Every preschool teacher has seen it: two four-year-olds at the block center, one child grabs the last long block, and suddenly there are tears, shouting, and a tower knocked to the ground. What happened in those few seconds wasn’t just about blocks—it was about thinking. Or rather, the kind of thinking that young children are still learning to do.
This guide breaks down how to teach social thinking in preschool settings, offering curriculum ideas, concrete activities you can use this week, and strategies for connecting school and home. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, a special educator, or a parent looking to support your child’s development, you’ll find practical tools to help kids navigate friendships, feelings, and the everyday social world.
Key Points
- Social thinking in preschool focuses on helping children understand others' thoughts and feelings to guide their behavior, rather than just teaching isolated social skills.
- Using concrete concepts like the group plan and whole body listening, along with visual supports and play-based activities, makes social thinking accessible for young learners.
- Partnering with families and embedding social thinking throughout daily routines supports consistent growth in children's social competencies and positive relationships.
What Is Social Thinking in Preschool?
Social thinking is not the same as teaching children a checklist of social skills like “make eye contact” or “say please.” Instead, it refers to the cognitive process of figuring out what others might be thinking or feeling, and then using that information to decide how to act. For preschoolers ages 3 to 5, this means learning to notice facial expressions, understand that other people have their own emotions and ideas, and recognize how their own behavior affects the kids and adults around them.
The term “Social Thinking” was originally coined by Michelle Garcia Winner, a speech-language pathologist who developed this methodology in the 1990s while working with individuals facing social and communication challenges. Michelle Garcia Winner’s approach emphasizes developing the underlying “thinking” before targeting specific behaviors. Today, many preschools around the world use social-thinking–based strategies more broadly, adapting these concepts for young children in general education classrooms, not just those with identified needs.
In a preschool context, social thinking looks like this: during circle time, a child notices that a classmate looks sad and asks, “Are you okay?” At centers, children work together on a puzzle, taking turns and adjusting when someone else has an idea. On the playground, a child pauses before cutting in line because they understand it would make others feel upset. These moments don’t happen automatically—they require explicit teaching, practice, and a shared vocabulary that children, teachers, and parents can all use.
Why does this matter so early? Research consistently shows that children who develop strong social competencies in preschool are better prepared for kindergarten, experience fewer behavioral challenges, and build positive relationships that support academic success throughout their school lives. When we teach children to think about their own emotions and the perspectives of others at an early age, we give them tools they will use for the rest of their lives.
Core Social Thinking Concepts for Preschoolers
Preschoolers need simple, concrete language and plenty of visuals to grasp abstract ideas like “thoughts” and “feelings.” You can’t just tell a three-year-old to “think about how your friend feels”—you have to show them what that means using words and pictures they can understand.
Here are the foundational concepts to introduce, each with age-appropriate examples drawn from everyday preschool routines:
Thinking thoughts vs. feeling feelings. Help children distinguish between what’s happening in their brain (thinking thoughts) and what’s happening in their body and heart (feelings). For example, a child might be thinking about which color crayon to use, while feeling excited about their drawing. When the tower of blocks falls down, they might feel frustrated even though they were thinking about how tall to build it. Naming this difference helps kids begin to explore their inner world.
The group plan. This concept teaches children that when people are together, they often share a common goal. At preschool, the group plan might be “everyone cleans up the art center by 10:30 so we can go outside.” When a child wanders off to play with trains instead, they’ve left the group plan. Using this language helps children understand why staying together and working toward shared goals matters for the whole classroom community.
Whole body listening. This means eyes looking, ears listening, body turned toward the speaker, and brain thinking about what’s being said. Rather than just saying “pay attention,” you can teach children what attention actually looks like in their body. During morning meeting, you might say, “Show me whole body listening—eyes on me, body in the group, hands quiet.”
Personal space and body in the group. Preschoolers are still learning where their bodies end and someone else’s space begins. Use common scenarios like lining up for lunch or sitting at story time to practice keeping our bodies in our own space while still being part of the group. When children bump into each other at the carpet, it’s an opportunity to talk about how our bodies affect others.
Expected vs. unexpected behaviors. Instead of “good” and “bad,” use expected and unexpected. An expected behavior at the slide is waiting for your turn. An unexpected behavior is pushing to get there first. When you talk about unexpected behaviors, connect them to how others feel: “When Marcus pushed, how do you think Aisha felt?” This builds perspective taking skills naturally.
Designing a Social Thinking Preschool Curriculum
You don’t need to add a separate “social thinking block” to your already-packed schedule. The most effective approach is to weave these concepts into your existing curriculum, whether you’re using Creative Curriculum, HighScope, a Reggio-inspired environment, or another framework.
Consider organizing your year around social thinking themes that span 8 to 10 weeks each:
- September–October: Feelings and Faces – Focus on identifying and naming emotions, reading facial expressions, and connecting feelings to situations
- November–December: Being Part of a Group – Emphasize the group plan, whole body listening, and working together toward shared goals
- January–February: Problem Solving with Friends – Teach flexible thinking, expected vs. unexpected behaviors, and strategies for handling conflicts
- March–April: Kind Helpers and Empathy – Build on perspective taking, recognizing when someone needs help, and celebrating kind actions
Within each theme, use short picture-book units to anchor your lessons. Books like “The Feelings Book” by Todd Parr or “Llama Llama Time to Share” by Anna Dewdney offer natural entry points for discussing social thinking concepts without requiring specialized materials. Read stories over multiple sessions, pausing to ask questions like “What do you think this character is feeling?” or “What could they do next?”
Lesson length and pacing matter. Plan for 10 to 15 minute whole-group lessons, 5 to 10 minutes of small-group practice, and brief 2 to 3 minute “social thinking reminders” woven into daily transitions. Preschoolers can’t sit through long lectures, but they can absorb concepts when they’re delivered in small, repeated doses throughout the day.
Keep your materials simple and reusable year after year: laminated visual cards, basic hand puppets, photo schedules, and emotion charts featuring real children from your classroom (with family permission). You don’t need expensive kits—you need resources that kids can see, touch, and interact with daily.
For differentiation, consider your mixed-age classrooms (3-year-olds alongside 5-year-olds), English learners who may need extra visual support, and children with IEPs who benefit from more explicit instruction. The same core vocabulary works for everyone; you simply adjust the complexity of your expectations and the amount of scaffolding you provide.
Everyday Classroom Strategies to Teach Social Thinking
The best social thinking instruction doesn’t happen during a designated lesson—it happens throughout the day, embedded in routines students already know. Here’s how to make it work in your 2024–2025 classroom.
During large-group times like morning meeting or story time, use thought bubbles drawn on a whiteboard or held up on craft sticks. After reading a page in a picture book, pause and ask, “What might Leo be thinking right now?” Draw a quick thought bubble and write or sketch the children’s ideas inside. This makes the invisible process of thinking visible.
At centers and free play, set up structures that support social behavior without requiring constant adult intervention:
- Label a “Calm Corner” with visuals showing deep breaths, counting to five, or hugging a stuffed animal
- Use picture cue cards at popular centers to prompt sharing, taking turns, and asking “Can I play?”
- Post simple visual supports near the block area or dramatic play showing the steps for joining a game
Visual supports are your best friends for making abstract concepts concrete:
- Laminated thought and speech bubbles attached with Velcro to classroom photos or character pictures—move them around as you discuss what people might be thinking or saying
- A feelings chart with 4 to 6 core emotions (happy, sad, mad, scared, excited, worried) that children can point to during morning check-ins
- Picture schedules that show the group plan for each part of the day
Explicit language scripts help teachers and children build shared vocabulary. Practice phrases like:
- “I’m thinking we all want a turn with the red truck. Let’s make a group plan so everyone feels okay.”
- “I notice your face looks worried. Can you tell me what you’re thinking?”
- “That was unexpected. How do you think your friend felt when that happened?”
During transitions (lining up at 11:45 for lunch, cleaning up by 3:00 p.m. dismissal), use quick verbal communication reminders: “Show me you’re ready to walk to lunch—bodies in the group, eyes forward, voices off.” Acknowledge when children demonstrate expected behaviors: “I see so many friends with whole body listening right now.”
Social Thinking Activities and Games for Preschoolers
Here are concrete, ready-to-use social skills activities you can implement this week. Each one targets specific social thinking goals while keeping preschoolers engaged through play.
Thought Bubble and Feeling Bubble Craft Materials: cardstock circles (one white for thoughts, one red for feelings), craft sticks, markers. Have children draw a “thinking thought” in the white bubble (what they’re thinking about, like their pet or favorite food) and a “feeling feeling” in the red bubble (a face showing happy, sad, etc.). Use these throughout the week during story discussions. Time: 15 minutes.
Group Plan Builders Gather 3 to 5 children to work together on a shared building project—a block tower, a train track, or making fruit salad. Post a simple visual sequence chart showing the steps. Before starting, state the group plan: “Our plan is to build a tower together. Everyone gets to add blocks.” Pause periodically to ask, “Are we sticking with the group plan?” This activity takes about 15 to 20 minutes and reinforces flexible thinking when things don’t go as expected.
Emotion Charades One child draws a feeling card and acts it out using only facial expressions and body language—no verbal communication allowed. Other students guess the emotion. This builds skill in reading nonverbal cues and recognizing feelings in others. Keep rounds short (game ends after each child has one turn) to maintain engagement.
Social Detective Game Tell children they are “social detectives” who use their eyes to gather clues about what others might be thinking or doing. Play “I Spy” with a twist: “I spy someone who looks like they need help” or “I spy two friends who are sharing.” This reinforces the concept of “thinking with your eyes” from perspective taking work.
Rhythm Games for Group Awareness Joint music making activities like clapping patterns or simple drum circles require children to listen to peers and stay with the group. Start a clapping pattern and have children join in one by one. Discuss how it sounds when everyone works together versus when someone does their own thing.
Storytelling Circle Sit in a circle with a talking stick or soft ball. One child starts a simple story (“Once there was a cat who…”), then passes to the next child to add one sentence. Children must listen to the friend before them and build on the shared story. This practices perspective taking and staying with a group topic. Time: 10 minutes.
Cooperative Mural Provide a large paper and have small groups create a mural about “Friends at School.” Each child contributes their part while talking about what makes a good friend. This combines problem solving (sharing space and materials) with meaningful reflection on social relationships.
Partner Scavenger Hunt Outdoors, pair children up and give them a simple picture list of items to find together (a leaf, a rock, something red). The catch: partners must decide together where to go next. This outdoor activity practices negotiation, compromise, and following a shared plan. Allow 15 to 20 minutes.
Tower of Cups In pairs or small groups, children stack plastic cups into a tower together. If it falls, the group discusses what happened and tries again. This builds frustration tolerance and teaches that participating in group activities sometimes means adjusting our own ideas.
Partnering with Families to Support Social Thinking at Home
Children spend the majority of their waking hours outside of school, which means family involvement is essential for social thinking to really stick. Home situations—siblings sharing toys, grocery store trips, playdates—offer countless opportunities to practice these skills in real-world contexts.
Introduce the language early. At your August or September back-to-school night, share a simple one-page handout that defines 3 to 4 key terms: group plan, expected/unexpected, feelings, and thinking with your eyes. Keep definitions brief and include one home example for each. Parents can’t support what they don’t understand.
Send monthly or quarterly family newsletters with one focus concept and 2 to 3 simple at-home ideas:
- Feelings focus: “At bedtime, ask your child to name one thing that made them feel happy today and one thing that felt hard. Talk about what their body felt like.”
- Group plan focus: “Before a family outing, state the group plan: ‘Our plan is to stay together at the grocery store.’ Notice and praise when your child sticks with it.”
- Kind words focus: “Play ‘kindness catch’ at dinner—go around and share one kind thing someone did for you today.”
Send home reproducible visuals like a small feelings chart for the refrigerator and a one-page “Calm-down Choices” list featuring common household items: a pillow to squeeze, a favorite stuffed animal to hug, paper and crayons for drawing big feelings. These materials bridge the school and home environment with consistent strategies.
Use brief pick-up and drop-off conversations to coach parents in shared vocabulary: “Today we practiced staying with the group plan during outdoor play. You might notice them using that phrase at home—ask them what it means!” These quick exchanges build confidence in families who want to support their child’s growth but aren’t sure where to start.
Collaborate with your multidisciplinary team—speech-language pathologists, school counselors, occupational therapists—to align strategies and vocabulary across all the adults in a child’s life. When everyone uses the same language, thinkers of all ages can apply what they learn more consistently.
Tips, Challenges, and Next Steps for Social Thinking in Preschool
Social thinking is a developmental process that unfolds across the preschool years and beyond. There’s no quick fix—children ages 3 to 5 are just beginning to understand that other people have different thoughts, feelings, and perspectives from their own. Your job is to plant seeds and nurture growth over time.
Common challenges teachers face:
- Limited time in half-day programs to fit in explicit social lessons
- Large class sizes (18 to 22 children per classroom) that make individualized support difficult
- Varying language levels, especially with children as young as three and English learners
- Inconsistent home support when families aren’t familiar with social thinking concepts
Practical solutions that work:
- Use 2-minute micro-lessons embedded in transitions rather than lengthy standalone blocks
- Build concepts into songs, fingerplays, and routines children already know
- Choose one focus concept per month to avoid overwhelming yourself and your students
- Partner with classroom aides and specialists so everyone reinforces the same vocabulary
Implementation tips for success:
- Post social thinking visuals at child eye-level so kids can reference them independently
- Practice the same language across all staff—consistency is more important than perfection
- Model self-talk out loud: “I’m feeling frustrated because the copier isn’t working. I’m going to take three deep breaths and try again.”
- Use arrow icon visuals showing cause and effect: “When I share → my friend feels happy → they want to play with me again”
Tracking progress doesn’t require elaborate assessments. Keep anecdotal notes on key behaviors (asking to join play, using feeling words, taking turns), use simple checklists you can mark during observations, and save work samples from September and April to show growth. Celebrate small wins—a child who used to grab now asks, or a child who struggled with transitions now responds to the “group plan” language.
Start small. Pick one manageable step—maybe adding a feelings check-in at morning circle next Monday—and build from there. Social thinking isn’t a program you implement all at once; it’s a way of teaching and talking with children that grows over the 2024–2025 school year and every year after.
The preschoolers in your classroom are just beginning to understand themselves and the social world around them. With consistent support from teachers and parents who speak the same language, these young learners will build confidence, develop meaningful friendships, and gain the skills they need to interact successfully with peers and adults alike. That block-center conflict from the beginning of this article? With social thinking, your students will learn to pause, think, and respond—one small moment at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is social thinking in preschool?
Social thinking in preschool refers to the process by which young children learn to understand others' thoughts and feelings and use that understanding to guide their own behavior. It focuses on developing the cognitive skills behind social interactions rather than just teaching isolated social skills.
Why is teaching social thinking important for preschoolers?
Teaching social thinking helps preschoolers develop empathy, perspective taking, and self-regulation skills, which are foundational for building positive relationships and achieving academic success. Early social thinking skills support children in navigating social situations effectively throughout their lives.
How can teachers incorporate social thinking into daily routines?
Teachers can embed social thinking concepts into everyday activities such as circle time, free play, transitions, and group projects by using visual supports, explicit language, and interactive games that promote perspective taking, whole body listening, and cooperation.
What are some effective social thinking activities for preschoolers?
Activities like emotion charades, group plan builders, social detective games, rhythm games, and storytelling circles engage preschoolers in practicing social thinking skills through play and collaboration.
How can parents support social thinking development at home?
Parents can reinforce social thinking by using consistent vocabulary, sharing simple visuals like feelings charts, discussing emotions and group plans during daily routines, and encouraging cooperative play and communication with siblings and peers.
Is social thinking only for children with special needs?
No. While social thinking strategies were initially developed to support individuals with social communication challenges, they are effective and beneficial for all preschoolers, providing a foundation for healthy social interactions and emotional understanding.
What resources are available for teaching social thinking in preschool?
Curriculums like We Thinkers! Volume 1, picture books focusing on emotions and social skills, visual supports, and materials from the Social Thinking organization provide practical tools and structured lessons for educators and families.
Original content from the Upbility writing team. Reproducing this article, in whole or in part, without credit to the publisher is prohibited.
References
- Garcia Winner, M. (2013). Thinking About You Thinking About Me (2nd ed.). Social Thinking Publishing.
- Parr, T. (2000). The Feelings Book. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
- Dewdney, A. (2003). Llama Llama Time to Share. Candlewick Press.
- Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(5), 354-364.
- Social Thinking. (n.d.). About Social Thinking. Retrieved from https://www.socialthinking.com/
- The Autism Helper. (n.d.). How to Use Social Thinking in Your Preschool Classroom. Retrieved from https://theautismhelper.com/we-thinkers-volume-1-social-explorers
- Mental Health Center Kids. (n.d.). 20 Social Skills Activities for Preschoolers. Retrieved from https://mentalhealthcenterkids.com/blogs/articles/social-skills-activities-for-preschoolers
- Positive Action. (n.d.). 20 Evidence-Based Social Skills Activities and Games for Kids. Retrieved from https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/social-skills-activities-and-games-for-kids
- Social Thinking. (n.d.). Free Stuff for Early Learners (Ages 4-7). Retrieved from https://www.socialthinking.com/free-stuff/early-learners
