Teaching Taking Turns Social Skills: Activities, Tips & Free Sticker Stories

Struggling to teach kids turn taking? Don’t let poor social skills hold them back. Discover fun taking turns social skills activities, sticker story SEL freebies, and simple strategies to stop chaos in your classroom.

You won’t believe this, but taking turns is one of the hardest social skills for kids to learn – yet it’s so crucial for friendships, learning, and life in general. Let’s dig into why taking turns social skills matter, how to teach them effectively, and some super fun ways to practice, including sticker stories SEL activities with a freebie for your class!

Turn taking social skills sticker sheet with cartoon kids and SEL prompts.

If you’re focusing on teaching social skills this term, you’ll love these sticker stories to support your lessons. This teaching social skills article shares more practical ideas for building confidence and empathy in your classroom routines.

Social Skill Stories (written in language for kids):

Grab the keep my clothes on social skills story here Grab the waiting in line social skills story here Grab the hands out of pants social skills story here Grab the I can handle loud noises social skills story here Grab the I can walk in a straight line social skills story here Grab the feelings in colors social skills story here Grab 2000+ PGS social skills stories (non-editable) here

Grab the Free Token Board to Pair With This Social Story

If you are using this keeping clothes on social skills story, I highly recommend pairing it with a simple token board. Kids do so much better when there is something visual and concrete they are working toward, especially when we are teaching a new boundary or replacement behavior.

I created a FREE printable token board that you can laminate and use with Velcro coins, real tokens, or even little stars. Your student picks a preferred activity, earns five tokens for demonstrating the expected behavior, and then celebrates reaching their goal in a positive and structured way.

It works beautifully with this story, but honestly, it also works with accepting no, toilet routines, gentle hands, and any other social skill you are teaching. You can grab the free token board below and start using it right away in your classroom or at home.

[Grab the FREE Token Board Here]

See how these friendship sort sticker activity cards work:

Why Teaching Taking Turns Social Skills Is Important

So, why is teaching taking turns social skills such a big deal?

Well, kids aren’t born knowing how to wait, share, or take turns. These skills help them:

Make and keep friends
Participate in group learning
Build patience and empathy
Develop self-control and flexibility

Imagine a classroom where everyone grabs at materials at once – chaos, right? Teaching turn taking activities for kindergarten early on helps build calmer, more connected learning communities.

Starting a new year? Pair these turn taking activities with strategies from your back to school routine to set expectations early and help kids feel settled, safe, and ready to learn.

How to Teach Turn Taking Skills in the Classroom

Here’s what I think works best when teaching how to teach turn taking skills:

How to teach turn taking skills worksheet with sticker visuals for preschool.

Model the behaviour. Narrate as you wait your turn in line or during games.
Use visual supports. Try a simple turn taking visual support chart showing “my turn / your turn.”
Practice with structured games. Board games or simple dice games reinforce that waiting is part of playing.
Praise successes. Celebrate when kids wait patiently or pass an item to a friend without reminders.

One simple activity is to play taking turns games for preschool like “Roll and Build,” where kids take turns rolling a dice to build a tower or craft.

Many students need visual scripts to navigate daily experiences. For example, this riding the bus social story is perfect to teach bus expectations, just like sticker stories teach turn taking step by step.

Role Play for Teaching Taking Turns

Role play is an easy, low-prep way to build social skills turn taking strategies.

Here’s a quick classroom role play idea:

🗣️ Scenario: Two friends want to play with the same truck.
👫 Roles: One student plays ‘Child A,’ the other ‘Child B,’ and a third can be the ‘teacher.’
🎭 Practice: Model what Child A can say (“Can I have a turn when you’re done?”) and how Child B can respond (“Sure, I’ll give it to you after my turn.”).
🔁 Swap roles so everyone practices both asking and responding.

These short role plays build confidence and teach real language kids can use with peers.

If you teach students with diverse needs, explore these social skills activities for special needs students. They include structured supports, visuals, and printable lessons to make social learning accessible for all.

Sticker Stories: A Fun SEL Turn Taking Practice

You won’t believe how much kids love sticker stories. They’re interactive, creative, and naturally teach patience and taking turns when done in groups.

Teaching patience and turn taking printable with colorful SEL story stickers.

⭐ FREEBIE: Turn Taking Sticker Story

Grab this Turn Taking Sticker Story Freebie to kickstart your SEL lessons. It includes:

A printable story scene
Prompts guiding kids to add stickers to the story in sequence
Opportunities to discuss how characters take turns and wait patiently

How to use it in class:

✅ Print the pages on sticker sheets (Avery full sheet labels work perfectly) and cut them into individual stickers.
✅ In small groups, read the story together and let kids take turns placing their sticker on the page as the story progresses.
✅ Discuss the feeling of waiting and taking turns as they place each sticker.

It’s a simple, low-prep way to reinforce social skills with your daily SEL block.

You can also build on these sticker lessons with printable social skills worksheets for autism pdf. They’re tailored for visual learners who thrive on concrete, step-by-step instruction.

Community Building Sticker Stories

The Community Building Sticker Stories set is ideal for back to school or anytime your class needs a reset on kindness, teamwork, and sharing.

You can also grab the full growing bundle of SEL Sticker Stories which I am adding do weekly.

Social emotional learning turn taking activities using sticker stories and writing.

How to use in your classroom:

Print each story on sticker sheets and cut.
Introduce the story whole group, then split students into pairs to read and build the story together, taking turns adding stickers.
Extend the lesson by role playing scenarios from the story to build sharing and turn taking preschool skills.

These sticker stories foster a sense of belonging and empathy as kids work together to complete their scenes.

For a calming and creative SEL option, try these social skills coloring sheets. They integrate mindful coloring with social-emotional prompts, just like sticker stories combine fine motor and SEL learning.

About Me Sticker Stories

Want to build confidence while practicing social emotional learning turn taking? Try the About Me Sticker Stories.

You can also grab the full growing bundle of SEL Sticker Stories which I am adding do weekly.

Printable turn taking activities with visual supports for kindergarten students.

Here’s how:

✅ Print on sticker sheets and cut into sets.
✅ Use them during morning meetings or all about me week.
✅ Kids take turns adding stickers about themselves as they share with the group, learning to listen and wait as their friends share too.

This turns a simple getting-to-know-you activity into a powerful SEL lesson.

Finally, if you’re supporting students with new glasses, this wearing glasses social story can ease anxiety and build confidence, reinforcing social learning across all situations.

Friendship Sticker Stories

Finally, Friendship Sticker Stories are a classroom must-have for reinforcing kindness, turn taking, and inclusion.

You can also grab the full growing bundle of SEL Sticker Stories which I am adding do weekly.

Role play taking turns sticker sheet for preschool social skills lessons.

Ideas for use:

Pair students randomly and give them one story set.
Guide them to take turns reading and placing stickers as they build the story together.
Finish with a discussion about how they showed friendship and patience during the activity.

Teaching teaching patience and turn taking with these sticker stories is effective because it combines creativity, literacy, and SEL in one.

How to Print Sticker Stories on Sticker Sheets

Printing these sticker stories is easier than it sounds:

🖨️ Choose full sheet sticker labels (like Avery or Officeworks own brand).
✂️ Print the pages on your home or school printer.
🔪 Cut each image or sticker out before the activity OR leave them as full sheets for individual cut-and-paste if stickers aren’t available.

Taking turns social skills activities worksheet with sticker prompts and crayons.

You can also laminate and use Velcro dots if you want to reuse them year after year.

So, if you’re looking for taking turns social skills activities that actually work, sticker stories are your answer. They’re interactive, hands-on, and build social emotional learning in ways kids remember.