Lessons from Social Bridges

Lower school social bridges students are building positive connections between class members. They have been talking about and practicing the social skill of matching. They are learning to match in 5 ways: Topic (is what I’m saying staying on topic?), Mood (does my mood match with what’s going on?), Body (do my body and movements match what is expected?), Voice (is my volume appropriate?) and Activity (am I doing what is expected of me during this time?). They are learning that when they match, they are helpful class members. When they don’t match, they stall the activity or draw the attention away from whomever is leading at the time. The students have also talked about empathy and when we are being empathetic, we look at someone’s body language, listen to them, and try to see what would be helpful if we were feeling the same way.