articles, thinksheets, and activities to support social learning this summer
Summer brings sunshine, popsicles, and the relief of time off. But for many students and their parents, it can also bring a whole new set of challenges. Changes in routines, more unstructured time, travel, or just the emotional shift from “school mode” to “summer mode” can leave kids feeling off-balance.
The good news? Summer is a fantastic time to build social and self-awareness skills in a low-pressure environment. We’ve got great resources to guide you!
Start with Be a Social Detective… on Vacation!, which turns trips and new environments into fun opportunities to spot social clues and hidden rules. If boredom hits, Summer Boredom: A Path to Awareness, Curiosity & Action helps kids turn “I’m bored” into meaningful self-reflection.
Unstructured time can challenge executive functioning, so check out Executive Function Tips for Summer Break for ideas on how to stay organized and flexible. Traveling? Travel Tips to Support Social Communication has easy strategies to reduce stress and boost connection along the way.
Summer is also a great time for deeper self-awareness. Teaching Students About Their Learning Strengths and Challenges encourages kids to see their brains as unique and capable. The Social Observation Strategy: Doors offers a simple tool to build curiosity about the world around them and help them figure out the situation. And Wrapping up the School Year with Social Thinking reminds us all that social learning is a journey—not a destination.
With these resources, and a little intention, even the summer months can help kids build self-awareness, social observation, and executive function skills.
Thinksheets are tools that encourage people to share, connect, and engage in rich discussion. Use these to help children or students reflect and learn about themselves and the social world around them.
The free thinksheets below are designed to be used with both neurotypically developing individuals and those with social learning differences and/or challenges.
When everyone is thinking about and doing the same thing, we call it the group plan. Anything we do together is a group plan!
Write or draw a picture inside the boxes to show some types of SMARTS you have in your brain. These can be math smarts, insect smarts, reading smarts, unicorn smarts, making friends smarts, kickball smarts, etc.
Thought bubbles & speech bubbles have endless uses, especially when discussing how what we do and say impacts one another in the moment. The reality is that conversations are not concrete; the words are spoken, and then poof, they’re gone! Some individuals need help thinking about what others around them are thinking and feeling. Download the Thought and Speech Bubbles and read the article for teaching ideas.
Thinking about a situation before it happens can help to create a mental blueprint so a person has a better idea of what they can expect. Planning for the unknown can also help people to feel more comfortable and even think about strategies they might use to help them meet their goals for the situation.
Use this journal to track emotions (both negative and positive) across the day or during a task of meeting. Take time to notice when your emotions were above or below the "OK" line.
Unpack tools and strategies for teaching social and organizational concepts. Choose from topics such as the academic to social connection, building executive functioning, strategies for teens/tweens, teaching Superflex with fidelity, tools for early learners, and more.
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