Educational Objective: The student will accurately interpret what is being communicated without words.
Language Arts Standard: "Listening"

• Identify Need
• Introductory Activity: Imagine a World Without So und...
• Define Steps and Sequences of Skill
A. There are nonverbal rules for kinesics affecting interpreting body movements and facial expressions.
B. There are rules for proxemics, or how close you are to someone else, touching, etc.
• Model the Skill: Look at Photographs from Magazines or Newspapers
Clip articles, then separate the picture from the text.
Have the students work together in small teams to imagine what might be communicated by the people in the picture. Then have them read the article to see if they were accurate about their perceptions. See rubric for this exercise by clicking here
• Classroom Discussion
• Applications
• Independent Uses

Note: Some students may have a disability known as NLD. They experience difficulties in interpreting facial expressions, posture, sarcasm and gestures.
These students may also have organizational problems, as evidenced by missing assignments and messy back packs.
Betty Osman, Ph.D., a psychologist on the medical staff at White Plains recommends that teachers work with children by giving feedback using verbal cues and teaching skills using role-play or modeling. For children with NLD, presenting material verbally is often the most effective method of instruction.