Structured Recess Grows Language and Social Skills

Special education teacher Janine Wilson recently launched a structured recess for her fourth and fifth graders at Sayville Elementary School.

This initiative provides a means for students to further develop their social and language skills through cooperative play. Pairs of students rotate every eight to 10 minutes through stations equipped with an educational toy or a toy used for building. This guided environment cultivates social interactions and problem solving.

Wilson often pairs a more verbal student with a classmate who needs a little more encouragement to use their language skills. “This helps with their verbalization and fosters friendships,” she explained.

Structured recess came about when Wilson decided she wanted an activity that offered her students opportunities to socialize with various friends while providing an environment to model appropriate social behavior.

Said Wilson, “Helping students to gain a sense of independence within a safe, organized environment is how we achieve goals. Structured recess maintains autonomy and encourages social interactions, self-regulation and problem solving.”