As new variants emerge, lockdowns threaten the normalcy and consistency of learning schedules for young children. These restrictions tend to hold them back, if not set them back against their newly learned skills in all aspects–cognitively, emotionally, and socially.

But as we learn to cope with these health crises, we can also help the young children move forward with their development through small learning groups.

These small learning groups allow them to interact and socialize with their peers while also limiting their circle and risk of infection.

But as children have different personalities, it is up to the teacher to ensure that all members of the group interact, socialize, and learn from one another.

Here are tips on how to make small learning groups work and help in rebuilding social skills in young learners.

Assign each member a role or task.

When giving a group task, assign each member a role they will be responsible for. This lets the child know exactly what’s expected of them and gives them a goal. They will become more self-aware of what they need to do in order to help their group complete the task.

Make sure they know how their roles or tasks contribute to the overall goal they need to achieve as a group.

Knowing the goal of the task or activity keeps the children focused and engaged in completing their tasks. If a member of the group has trouble accomplishing his task independently, having to ask other members for help will exercise their communication skills.

Make each member of the group review each other’s contributions.

This helps children exercise their observational skills and help them show appreciation for other’s efforts. Through a review they will be able to point out what each other did and how each member helped to accomplish the task given to them.

Give a task that requires joint effort in accomplishing the goal.

This will have children talking to each other, brainstorming, and supporting each other in completing the goal. A joint effort may not always rely on a single task to be performed by all members of the group. It can be a series of sequences that needs to be done by a child or a pair which will let them continue to the next task. The activity fosters cooperation and unity, making the children understand that only through working as a group can they complete a task and achieve the goal.

Sample Activities

Cooking

Cooking has a sequential process. A member or two can gather the ingredients, another prepares it for cooking, the actual cooking itself, presenting the meal, and cleaning up. This activity is a great way to help children learn the importance of a task in sequential order.
It is also a great learning opportunity to teach them about how.

Building

Just like cooking, a building activity can be divided into different roles or parts. If they’re building a makeshift house, a member can be responsible for the roofing, while another can be responsible for the walls and windows. This allows children to build on their teamwork while also giving them freedom to design their chosen part.