Free social skills and pragmatics activities for speech therapy
63 free activities · no sign-up
Pragmatics is how language is used with other people: starting a conversation and keeping it going, reading a face or a tone of voice, asking for help or a break, repairing a misunderstanding, disagreeing without ending the conversation. The boards are built around scenarios, so the student practices the words in a situation they recognize.
They span early elementary to high school, including text messages, group projects and job situations for older students. They are practice materials, not rules for how anyone should socialize: choose the skills that matter to the student, and talk about why a strategy helps rather than only what to say.
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All 63 activities
PreK–2
- AAC Greeting ScenariosPractice greetings and farewells using AAC symbols.
- Back-and-Forth Talk: Ask Then Answer CardsTen conversation cards. The student answers, then asks the same question back to keep the turns going.
- Barrier Game: Draw What I DescribeReceptive spatial and attribute language, then a role swap so the student produces the description.
- Body Language Clues: What Might They Be Telling Us?Eight descriptions of posture, gestures and movement. The student chooses what each person's body might be communicating.
- Conversation Starter WheelSpin for one of eight conversation topics, then start and keep a conversation going. Practice only, never scored.
- Dialogue InterpretationInterpret and produce character dialogue reflecting motivation and emotion.
- Face Clues: What Might This Face Be Showing?Eight short descriptions of eyes, eyebrows and mouths. The student picks the feeling the face might be showing.
- Feelings FacesCore emotion vocabulary for identifying and naming feelings.
- Feelings Faces Hunt in the ClassroomSix feeling faces hidden among classroom things. The child finds each face and names the feeling it shows. An adult reads every card and choice aloud.
- Feelings Match: Which Moment Fits the Face?Eight feelings shown as faces. For each one the child finds an everyday moment that could cause it, like a lost toy or a birthday party.
- Fix the Mix-Up: When a Listener Looks ConfusedSeven moments where a listener did not understand. The student picks a way to repair the message.
- Good Follow-Up Questions: Stay on Their TopicSeven things a friend might say. The student picks the follow-up question that stays on the friend's topic.
- Greetings and GoodbyesEveryday greeting scripts for arrivals and departures.
- How Might They Feel? Everyday MomentsEight everyday moments at home and school. The student chooses how the person in each one might feel.
- Huh? Asking When You Don't UnderstandSeven moments where the student did not understand something. They choose a clear way to ask.
- On Topic or New Topic? Talking About DinosaursA conversation about dinosaurs. The student sorts eight comments into ones that stay on dinosaurs and ones that start a new topic.
- Soccer Game or Library? Where Does It Fit?Eight actions sorted by where they fit best: cheering at a soccer game or reading in the library.
- Social Scenario CardsDiscuss appropriate responses in social situations.
- Social Story: Asking for a BreakA first-person social story about asking for a break, with a coping step the student can choose.
- Social Story: Fire Drills at SchoolA first-person social story about fire drills, with a coping step the student can choose.
- Social Story: When the Lunchroom Is LoudA first-person social story about a loud lunchroom, with a coping step the student can choose.
- Taking Turns at PlayPhrase scripts for sharing, turn-taking and joining play.
- Taking Turns in a Board Game: Put It in OrderFive steps of taking a turn in a board game, dealt out of order for the student to sequence. An adult reads every card and choice aloud.
- What Could You Do? Playground ProblemsSeven common playground problems. The student chooses a solution that could work for everyone.
- What Might Others Be Thinking? Classroom MomentsSeven classroom moments. The student imagines what classmates or the teacher might think, and what could help.
- What Might They Be Thinking? Picture the MomentEight short moments where the student imagines what another person might be thinking.
- Who Knows What? Stories About What People SawSix short stories where one person missed something that happened. The student works out what that person knows and will do.
- Whose Turn to Talk? Conversation TurnsSeven moments in a conversation or game. The student works out whose turn it is.
Grades 3–5
- Disagreeing Without Ending the ConversationDisagreement practiced as something the conversation survives: each card asks for the disagreement and for the move that keeps the other person in it.
- Feeling Words: A Little or A Lot?Eight feeling words sorted by size: four that name a small feeling, and four that name a big one.
- Joining a Group Already TalkingEntry scenarios for a conversation that is already running, which is the peer-interaction moment students most often describe as the hard one.
- Peer Interaction Role-Plays: Lunch, Bus, Group WorkRole-play scenarios set in the three places peer conversation actually happens in a school day, each one played out rather than discussed.
- Perspective Taking: What Did They Think Was Happening?Each card is an ambiguous social event to be re-described from the other person's side, with the student generating the alternative reading rather…
- Ready to Chat or Not Right Now? Reading Body LanguageEight body language signals sorted into two groups: signals that someone might be ready to chat, and signals that it might not be the right moment.
- Same Moment, Different ViewsSix moments that two people experience differently. The student chooses what each person might think or need.
- Say It Another Way: Repair Practice CardsTen speaking prompts. The student explains something, then says it again a different way when the listener asks.
- Sincere or Sarcastic? Do the Words Fit the Situation?Seven things people say, each with what just happened. The student uses the situation to decide whether the speaker means it.
- Smooth Topic Shifts: Bridging to Something NewSix conversations where the student wants to change topic. They choose the sentence that bridges to the new topic smoothly.
- Solve It Together: Group Project ProblemsSix problems that come up in group work. The student chooses a solution that keeps the group working together.
- Topic Maintenance: Four Turns on One TopicTurn-counted conversation tasks with an explicit maintenance rule per card, so staying on topic is the measurable thing rather than an impression at…
- What Do They Really Mean? Hints and Indirect RequestsSeven hints and indirect requests. The student works out what the speaker actually wants.
Grades 6–8
- AAC: Communication Repair StrategiesPhrases for fixing a breakdown when a partner guesses wrong or interrupts.
- AAC: Core Phrases for Teen ConversationHigh-frequency conversational phrases for adolescent AAC users talking with peers.
- AAC: Group Project ParticipationTurn-taking and task-claiming phrases for collaborative secondary coursework.
- AAC: Opinions and DisagreementVocabulary for holding a position, which most core boards under-supply for teens.
- AAC: Texting and Social MediaShort-turn phrases for group chats and social posts, where speed matters more than length.
- Asking for a Break: What Could You Say?Five school and work scenarios about asking for a break when you need one, each with three ways to respond.
- Can You Say That Again? Asking for Directions Again or in WritingSix scenarios about asking for directions to be repeated, rephrased or written down, at school, at work and in sports.
- Explaining How I CommunicateSix scenarios for telling others about your own communication style, such as needing processing time or preferring to text.
- Inference from Text MessagesInfer intent and emotional state from short digital messages, where cues are minimal.
- Perspective-Taking in Peer ConflictGenerate alternative explanations for peer behavior before reacting to it.
- Reading the Room in Peer GroupsInterpret group-level social cues: entry, exit, topic drift and disengagement.
- Repairing a Conversation That Went SidewaysConcrete repair moves for the social errors teenagers actually make.
- Requesting an Accommodation at School and WorkSix scenarios about asking for an accommodation, such as notes in advance, a quieter testing room or written interview questions.
- Sarcasm and Speaker IntentDetect non-literal intent from context, prosody and punctuation, then say what was actually meant.
- Sensory Needs: Asking for What HelpsFive scenarios about asking for a sensory support at school, at work or with friends, such as headphones or a quieter spot.
- Sharing the Topics I LoveSix scenarios for telling a peer about a favourite topic, inviting others in and saying when you'd rather talk about something else.
Grades 9–12
- Disagreeing RespectfullyHold a position without ending the relationship -- rehearsed language, not general advice.
- Map Your Plan: Transition GoalsVisual planning for student-led transition meetings, required under IDEA from age sixteen.
- Sarcasm and Tone of VoiceDetect non-literal intent from prosody, context and punctuation.
- Self-Advocacy Scenarios: Choose the Best ResponseRehearse the response before the moment, not after it. Required practice under IDEA transition planning.
- Talking About Your Transition GoalsRehearsal for student-led transition planning, required under IDEA from age sixteen.
- Workplace Communication ScenariosProblem-solve real workplace communication demands before the first shift, not after.
Questions
- How do I take data on social skills?
- Define the behavior before the session, for example “asks a follow-up question”, and count it during the scenario practice. Then check whether it shows up in a real conversation, which is where the goal actually lives.
- Can I run pragmatics activities in a group?
- Groups suit pragmatics well, because peers make the conversation real. Use the conversation starter wheel or a barrier game, and give each student a different target to practice during the same game.
- Are there social skills activities for teens?
- Yes. Boards on text messages, disagreeing, group projects, asking for a break and job interview phrases are written for middle and high school, with situations teens are likely to meet.
Keep the data from every board
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal. Assign any board as home practice through the parent portal.
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