Five Storybook Set (We Thinkers! Volume 2)
IMPORTANT--Please Note!
In professional settings, these storybooks are to accompany the We Thinkers! Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers Curriculum Package; they are NOT intended to be used as stand-alone teaching tools.
About the We Thinkers! Volume 2 Extra Storybook Set
These five storybooks can be purchased here, or as part of the larger curriculum set that they were written to accompany, We Thinkers! Volume 2 Deluxe Package. If you already purchased the Deluxe Package, there is no need to buy this set unless you want an extra set of the storybooks!
In Volume 1 Social Explorers of our Social Thinking early learner series, children were introduced to four likable characters, Evan, Ellie, Jesse and Molly, and followed along in their adventures as they explored and learned about basic Social Thinking Vocabulary concepts related to thoughts and feelings, being part of a group, and noticing and thinking about the people around them.
The concepts and storybooks in Volume 2 pick up where Volume 1 left off and delve deeper to help children build stronger skills during interactive play, while working together in groups, and handling the inevitable problems that happen along the way. Colorful illustrations and fun storybook adventures stimulate children’s curiosity and imagination and engage them in learning these five additional Social Thinking concepts:
- Hidden Rules and Expected and Unexpected Behaviors (Pirate Adventure)
- Smart Guess (Mystery Adventure)
- Flexible and Stuck Thinking (Ice Cream Shop Adventure)
- Size of the Problem (Dinosaur Birthday Party)
- Sharing an Imagination (Park Adventure)
Teaching is sequential across the We Thinkers! series. Be sure to work through the concepts and storybooks in Volume 1 before using this Volume 2 five storybook set! The storybooks are part of the larger We Thinkers! Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers curriculum package that introduces our brand new GPS Play Scale to help adults better observe and understand each child’s starting interactive abilities when working or playing with others.
This storybook set can be used by parents, therapists, and educators alike in helping children learn to better self-regulate their behavior and emotions when sharing space or interacting with others.
UNIT 6: Hidden Rules and Expected and Unexpected Behaviors (Pirate Adventure)
Every social situation has "hidden rules", a range of social expectations that are generally understood but are not usually stated or explicitly taught. In this Pirate Adventure story, Evan, Ellie, Jesse and Molly learn about the rules of the ship, search for buried treasure, and learn about expected and unexpected behaviors within different situations during their adventure to find buried treasure.
UNIT 7: Smart Guess (Mystery Adventure)
We make a smart guess when we take what we observe and combine that with what we know. In this Mystery Adventure, Evan, Jesse and Molly make wacky and smart guesses about Ellie’s mystery plan for the group, as well making guesses about activities with their new penguin friends.
UNIT 8: Flexible and Stuck Thinking (Ice Cream Shop Adventure)
The social world is complex; it shifts and changes constantly. Therefore the expectation is that we shift and change with it, and learn how to be flexible. In this Ice Cream Shop Adventure, Evan, Ellie, Jesse and Molly are trying to deliver an ice cream cone to Mr. Roadrunner’s home, and encounter flexible and stuck thinking among themselves along the way.
UNIT 9: Size of the Problem (Dinosaur Birthday Party)
In-the-moment problem solving is a complex process! In this storybook we define a problem as something that happens that was not part of the plan AND makes people feel uncomfortable. Evan, Ellie, Jesse, and Molly discover over the course of Jesse's birthday party that problems come in different sizes, feelings and emotional reactions come in different sizes, reactions come from feelings, and it is expected to match the size of our reaction to the size of the problem.
Shared imagination is the ability to imagine what another person(s) is thinking, feeling, and/or pretending. Most young kids develop the ability to imagine or pretend together; it's the means by which they relate to the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others. In this storybook Evan, Ellie, Jesse, and Molly have a park adventure where they pretend to be cowboys and cowgirls, as well as firefighters sharing an imagination to problem solve in their pretend adventure.
Authors: Ryan Hendrix , Kari Zweber Palmer , Nancy Tarshis , Michelle Garcia Winner
