Boys Town Skill of the Week

Asking for Help

Asking For Help

Although students frequently need help, they oftentimes don’t ask for it. Many students compensate for not understanding an assignment, directions, or expectations by calling out that they need help or by stopping their work on an assignment or task. Still others escalate their behaviors in an attempt to avoid completing the task or engaging in the activity. Teaching students to recognize that they need help, identify exactly what they need help with, and appropriately ask for help provides them with a way to get their needs met without infringing on the rights of others to learn or escalating behaviors.

Planned Teaching

Introduce the Skill

Ask students to take out a sheet of notebook paper and fold it in half the long way. Ask students to label the two columns “Things I Can Complete Without Help” and “Things I Need Help With.”
Examples: Responses for things they can do without help might include getting ready for school, playing video games, making the bed, etc. Responses for things they need help with might include using the computer, doing the dishes, ironing clothes, etc.
Have students share some of their responses from the first list (things they can do without help) when the brainstorming session is over. Discuss with the students how they learned to do the things on the first list and who helped them when they needed assistance.
After that discussion, ask the students to share things from the “Need Help With” list. Ask the following questions as discussion starters or leads: How do you decide whether or not to ask for help? Whom do you ask for help? How can you increase the chances of getting the help you need?

Describe the Appropriate Behavior

Look at the person
Ask the person if she/he has time to help you
Clearly explain the kind of help that you need
Thank the person for helping

Give a Reason

People may be more willing to help you
The person you are asking will understand exactly what you need and will be able to help you more quickly

Practice

Have partners practice the skill

Journaling

Write about a time you needed help and asked for it. How did you get help? What was the outcome?
Write about a time you needed help but did not ask for it. What was the outcome?

Role Play

Think about a character from a familiar story and determine when the character might have needed to ask for help but didn't. Have students change the outcome of the story to show what would have happened if the character had asked for help.

Preventive Prompts

There are many times during the day when you can prompt students that they are going to need to ask for help. Prompt students to repeat the steps of the skill to you or review the steps with them prior to using the skill.

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