressor in the eyes).
4. Enact the role play and invite your class to respond. What are their ideas about the best way to solve the problem? Which solution did they think was the best one? Can they think of other ways to solve this problem besides the ones presented in the role plays? How might they decide which solution was the best?
5. To involve them more fully during the role play, you might teach them to use thumbs up/thumbs down as they watch to indicate approval or disapproval of the words and actions they witness.
6. Summarize their ideas on chart paper. Use a simple format such as Problem, Things to Do, Things to Say, and a few examples.
7. Practice the solution they have decided upon through inviting volunteers to role play a similar scenario. Guide them through it as necessary.
8. Teach behaviours through role play. Behaviours that are important to creating a democratic and caring classroom atmosphere include:
   • Calming oneself - self-talk (counting to ten slowly, saying the alphabet, reciting a verse to oneself), leaving the scene, finding a quiet activity, and when all these prove too difficult--enlisting the support of someone you trust in order to share your feelings.
   • Listening carefully in order to understand the needs, wants, feelings, and ideas of others.
   • Showing interest in and friendliness toward others - greeting others when you see them, smiling, and appreciating the contributions and/or ideas of others.
   • Showing empathy and offering encouragement through words, deeds, and body language.
   • Taking turns, trading, and sharing fairly - better and worse ways to make or refuse requests, different ways to take turns or share, and trading things of equal value/appeal.
   • Using proactive assertive behaviours - initiating social interactions (for example, greeting others, making friendly as opposed to bossy suggestions, offering to help, respecting the right of others to say "no").
   • Using reactive assertive behaviours - responding to social interactions (for example, standing up for personal rights, refusing to accept discriminatory acts or any form of name calling).
9. Focus instruction on the idea that habits are changeable. Many children have witnessed and learned to shout, name call, and use physical aggression to assert their rights and wants. Others have learned passivity and withdrawal in the face of aggression. Children will revert to these behaviours during classroom and playground conflicts unless they receive help. When children are taught that these behaviours are habits that can be changed with practice and support, and given some control over the change process, they can make lasting behavioural changes. The following classroom vignette from the book Early Violence Prevention illustrates this well.

   One troubled 5-yr.-old boy changed remarkably in his aggressive behaviour by actively participating in a program that emphasized changing one's own behaviour. He became very proud of himself for being "good at changing habits" and as a result was highly motivated to change other problem behaviours, such as taking too much time getting dressed in the morning. When asked what helped him most to change his habits, he said "Doll playing!" (his term for role playing with a doll that was used as a skills-training tool in his classroom). He was later heard to say to an adult who was angry at a younger child, "She's little and has to learn to change habits, so don't get mad at her." (Arezzo, 1978, quoted in Slaby, Roedell, Arezzo, & Hendrix, 1995)

10. Provide a language for co-operative social problem solving. Some of the situations in which teachers can give children the language for co-operation and social problem solving follow and are accompanied by examples of "teacher talk".

We should not expect young children to automatically know the language with which to work and play harmoniously with others. Use role play and "on the spot" demonstrations to model and teach appropriate ways to interact socially.


















One teacher who uses a language pattern for conflict resolution regularly says she tells children, "You have 5 minutes to talk this over. If it isn't settled at that time, then one or both of you are not really ready to solve the problem and we'll have to let it go for today." She gives them a 5-minute sand timer.







Older children can do a practice session following a teacher-led role play by breaking into pairs (or threes) and re-enacting the role play or creating a new one on the same theme. You can invite a few pairs to share their role play with the class. They might also wish to share their role play with children from another class.

Social problem solving is also a very good focus for writing. Children can write and illustrate their own vignettes about a problem that they have experienced and describe how they solved it. They can put a collection together for a class book on learning co-operative and caring behaviours, or one related to conflict resolution. As well, older children can work in small groups to make social problem-solving charts (ones that describe a problem and lists Things to Do and Things to Say). These charts can be displayed on class bulletin boards or in school hallways.

Examples Remind children to talk to the person with whom they have a problem and give children the phrases to use for making requests of others. For example, "If you need a red marker, you can ask Abby for one. You can say, 'Abby, may I please use the red marker?'" Or, if one child is annoying another, "Ask Hector to stop yelling. Say, Hector I don't like it when you yell. It hurts my ears." Help children to describe feelings and reasons for actions. A simple language pattern to model that young children can learn to use effectively is "_____ (child's name), I don't like it when you ______ (action child does not like). It makes me feel ____(sad, bad, unhappy, lonely, etc)." Children can learn to use this pattern for conflict resolution. The decision to share is a choice. Experience has shown that children are more likely to share when they perceive this to be a real choice. Model through role play: ways to ask nicely if someone will share with you saying "no" firmly but politely if you do not wish to share accepting "no" by saying "okay" thanking a child who agrees to share with you; using the person's name when you thank them, "Thanks Gordon for letting me use the shovel." Offering to share something, "If you want to look at this book next, I'll save it for you." Help children to learn appropriately assertive language and behaviours. Important language and behaviours for role play that foster positive assertiveness include the following:13 Firmly telling an aggressor to stop hurtful acts (e.g., "No hitting!"; "Stop that! I don't like being pushed.") Refusing to give up toys or other objects to an aggressor (e.g., "I'm not finished using this."; "I'm not leaving.") Refusing to accept discriminatory actions or statements (e.g., "Stop calling me that hurtful name."; "You can't say that girls can't play.") Standing up for personal rights (e.g., "It's my turn now.") Refusing to take orders from bossy peers and declining unnecessary assistance (e.g., "No. I don't want to do that. I want to do it my own way."; "No thank you. I can do it myself.") Firmly say "No" to peer pressure to misbehave. Firmly say "No" to the abusive use of power by older children and adults, and seek help from a trusted adult. (e.g., "I have a problem and I need your help."; "I need to talk to you about something important."; "I need help.")

A Language Pattern for Conflict Resolution for Young Children This strategy works best initially with two children. With support and practice, young children can learn to use it with a three-way conflict as well. Establish a quiet and private corner of the classroom for "having a talk" when a child has a problem with someone else. When two or three children come to you with a dispute or conflict, the first thing you would ask of each of them in turn is "Do you want to solve this problem?" If children are not ready to work toward a solution, but rather appear to prefer to continue to argue and justify their behaviour, you might say, "You do not appear to be ready just yet to solve this problem." If children say "Yes", send them to your corner to "have a talk". Establish with them who will speak first (and second and third if three children are involved). Remind them of the language pattern to use if necessary. When children have seen this modeled a few times, they will not need this reminder. Remind them that they each have to feel satisfied that the conflict is resolved. Language pattern and example with two children Each child gets a turn to say what behaviour of the other child s/he did not like. The children need to be reminded to describe the behaviour and not to criticize the person (i.e., use name calling). Each child follows this by saying how this behaviour makes her/him feel. Each child takes a turn to ask the other what would make him or her feel better. (Young children often skip this question and move directly to saying "Sorry" or "I like you"). You can talk about the idea that a person does not have to say s/he is sorry until or unless s/he feels ready to do so. You can also model through role play that there are other ways to make amends. Children decide together if they all feel satisfied with the proposed restitution or way of making amends. An example follows: Kenny:"Damon, I don't like it when you say I can't play with you. It makes me feel sad." Damon:"Well, I didn't like it when you played with Kerry yesterday and not me. It made me feel you like her better than me." Kenny:"What would make you feel better?" Damon:"I want you to play with me too, okay?" Kenny:"You're supposed to ask me what would make me feel better. Ask me now." Damon:"What would make you feel better?" Kenny:"I won't say you can't play with me and you don't say I can't play with you, okay?" (Damon nods his head.) Both children go to the teacher and tell her, "It's settled!" Teacher (to Kenny):"Are you satisfied it's settled?" Kenny agrees that he is. Teacher (to Damon):"Are you satisfied it's settled?" Damon says he is. Teacher:"You are really learning to solve your problems by talking it over. Now you are ready to get back to your work. It's hard to learn when we are upset about something, isn't it?"