# LESSON 1A ## BODY LANGUAGE/GESTURES ### STEP 1. EXPLAIN THE GOAL AND VISUAL SUPPORT. #### 1a) Goal Understanding what another person is communicating through the use of his or her body is imperative to understanding the correct message. In fact, some messages are only communicated through body language. Body language is communication that is conveyed without spoken words through the use of gestures and the position of the whole body in relation to others. We read body language to become aware of other people’s intentions and know how to interpret their behavior. This skill will help students identify the social climate of the moment and respond appropriately. #### 1b) Visual Support Binoculars allow one to see an image clearly from afar. This lesson uses Body Language Binoculars as an imaginary tool that prompts students to see another person’s nonverbal communication by looking at his or her gestures and body position. This visual representation of binoculars reminds students to look at the whole scene to get a read on the full meaning of another’s communication. #### 1c) Hand out Module 1, Lesson 1A Self-Monitoring Data Sheets to the students. **Appendix**: Provide all lesson handouts for the students to follow through with the remaining steps. **Note**: Waiting to give out these materials until this point is necessary only for students who are inclined to be distracted by the presence of the materials during the initial steps. ### STEP 2. READ THE SOCIAL COMPASS STORY. #### 2a) Read “Brad’s Better Body Language.” Brad likes to talk. Usually, Brad likes to talk to everybody. One summer day at the mall, Brad felt tired. He just wanted to be by himself. After walking around in the mall for awhile, he went to the water fountain. Just then a girl came up to him and said, “Do you know where the bathroom is?” Without looking up from the fountain, he pointed to the left. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone. But the girl asked again, “Excuse me, do you know where the bathroom is?” Again Brad just pointed without looking up at her. He said nothing but sighed loudly. He was frustrated with the girl for not understanding his body language. The girl began to cry. Brad looked up at her and now saw that she could not see him. She was blind. She had a cane. She could not see his body language. “Wow!” he thought. He was so surprised he took a moment to think about his Body Language Binoculars. He needed to use his binoculars to look at her body to decide how to respond. Because she couldn’t see him point toward the bathroom, she did not understand his answer. So next he said to her, “It is to your left, about 10 feet.” She stopped crying, thanked him, and walked toward the bathroom. Brad felt good that he could help her. Now, he understood why she was still talking to him when he didn’t feel like talking to her. He realized she couldn’t see him to read his body language. If she could have seen him, she would have seen that he was busy. Brad was glad he had learned how to read body language. Someday, he hopes to find a way to help others learn it too. #### 2b) Have the students answer comprehension questions. The answers should resemble the following: # MODULE 1 READING COMPREHENSION SHEET *1.* What was the visual support? Select one. *2.* Who was the story about? Select one. Brad Spencer Victor Steve *3.* What was his problem? Select one. Not looking at speaker Getting too close Talking too loudly Staring too long *4.* What did he learn to do about it? Select one. Look at the speaker Speak softly Stand back Stop staring *5.* Draw or summarize the story. Brad didn’t look and read the girl’s body language the first time, but he learned to in the end. ### STEP 3. MODEL AND REHEARSE. #### 3a) Model the body language. Model the body language from the Gesture Guide (found in Appendix B and among the accompanying online materials), and label it as you do it. Ask the group questions such as, “What do you think Brad’s body language is telling you in this picture?” Let the students know that they can refer to the photos on the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet if they are unsure about what someone’s body language is trying to convey to them. Have students mark on the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet for Line A. #### 3b) Have the students rehearse by imitating your model. As the students imitate your model, have them record their performance on the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet for Line B. In front of the small group, have one person model the gesture and the other person guess what gesture he or she is modeling. 1. The group should give a “thumbs up” if the guesser states the correct gesture or a “thumbs down” if the guesser is not correct. Note: If the student who is guessing is incorrect, prompt the student by providing some clues and allowing him or her another chance to respond. 2. Provide feedback on the student’s performance of imitating gestures, and indicate how to complete this as a score on the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet. 3. Have the pair that is presenting the role play mark their individual score based on accuracy on Line C of their Self-Monitoring Data Sheets. 4. By the end of this activity, each student should have had the opportunity to model and guess at least one time before moving on to the role play. Check students’ data sheets to ensure that they are scoring themselves accurately. Verbally reinforce students who score themselves accurately, and provide more instruction to those students who do not score themselves accurately. #### 3c) Prompt the students to mark their data for Line C on the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet. I can role-play gestures from my Body Language Binoculars. ### STEP 4. ROLE-PLAY AND REINFORCE. #### 4a) Have the students role-play responding to body language. Have the students participate in additional role-play on how they would respond to the whole picture they see of someone exhibiting nonverbal behavior from their Body Language Binoculars. 1. Divide the students into groups of 2–4. 2. Each group should choose a gesture from the Gesture Guide to role-play. 3. Working as a team, the groups should create a scenario whereby one student imitates the gesture from the guide and the other students respond correctly to the gesture. For example, if one student is using his body language to ask others to be quiet, then the students could create a scenario in which they are all talking but once their peer uses his body language to show them that they should be quiet, they all become quiet. 4. The students who are observing the role play need to decide what gesture the group that is role-playing is using. 5. The role-play group should give the observing group a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” depending on whether they are correct or not. 6. The students who are observing then decide whether they felt the role-play group reacted correctly or incorrectly to the nonverbal gesture. #### 4b) Prompt the students to mark their data on Line D of the Self-Monitoring Data Sheet. I can respond to peers’ nonverbal behavior in a role play. ### STEP 5. PROMOTE GENERALIZATION. * Send home the Parent Follow-Up Page. Follow-up directions are provided on the Parent Follow-Up Page.