Every day we use social skills to communicate with others. When these skills are developed, they may help produce enduring and positive connections with everybody around us. It is important for students to learn how to interact with others to be successful in life.
Social skills include an ability to:
- Listen to others
- Help and co-operate with others
- Respect everyone’s personal space
- Share things
- Seek help when needed
These social skills help students interact effectively with everybody. Furthermore, researchers have identified that games effectively help students learn and develop these skills. When playing games, students practice following the rules and staying disciplined. They also learn to stay focused by ignoring distractions and develop an appreciation for others’ point of view. Thus, interactive games for high school students are highly effective and beneficial for teaching social skills.
Popular Interactive games for high school students that teach social and interpersonal skills include the following:
- Empathy board game
Empathy is about understanding others’ thoughts, feelings, and state of mind. Developing and mastering the skill of empathy may be easy for some while for others it may take some practice. It is, in all cases, an essential skill to have because it enables individuals to understand others’ point of view, respond appropriately, and avoid misconceptions.
In this game, students form small groups, roll a dice, and spin a spinner to get a card. Those cards consist of unique and real-time scenarios for which students need to provide an empathetic response. Through this game, students build and develop the skill of empathy.
- Feelings Uno.
Feelings Uno game teaches the very important skill of self-awareness. As kids grow, they come across various situations where they don’t understand their own emotions and feelings. With Feelings Uno game, students learn to understand their feelings.
In this game, students pick a card consisting of a color. Each color corresponds to an emotion, e.g. blue for sad and sick, green for happy and calm, yellow for frustrated and worried, and so on. Students enact the feeling represented by the card color and share any experience associated with that feeling. Thus, students slowly learn to interpret their emotions and feelings.
- Social Communication board game
Communication and interpersonal skills play a vital role in one’s personal and professional life. Communication skills can also make and break relationships.
Social Communication board game allows students to engage in small talks with their peers. This game trains students to think before speaking. Students develop the art of thinking and putting forward their thoughts in the most appropriate way, thus enhancing their social skills.
