Teachers: Mrs. Oehlke and Mrs. Godkin

You might be in this class for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you were not successful in P.E. Perhaps you were doing well in P.E. but your counselor or case manager thought you could benefit from a class like social skills.

It is very difficult to do poorly in this class, as you will find out as you read the syllabus and begin the course. We hope you will participate and earn a good grade.

The objective of this class is to help you learn to meet the social and emotional challenges life presents to you in a way that is socially acceptable to most people.

The class expectations for Social Skills include:

n Participate in a school-appropriate manner

n Respect all members of the group, whether they are peers or staff

n Be safe and keep your area clean

n Come to class on time and stay in your seat until the end bell rings

n Bring the following items to class each day: a pen or pencil

Most of the conversations in Social Skills for Life are student-led and teacher-guided. We will follow the school handbook regarding rules and regulations. However, sometimes we will discuss topics in class that are not usually considered “school appropriate”. These conversations will continue as long as students are being mature and the conversation is productive. The teachers will determine when a conversation ends. You will be held accountable if you refuse to stop a conversation after an adult has asked you to. In addition, the conversations in Social Skills for Life may not be appropriate in other settings and you will be held accountable for these types of discussions in other settings.

Incentive Program:

Students vote on a reward they want to earn. We will earn a reinforcer once ever 3 or 4 weeks. In order to earn the reinforcer, a student must have an A in the class. Grades are based on participation points.

Each day, the students’ initials are written on the board. As students participate, they earn points toward the reward. To get 100% in the class, students must earn an average of 5 participation points per class period. Students do not have to participate in the reward, but be advised that participation points are a large part of your grade. If a student chooses not to work for the reinforcer, and therefore chooses not to participate, his or her grade will suffer greatly.

Behavior Program:

We will follow the E/BD behavior program. Students will be given 0, 1 or 2 points for the following categories:

Follow directions and Rules

Keep a safe and clean environment

Follow classroom routine

Respect your peers

Respect adults

Grades:

We believe learning how to have appropriate discussions and behavior are a part of social skills and we issue grades with that belief in mind.

We will have quizzes, projects and occasional worksheets. Each project will come with a rubric explaining how to earn the best grade possible. Each project will offer you the freedom to utilize your own creativity. You will be able to complete the projects in a way that makes you the most comfortable.

Your grades will be determined by the following three components:

1. Participation Points, which are 35% of your grade

2. Behavior points, which are also 35% of your grade

3. Quizzes, projects, and worksheets, which are 30% of your grade.

Any cheating will result in an immediate zero for that quiz, worksheet or project.

Absences:

You will be responsible for work that is missed for any absence, whether it is because you were suspended, sick, in the control center, on vacation or on a service-learning trip. For suspensions or control center visits, teachers will make work available for you to complete during your time out of the room.

Subject Outline (could change, depending on need of students in class.)

First Semester:

n Why are social skills important?

n Communication

n Feelings

n Problem solving

n Anger management

n Drugs and alcohol

Second Semester:

n Stress Management

n Peer Pressure (revisit drugs and alcohol)

n Sex and relationships (dating, birth control, unexpected pregnancy and its ramifications)

n Relationships

n Life Goals

On the last day of each week, during both semesters, we will do Current Events or “You be the Judge”.