Abstract:
Social skills training is a good way of intervention for preventing deficiencies in demonstrating social skills and
emotional-behavioral problems, and academic deficiencies that may arise from these deficiencies. Different
activities, methods, and strategies as well as different approaches from theory to practice can be included in
intervention programs for social skills. This study is aimed to reveal a story-based social skills training program
that is usable for preschool children in Turkey, by making promotion and performing the Turkish adaptation of a
classroom-based social skills training program called “Ready to Learn” developed by Brigman, Lane & Lane
(1994), the scientific effects of which have been proven. This program was developed for children aged four to
seven to promote the prerequisite learning skills and social skills that are needed for school success. The
program called “Ready to Learn” includes social cooperation activities to contain the use of “big books” that are
read aloud, story-telling by teachers and children, activities of drawing, dramatic play, puppet, and song,
activities on listening and attention, practices for understanding directions through story structures, as well as
discussion and interaction. The program, which consists of a series of stories, includes five teacher strategies: (1)
modeling-coaching-cueing, (2) student/child story-telling, (3) student/child story retelling, (4) positive peer
reporting, and (5) encouragement council activities. Within the scope of the study, a social skills training
program was gained to the literature for Turkish children in the preschool period by carrying out stages from the
procedures for the provision of the program called “Ready to Learn” to the steps required by the adaptation
processes. In this context, the study is envisaged to be a guide for social skills training applications and program
development studies for preschool children and to provide an intellectual basis for the practices in daily life;
meanwhile, it is also stipulated to be a remarkable resource for improving the problems and deficiencies
experienced in the preschool period.
