Education Commons^™

The Power Of Please: How Courtesy Scripts Improve Self-Control And Reduce Peer Conflict By Creating New Language Patterns, Michael J. Haslip

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This teacher inquiry project describes how one first grade teacher learned to use coached language supports to improve children’s self-control and cooperation. Courtesy scripts were created in the process. The development of courtesy scripts and their application in early elementary classrooms is presented. Courtesy scripts are specific phrases explicitly taught (I do, we do, you do), reinforced, and used in conversations by both the speaker and listener. Children learned how to make requests while also honoring the needs of others. Use of these pragmatic language supports helped to create a peaceful classroom community. A practical method for teaching courteous language …