Social Skills Lesson Plan for Special Education: Taking Turns
A social skills lesson built around a four player game with a passing turn marker, token boards, and a waiting visual.
- Social Skills
- Ages 6-9
- Group of 4
- 30 minutes
- Free printable PDF
Page 1 of 2. Page 2 is the data sheet.
What’s inside this plan
Objective: Students will wait for and take their turn in a four player animal matching game using a visible turn marker.
The goal it serves: During a structured group game, the student will wait for their turn and take it when named, with no more than one verbal prompt, in 4 of 5 opportunities.
- 5 min Warm-Up
- 6 min Direct Instruction & Modeling
- 9 min Guided Practice
- 7 min Independent Practice
- 3 min Closure
Supports on the table: Visual Countdown, Token Board, Social Story, Positive Reinforcement, Timers. Differentiated three ways (more support, on level, more challenge), with accommodations and a per-student data sheet at an 80% accuracy target.
Frequently asked questions
- What social skill does this lesson plan target?
- Turn taking: waiting through other players' turns and taking your own when named, with one or fewer prompts. The visible turn marker makes whose-turn-is-it concrete instead of verbal.
- Does this work with a different game?
- Any short game the group already likes works; the turn marker and the countdown strip carry the skill, not the game. Swap the game in the builder and keep the structure.
- How do I take data during a group game?
- Each named turn is one opportunity. Mark it independent, prompted, or missed on the data sheet; the printed plan caps the table at the roster you set in the builder.
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