This page contains a script for a skit that will inform your audience about emotional sensitivity and over excitability. Feel free to read the skit below. You can also download a copy of the skit for your records or to give parents to read.
The following is the script for a skit that can be performed to give parents/teachers more insight about emotional sensitivity and over excitability.
Scene: in a teacher’s classroom; a parent-teacher conference is about to take place; the teacher likes to meet with all of the parents’ of her students so that she can get to know her students better
Teacher: So what can you tell me about Kelly that I might not know already? I already know that she is gifted and very creative. How else would you describe her?
Parent 1: To be honest, she cries all of the time. Is this normal for a fourth grader? It doesn’t even have to be about something that is directly affecting her. It could be as simple as a Publix commercial on T.V. during Thanksgiving to seeing a homeless man on the side of the highway holding up a sign that reads, “New baby. Need diapers and money for food. God bless.” It doesn’t even always have to be sad, either. It seems to be every time she feels an emotion strongly. For example, her best friend, Amy, really struggles in math. Kelly has been helping her. Well, this past week, Amy had a math test. Kelly had studied with her all weekend. When Amy got her test back and had made an 88, Kelly cried. I couldn’t understand why she was crying until I realized it was because she was so relieved that Amy had done well. I think that Kelly was more stressed about that test than Amy was.
Teacher: Interesting. But to be honest I am not surprised. Gifted children often feel emotions more intensely than their peers. It is known as over excitability. It normally appears in one of five areas: psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. However, it can manifest itself in more than one area. Obviously, with Kelly, hers is with her emotions. She has a very deep capacity to care.
Parent 1: Is this a bad thing? Do I need to be worried? Will she grow out of it? I don’t want her to go through life crying all of the time.
Teacher: Let me assure you, Kelly’s ability to care deeply about others is not a bad thing at all. It shows that she has an empathetic attitude toward others, tolerance, a sense of responsibility, a just attitude, and that she believes in helping others. This is not something that Kelly will grow out of, but as she matures she will learn how to handle her emotions better. She will not go through life crying all of the time. However, we do need to make sure that Kelly doesn’t get looked over or taken advantage of or seen as a pushover because she is so caring and thoughtful. We have to remember that we live in a very competitive and insensitive world where people who are different from their peers are sometimes teased or made fun of. Don’t worry I haven’t seen that happening to Kelly, but it could as she leaves elementary school and enters middle school.
Parent 1: Okay. But what can I do to make sure she doesn’t get teased or become an outcast?
Teacher: The best thing we can do, and we are in this together, is to make sure that Kelly has a healthy self-image and confidence level. We need to nurture her emotions and make sure she knows it is okay to feel them. We need to tell her that if she starts to cry, then she shouldn’t make a big deal about it. If the other kids see that it doesn’t bother her, then they won’t let it bother them. We also need to understand that her emotional age, social age, and intellectual age probably don’t all add up to be the same right now. They might never be the same. Right now her intellectual age is that of a 17 year old, her emotional age is that of a 25 year old, but her social age is that of a five year because of the crying. These ages may never all be equal and if she ever feels vulnerable or that she can’t handle what she is feeling, then I can also have her talk with the counselor to learn some strategies to help her continue to be successful. She’s a great kid and I would like to see her continue on this path.
Parent 1: Thank you very much for speaking with me. It’s nice to know that my child is normal in the gifted world.
Parent exits classroom and another parent enters.
Teacher: Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come and speak to me about Andrew. I always feel like I learn so much from these conversations.
Parent 2: Of course. Andrew absolutely adores being in second grade; however, I do have a few things I wanted to discuss with you.
Teacher: Perfect. That’s why we are here.
Parent 2: Ever since Andrew was little, he gets frustrated very easily. Normally, it’s because he is trying to do something by himself and he doesn’t want any help. For example, he was trying to learn to tie his shoes when he was 5. He wouldn’t let me show him how to do it. He had just seen his big sister do it, so he figured he should be able to do it too, which is ridiculous because everyone knows that learning to tie one’s own shoes takes a lot of practice and patience. But Andrew thought he should be able to do it perfectly after three tries. Of course he couldn’t and he ended up throwing his shoes across the room and having a full blown temper tantrum. My husband and I used to think he’d just grow out of it and that they were just a phase, but the “episodes” as we refer to them seem to be getting worse. Is it happening here at school too?
Teacher: I haven’t seen him have a temper tantrum, but I have seen him cry in frustration or throw his pencil down in disgust. His frustration doesn’t seem to be with other students, but with himself. Andrew is definitely a perfectionist, and he seems to hold himself to such a high standard, which is normal for gifted children to do, that he becomes agitated when he doesn’t understand or do it absolutely perfectly the first time. I have tried to explain to him that sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than we do if we get everything perfectly the first time.
Parent 2: True, but we aren’t just seeing these “episodes” with school work. He also seems to freak out, for lack of a better term, if his sister borrows a toy and doesn’t put it back exactly where it goes or if he forgets to turn a light off when he leaves a room. It seems as if everything that happens to him is a super big deal, and that he doesn’t know how to handle his emotions properly. We don’t know what to do. I feel like we have tried everything.
Teacher: Have you tried talking to him about what he is feelings? I’m sure you have, but what I mean is have you tried discussing with him appropriate reactions to his feelings? The worst things you can do is tell him that he is being overly dramatic or to tell him to ignore or bury his emotions. Try this: make an emotion rating scale. Use the numbers 1-10 with 10 being the absolute worst thing that could happen to him and one being something that he should be able to shrug off. Let him help you come up with the events, but a 10 event should be something in the lines of his house burning down or losing a family member. It needs to be really bad. A one might be forgetting to turn a light off when he leaves a room. It should be something minimal. Next come up with a five event. This would be something in the middle and it can be different for every person. Once you have those three identified go through with him and come up with different scenarios to fit each number. I would even try to steer him in the direction of events that happen to him frequently like sister not putting his toys back and answering a math question incorrectly. Once you have situations identified for every number, talk with and show him appropriate responses to each situation. Then when he has a meltdown or an episode have him pull out his scale. Ask him where he thinks the event that trigged his emotions will fall on the scale and then ask him if his response was appropriate. We can implement the scale at school too. The more he uses it, the better he will get at handling his emotions.
Parent 2: This makes sense. We will definitely give it a try.
Teacher: The way Andrew handles his emotions isn’t going to get better overnight. But with consistent reminders and discussions using the scale it will get better. He needs to know that it is okay for boys to have strong emotions, but that he does need to learn how to handle them appropriately. We need to remember that Andrew, since he is gifted, not only thinks differently than his peers, but that he also feels differently. He feels on a deeper and more complex level than most of his peers. His emotions need to be nurtured and not forgotten.
Parent 2: You are right. I need to remind my family members that boys have feelings just like girls and that is okay. Thank you very much for your time and for your suggestions.
Teacher: No, thank you. It truly does take a village.
Both teacher and parent 2 leave the stage.
The following is the script for a skit that can be performed to give parents/teachers more insight about emotional sensitivity and over excitability.
Scene: in a teacher’s classroom; a parent-teacher conference is about to take place; the teacher likes to meet with all of the parents’ of her students so that she can get to know her students better
Teacher: So what can you tell me about Kelly that I might not know already? I already know that she is gifted and very creative. How else would you describe her?
Parent 1: To be honest, she cries all of the time. Is this normal for a fourth grader? It doesn’t even have to be about something that is directly affecting her. It could be as simple as a Publix commercial on T.V. during Thanksgiving to seeing a homeless man on the side of the highway holding up a sign that reads, “New baby. Need diapers and money for food. God bless.” It doesn’t even always have to be sad, either. It seems to be every time she feels an emotion strongly. For example, her best friend, Amy, really struggles in math. Kelly has been helping her. Well, this past week, Amy had a math test. Kelly had studied with her all weekend. When Amy got her test back and had made an 88, Kelly cried. I couldn’t understand why she was crying until I realized it was because she was so relieved that Amy had done well. I think that Kelly was more stressed about that test than Amy was.
Teacher: Interesting. But to be honest I am not surprised. Gifted children often feel emotions more intensely than their peers. It is known as over excitability. It normally appears in one of five areas: psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. However, it can manifest itself in more than one area. Obviously, with Kelly, hers is with her emotions. She has a very deep capacity to care.
Parent 1: Is this a bad thing? Do I need to be worried? Will she grow out of it? I don’t want her to go through life crying all of the time.
Teacher: Let me assure you, Kelly’s ability to care deeply about others is not a bad thing at all. It shows that she has an empathetic attitude toward others, tolerance, a sense of responsibility, a just attitude, and that she believes in helping others. This is not something that Kelly will grow out of, but as she matures she will learn how to handle her emotions better. She will not go through life crying all of the time. However, we do need to make sure that Kelly doesn’t get looked over or taken advantage of or seen as a pushover because she is so caring and thoughtful. We have to remember that we live in a very competitive and insensitive world where people who are different from their peers are sometimes teased or made fun of. Don’t worry I haven’t seen that happening to Kelly, but it could as she leaves elementary school and enters middle school.
Parent 1: Okay. But what can I do to make sure she doesn’t get teased or become an outcast?
Teacher: The best thing we can do, and we are in this together, is to make sure that Kelly has a healthy self-image and confidence level. We need to nurture her emotions and make sure she knows it is okay to feel them. We need to tell her that if she starts to cry, then she shouldn’t make a big deal about it. If the other kids see that it doesn’t bother her, then they won’t let it bother them. We also need to understand that her emotional age, social age, and intellectual age probably don’t all add up to be the same right now. They might never be the same. Right now her intellectual age is that of a 17 year old, her emotional age is that of a 25 year old, but her social age is that of a five year because of the crying. These ages may never all be equal and if she ever feels vulnerable or that she can’t handle what she is feeling, then I can also have her talk with the counselor to learn some strategies to help her continue to be successful. She’s a great kid and I would like to see her continue on this path.
Parent 1: Thank you very much for speaking with me. It’s nice to know that my child is normal in the gifted world.
Parent exits classroom and another parent enters.
Teacher: Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come and speak to me about Andrew. I always feel like I learn so much from these conversations.
Parent 2: Of course. Andrew absolutely adores being in second grade; however, I do have a few things I wanted to discuss with you.
Teacher: Perfect. That’s why we are here.
Parent 2: Ever since Andrew was little, he gets frustrated very easily. Normally, it’s because he is trying to do something by himself and he doesn’t want any help. For example, he was trying to learn to tie his shoes when he was 5. He wouldn’t let me show him how to do it. He had just seen his big sister do it, so he figured he should be able to do it too, which is ridiculous because everyone knows that learning to tie one’s own shoes takes a lot of practice and patience. But Andrew thought he should be able to do it perfectly after three tries. Of course he couldn’t and he ended up throwing his shoes across the room and having a full blown temper tantrum. My husband and I used to think he’d just grow out of it and that they were just a phase, but the “episodes” as we refer to them seem to be getting worse. Is it happening here at school too?
Teacher: I haven’t seen him have a temper tantrum, but I have seen him cry in frustration or throw his pencil down in disgust. His frustration doesn’t seem to be with other students, but with himself. Andrew is definitely a perfectionist, and he seems to hold himself to such a high standard, which is normal for gifted children to do, that he becomes agitated when he doesn’t understand or do it absolutely perfectly the first time. I have tried to explain to him that sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than we do if we get everything perfectly the first time.
Parent 2: True, but we aren’t just seeing these “episodes” with school work. He also seems to freak out, for lack of a better term, if his sister borrows a toy and doesn’t put it back exactly where it goes or if he forgets to turn a light off when he leaves a room. It seems as if everything that happens to him is a super big deal, and that he doesn’t know how to handle his emotions properly. We don’t know what to do. I feel like we have tried everything.
Teacher: Have you tried talking to him about what he is feelings? I’m sure you have, but what I mean is have you tried discussing with him appropriate reactions to his feelings? The worst things you can do is tell him that he is being overly dramatic or to tell him to ignore or bury his emotions. Try this: make an emotion rating scale. Use the numbers 1-10 with 10 being the absolute worst thing that could happen to him and one being something that he should be able to shrug off. Let him help you come up with the events, but a 10 event should be something in the lines of his house burning down or losing a family member. It needs to be really bad. A one might be forgetting to turn a light off when he leaves a room. It should be something minimal. Next come up with a five event. This would be something in the middle and it can be different for every person. Once you have those three identified go through with him and come up with different scenarios to fit each number. I would even try to steer him in the direction of events that happen to him frequently like sister not putting his toys back and answering a math question incorrectly. Once you have situations identified for every number, talk with and show him appropriate responses to each situation. Then when he has a meltdown or an episode have him pull out his scale. Ask him where he thinks the event that trigged his emotions will fall on the scale and then ask him if his response was appropriate. We can implement the scale at school too. The more he uses it, the better he will get at handling his emotions.
Parent 2: This makes sense. We will definitely give it a try.
Teacher: The way Andrew handles his emotions isn’t going to get better overnight. But with consistent reminders and discussions using the scale it will get better. He needs to know that it is okay for boys to have strong emotions, but that he does need to learn how to handle them appropriately. We need to remember that Andrew, since he is gifted, not only thinks differently than his peers, but that he also feels differently. He feels on a deeper and more complex level than most of his peers. His emotions need to be nurtured and not forgotten.
Parent 2: You are right. I need to remind my family members that boys have feelings just like girls and that is okay. Thank you very much for your time and for your suggestions.
Teacher: No, thank you. It truly does take a village.
Both teacher and parent 2 leave the stage.
script_for_skit_social_emotional.docx |