Trying Something New
Two stories about trying something newSocial Stories · Ages 19+ · Reading level: Year 4
Daniel: Trying pottery
Daniel’s class is trying pottery at school. He has never made anything from clay. There is a small lump on his mat. Daniel keeps his hands in his lap.
“What if I get it wrong?” Daniel asks his teacher, Helen.
“I don’t know if I’ll like touching it.”
Helen listens.
“It’s new to you,” she says. “I can show you before you decide what to try.”
Helen presses her own piece of clay flat.
Then she makes a pattern with a wooden tool.
“This is one way to start,” she says.
Daniel watches. He asks, “Can I use a tool instead of my fingers?”
“Yes,” says Helen. She puts two tools beside his mat.
Daniel chooses one with a rounded end.
He presses it into the clay to make a few marks.
“Just this bit first,” he says.
Helen gives him time to try.
Daniel looks at the pattern he has made.
“I might try a different tool next,” he says.
He is still unsure about touching the clay.
He can ask for help or a break.
Today, watching first and using a tool helped him try something new.
Charlotte: A first library visit
Charlotte is visiting the local library with her school group. She has not been there before. “Where do we go when we get there?” she asks her teacher, Alice. Charlotte feels worried about the unfamiliar place.
Before they leave, Alice shows her pictures of the entrance and the help desk.
“We’ll go in together,” she says.
“Then we’ll ask where the books are.”
Charlotte keeps the pictures on a card she can carry.
At the library, Charlotte hears voices and a trolley moving.
She stops just inside the entrance.
“It’s busier than I thought,” she tells Alice.
“Can we find somewhere quieter?”
Alice stays with her while they ask a library worker.
The worker shows them a quieter reading corner.
Charlotte sits down and looks at her picture card.
“What will we do next?” she asks.
“We can look at one shelf nearby, or sit here a little longer,” Alice says.
Charlotte chooses to look at the shelf with her.
Charlotte finds a book about gardens.
She looks through it with Alice beside her.
She does not have to explore every part of the library today.
She can ask questions or request another pause.
Knowing the first steps and finding a quieter place helped her begin.