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Learning New Behaviors Can Be Fun
“THE ARM’S LENGTH GAME!”
(Pre-requisite to the “Personal Space Game”)
by Catherine Faherty, www.catherinefaherty.com
SKILL TO LEARN:
To know what it means when someone says to “stand an arm’s length away
from another person.” The intent of that direction is to allow “sociallyappropriate” space between two people – you and the other person.
NEW UNDERSTANDING:
I know what it means to stand an “arm’s length” away from someone else.
EXAMPLE SITUATION:
The child may stand too close to children, or a particular child, so much so
that the other child is uncomfortable and doesn’t want to be around him/her.
The child may be reminded by an adult to stand “an arm’s length” away. But
what exactly does this mean?
MAKE A GAME OF IT:
First the teacher or parent has to prepare. You will define, literally, what is
meant by “an arm’s length” by using a measuring stick. Measure different
children’s arms. Make a list on the board to show the range of “arm’s
length”. Find the average arm’s length. With stiff cardboard or a piece of
wood, make a measuring stick that represents the average arm’s length.
Label by writing on it “Average Arm’s Length (for our family, or for our
class or )
How to play THE ARM’S LENGTH GAME:
Every person – child or adult – in the group will play the game. The player
picks a card out of a container. Written on the card is either a location, or
object, or a person’s name on it. (Examples of what can be written on
different cards are: “classroom door”, “Julie’s desk”, “my locker”, “Mrs.
Smith”, “fish aquarium”, “bookshelf”, and individual children’s names,
“Daniel”, “Athena”, “Rickie” etc…) After reading the card, the player is
supposed to then go to that object, location, or person, and stand
approximately an arm’s length from it. The player uses the measuring stick
which has been marked to show the average arm’s length to help him or her
know how far away to stand. (Depending on grade level, the teacher has
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made a math lesson out of figuring out the average arm length of the
members of the class.)
As time goes on, the players can estimate (without using the measuring
stick) and then someone else can check with the measuring stick to see if
they are close to the proper distance. Color in a 6-inch leeway at the line, so
as to allow approximate distance.
Eventually, the teacher or parent will modify this game, using the same
general idea but now you will play THE PERSONAL SPACE GAME. First
write a Social Story about personal space, and explain that personal space
can be determined by using an arm’s length as a general measure. You will
summarize by literally and concretely defining “personal space” as an
average “arm’s length”. See instructions for THE PERSONAL SPACE
GAME under “Articles” on catherinefaherty.com