Having regular opportunities to speak English in low-pressure, supportive settings can make a huge difference in the confidence, language development, and sense of belonging of our multilingual students. Whether it’s chatting with a classmate, asking a question at the front office, or talking with a family member at home, these everyday interactions build the foundation for strong communication skills. It’s so important to give all students chances to engage in meaningful, authentic conversation throughout the day.
That’s why we’ve partnered with Vista Higher Learning to create this comprehensive set of 36 printable Social Scenario Task Cards. With prompts for talking to classmates, teachers, principals, their family members, and people in the community, these cards are the perfect way to give students a new way to practice real-world conversations.
Get a closer look at the task cards
This download is a truly print-and-go resource. The teacher’s guide walks you through a variety of options on how to use the Social Scenario Task Cards with your students, including:
- As conversation starters during morning meeting
- When students finish activities early or you have extra time at the end of a lesson
- Sending them home to encourage family and community involvement
- As sentence starters for partner or group work, or as writing prompts for individual practice
Student directions are also included to make pair and group work easy and fun.
What sort of scenarios are discussed?
What makes these task cards unique is that they go beyond the classroom. The scenarios cover everyday situations students may face at school, at home, and in their community. This gives them a chance to practice speaking with both peers and adults—helping them feel more confident wherever they go. The cards themselves are scaffolded to support multilingual learners of all levels. Vocabulary words and sentence starters are provided to help students who need a place to get started. Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Talking With Peers:
- Ask a classmate if you can borrow a pencil.
- Talk about a favorite subject at school and ask about theirs.
- Talking With Teachers or Principals:
- Ask your teacher for help with something you didn’t understand.
- Explain a problem that happened at recess or in the hallway.
- Talking With Family:
- Tell your family about an upcoming school event.
- Share something funny or surprising that happened in class.
- Community & Home:
- Ask a librarian how to find a book at the library.
- Politely order something at a restaurant or cafe.
With 36 difference Social Scenario Task Cards to choose from, your students will be engaged in wonderful discussions with their friends, classmates, teachers, family, and community members all year long!