Walking In The Hallway Social Story

Four stair rules - walk and never run, face forwards, take one step at a time, never jump - are given a page each in a first-person social story that opens with why stairs matter and closes on not getting hurt.

An educational teaching resource from SEN Resource Source entitled Walking on the Stairs Social Story downloadable at Teach Simple.

Year groups: Not year specific
Pages: 10
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Jan 12, 2024

Subject: Special Education Needs (SEN), Life Skills, Special Resources
Topic: Safety, Stairs
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Walking on the Stairs Social Story: An Essential Teaching Resource

'Walking on the Stairs Social Story' is a well-crafted teaching material that exhorts children to adhere to safety measures while using stairs. It aims to reduce the risk of accidents by stressing not to run, jump or walk backwards when ascending or descending stairs.

The Core Idea: A Social Story

This resource embeds an effective teaching technique called Social story. Renowned for its ability to explain different social experiences in an easily understandable tone, this approach prepares children about how to react optimally during diverse situations. Its inherent value escalates particularly for educating children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder due its contribution in elucidating intricate social cues and attitudes helping them stay calm and composed even during unpredictable circumstances.

Scope and Application across Varying Grades

This resource fits conveniently into any grade because of its universal relevance.
While primarily designed for special education programs and life skills classes, it could be included skeptically within regular curriculums according to needs.
The story is presented as a 10-page PDF with colourful illustrations deftly incorporated by Kari Bolt Clip Art.

Different ways of Presentation:

In a Whole-class scenario—where teachers directly deliver instructions towards entire class.
In smaller groups or one-on-one basis where teachers can discuss more deeply about rectifying wayward behaviours.

Flexible Usage Guidelines:

Moving forward beyond merely being designed as a book, users can mold their presentation techniques depending upon their respective student clusters. Fostering repetitive reading also forms an integral usage aspect, which ensures better retention of the lessons.

Teachers are also suggested to make these materials last longer by stashing them into display books or laminating and binding them together

A Key Ingredient for A Comprehensive Education:

In summary, 'Walking on the Stairs Social Story' is a resourceful teaching aid targeting safety measures alongside building excellent social skills. As investable educational tools, they form crucial aspects within holistic learning paradigms.

Clipart images courtesy of Kari Biolt Clipart

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

State the four stair rules in the first person: walk rather than run, face forwards, take one step at a time, and do not jump
Explain why stairs can be dangerous when they are not used carefully
Connect safe behaviour on the stairs to not getting hurt and to feeling happy about it

Teaching tips

Each rule has a page of its own, so a child who only needs one of the four can be given that page rather than the whole story.
Pages 2 and 3 speak generally about stairs before the story turns to "I" on page 4, which makes them the natural point to pause and talk about the stairs in your own building.
The final page moves from feeling safe to the teacher being pleased, so it is worth deciding in advance whether the adult named should be the teacher or someone at home.
The wording is British - walk forwards, silly, sensibly - so a class used to American phrasing may need those three words said aloud once before reading.

Skills covered

Rule recall in the first person - each rule opens "To be safe on the stairs I must", so the child reads it as their own statement rather than as an instruction given to them.
Cause and effect - the story sets "if you are silly on the stairs you could fall and really hurt yourself" against "when I am safe on the stairs I will not get hurt".
Following a routine one step at a time - four rules are given a page each rather than as a list, so each can be read, practised and revisited on its own.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Which four rules does the story give?

Walk sensibly and never run; walk forwards and never walk backwards; walk one step at a time and do not skip steps; walk sensibly and never jump up the stairs. Each takes a page of its own and each opens with the same words, "To be safe on the stairs I must".

Is the wording British or American English?

British. The story says "walk forwards" rather than "walk forward", and uses "silly" and "sensibly" in their British senses. Nothing else in the text differs between the two conventions.

How does the voice change through the story?

It narrows from we, to you, to I. Page 2 speaks for everyone - we need the stairs to get up to the next floor. Page 3 addresses the reader - stairs can be dangerous if you are not safe. From page 4 onwards it is the child's own voice, through the four rules and on to the closing pages about not getting hurt and the teacher being pleased.