Social stories can be a powerful tool in aiding the development of interaction skills in toddlers and preschoolers. These narrative tools, including social stories for toddlers and preschool, help young children understand and navigate the complex world around them. By depicting realistic situations and behaviors, social stories for preschoolers provide clear examples of how to interact with others, manage emotions, and understand emotional cues. Social emotional stories for preschoolers specifically can play a crucial role in emotional development, helping children to identify and express their feelings in a healthy way.
As children grow, social stories for kindergarten and elementary students continue to offer significant benefits. These stories expand on the foundational skills introduced in preschool, addressing more complex interactions and emotional challenges. Kindergarten social stories can support children in adjusting to the structured environment of school, teaching important concepts like cooperation, empathy, and personal space. Additionally, elementary students can delve deeper into the nuances of etiquette, peer relationships, and self-regulation.
Creating social stories for everyday situations is a practical approach to teaching young learners how to navigate common challenges. Stories can cover scenarios like sharing toys, taking turns, and understanding personal space, making abstract social rules more concrete and understandable. These narratives are not only educational but also relatable, making learning engaging for children.
This kind of story is equally effective in supporting emotional development, offering a framework for children to understand their own emotions and those of others. By providing context and language around feelings and reactions, a story can foster emotional understanding and self-regulation, critical components of social-emotional learning.
Preschoolers can benefit greatly from stories that illustrate basic concepts, such as friendship, empathy, and respect. For instance, social story examples for preschoolers might include narratives about waiting your turn to slide at the playground or using words to express feelings. These stories serve as both teaching tools and conversation starters, encouraging young children to think and talk about situations.
For children entering kindergarten, stories can help ease the transition and prepare them for a new environment. A kindergarten story might focus on classroom behavior, respecting differences, and making new friends, directly supporting kindergarten readiness by aligning with educational and societal expectations.
In the early stages of development, toddlers can start to learn about social interaction through simple stories. These narratives, focused on basic principles like kindness and sharing, lay the groundwork for more complex social-emotional learning in the future.
Teachers play a crucial role in integrating this kind of story into the educational process. By incorporating stories into daily routines and lessons, educators can provide consistent reinforcement of interpersonal skills and emotional understanding. Utilizing resources like free social stories for preschoolers and platforms like PlayToLearn, teachers can access a wealth of materials to support diverse learning needs.
Parents can also use stories at home to further support their child's learning and development. Tips for effectively using stories include choosing stories that align with the child's current interests or challenges, reading together regularly, and discussing the story's themes and lessons. This collaborative approach not only reinforces learning but also strengthens the parent-child bond.
Bobby is almost three years old. He is friendly, active, and enjoys playing with his friends at preschool. Bobby often has trouble with changes in his routine. His parents decided to move to Israel this summer, but are unsure about how to tell Bobby and help him with the difficult transition away from the only home he’s ever known.
When approaching a big transition or a challenging activity, I often recommend a social story to help introduce an idea while providing language and support. These stories were originally developed for children with autism spectrum disorder to provide education and language for interaction they otherwise had trouble navigating. Though that was their initial purpose, I find them a useful tool to support any child.
Having an individualized story with the child’s name, maybe even a picture or someone who looks like them, gives them automatic buy-in and ownership of an activity! Whether it’s a new idea like moving to another country or a challenging activity for them like taking turns, these kinds of stories provide individualized language and prompts that parents and caregivers can revisit to provide ongoing reinforcement.
Bobby’s parents and I worked together to create a story about moving on Storyboard That. I explained we would pick simple pictures and words so the retelling of the story would be easy for Bobby to recall. By using simple pictures and straightforward language, Bobby will be able to “read” the book on his own or with a parent. Simple pictures let Bobby to focus on the idea instead of the details of a picture. Straightforward language allows Bobby to recall the story easily and use the language provided to discuss how he’s feeling or what comes next. We wanted to keep the story short, so it would be easy to talk about and recall. We broke the parts of their move down into six steps, focusing on positive phrasing to help keep an optimistic outlook.
Then the fun part! We designed characters on Storyboard That to look like each of the family members, using the “copy” tool to keep them consistent and quickly move them to the next cell. We used the search bar to find some of Bobby’s favorite toys (a red car and his stuffed bear) to put into the boxes. Other options to really individualize and help children get ready for changes are to include photographs of their new home or town. You can upload your own pictures to Storyboard That to use in your stories as well.
The last step of the story is working it into your everyday routine. To help a child understand a new event or to help change a behavior, consistency is key. Finding time everyday to read the story provides opportunities to discuss the activity, give support, and reinforce the behaviors you expect. It’s also helpful to leave the physical story out for a child to explore on their own. Just like adults, some children learn verbally, others learn visually. It’s important to give them as much access to the story as possible. I printed two copies of the story for Bobby’s family and laminated them. Mom and Dad gave a copy to his preschool as well, so the story and language stays the same - no matter who is talking about it with him!
Individual stories are a great tool, but sometimes a group of children (or a whole class!) is having trouble with an activity. I recently wrote a social story with a preschool teacher who was frustrated at the lack of sharing in her classroom. Instead of using a particular name, since all of the kids like superheroes, we decided we would make a story about “super sharers”. This open label allows all kids in the class to participate and show how they are a super sharer. The teacher even got special superhero stickers for reinforcement when she hears a child use the phrasing in the story we wrote or sees a “super sharer” moment.
There are lots of online resources if you’re looking for inspiration (see list below) for how to start a social story. Remember some key principles as you write:
Keep language simple to promote repetition and recall.
Keep pictures lifelike and straightforward, so kids don’t get bogged down on detail.
Keep an optimistic and positive tone. Instead of “don’t hit”, try “we keep hands on our own body”.
Keep it short!
Make copies accessible to kids to explore throughout the day.
Build time into your routine to review the story each day.
Social stories are a great way to introduce new ideas, activities or solutions to difficult behaviors. Use individualized stories consistently and watch pro-social behaviors, new language, and new ideas emerge!
For a closer look, please see all of our social story articles:
| Article | Description | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Living Skills | Some individuals require explicit instruction on tasks that many of us take for granted. Make a personalized social story to engage the learner. |
|
| Transitions and Unexpected Events | The unknown is scary for everyone, but unexpected events and transitions can be particularly stressful for individuals with ASD. Help prepare your student or loved one for upcoming changes with a social story. |
|
| Social Situations | Social interactions can be very stressful for many people, with and without ASD. Make storyboards to show possible situations and outcomes. |
|
| Adolescent Skills | As kids get older, their interests and needs change. Brooch potentially difficult conversations with a storyboard example. |
|
| Social Stories in the Classroom | Social stories are also useful for whole group direct instruction of social and coping skills. Use a storyboard to address issues with both individuals and the class. |
|
| Social Stories for Young Children | Young children often struggle with new concepts or big changes. Create a social story to help prepare even very young children for change or new skills. |
|
Additional Social Story Resources
Social stories can benefit students with autism by providing them with visual aids that help them understand social situations and respond appropriately. Social stories use simple language, pictures, and specific examples to help students with autism learn about social cues, social expectations, and social behavior. By reading and practicing social stories, students with autism can develop social skills and reduce anxiety in social situations, leading to improved communication and social interactions with their peers.
Social stories can cover a wide range of topics, such as personal hygiene, making friends, sharing, taking turns, showing kindness, dealing with anxiety, and understanding emotions. Teachers and parents can create social stories based on the specific needs of their students.
Teachers can incorporate social stories into their lesson plans in several ways. They can use premade social stories available online, such as on Storyboard That's website, or create their own using visual aids and simple language to target specific social skills or behaviors they want to address. Social stories can be used as a part of morning meetings, small group instruction, or one-on-one sessions with students. Teachers can also use social stories to reinforce positive behavior, teach empathy, or to help students cope with challenging situations. By integrating social stories into their lesson plans, teachers can help students with autism develop social skills, improve behavior, and build self-confidence.