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Interrupting People Social Story – Conversation Skills

Help students understand taking turns in conversation. A first-person social story explores the urge to interrupt and the experience of waiting for a chance to speak.
Grades
Not Grade Specific
Pages
7
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject
Special Resources, Social Skills, Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Topic
Interrupting, Conversation Skills
Preparation
Print ready

Product description

From the author

This illustrated social story describes feeling excited to speak, noticing when someone is already talking and waiting for a turn. Use the five story pages for a short discussion and supported practice in everyday conversations.

The seven-page PDF includes a cover and credits. Pages can be placed in a display book or laminated and bound for repeated reading. Illustrations are credited to Kari Bolt.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Students recognize the urge to interrupt as a normal feeling ('sometimes I get excited... I feel like I can't wait to say it') rather than something to feel ashamed of.

  • Students learn the concrete rule to wait when someone else is already speaking.

  • Students explain how waiting can give another person space to finish speaking; a positive response is not guaranteed.

Teaching tips

  • Read the story repeatedly rather than once, since its short, repeated-phrase structure (the waiting rule appears with similar wording on two consecutive pages) is built for reinforcement over time.

  • Pair the story with a real practice moment right after reading, such as a group conversation, so the student can immediately apply the 'wait for my turn' rule while it's fresh.

  • Explain an exception for urgent help: a child may interrupt to report immediate danger or an urgent need. Practice ordinary turn-taking without promising that another person will always respond happily.

Skills covered

  • Turn-taking in conversation — the story's core rule is waiting until the other person finishes speaking before talking.

  • Impulse recognition — the story names the internal feeling of wanting to interrupt before addressing the fix, helping a student recognize the urge itself.

  • Social reasoning — students discuss how waiting supports turn-taking while recognizing that other people’s responses can vary.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Turn-taking

  • Impulse control

  • Conversation skills

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