Even toddlers can effectively utilize electronics--tablets, phones, and such. But have the global use of electronics helped these kiddos learn how to talk? And I don't mean just saying words--I mean can they have full, meaningful conversations with others? Can they discuss numerous topics, listen to others and share their thoughts/opinions? Do families sit down around the table without distractions and visit while they share a meal? Times are changing and it leaves many of our students missing conversational skills necessary to build significant interpersonal relationships. Here are some ways Mrs. Bliss is teaching her students such skills. She provides conversation topic starters (variety on cards in picture), cues students to ask questions to maintain conversations, and each time a student speaks they earn a link. They put the links together to then demonstrate how lengthy their conversation was. To teach balanced conversations, she uses the scale visual and also has the students graph their participation in a pie chart. This way Chatty Cathys realize how much they are dominating some conversations while the more quiet ones learn how to speak up more in social scenarios.