Winning and Losing Social Story

Social stories are a wonderful resource for students with special needs! I teach a special needs kindergarten classroom and social stories have been so helpful for many inappropriate classroom behaviors!

I created this story because I had a need for a story that discusses appropriate behavior when winning and losing. Sometimes my students feel as though they are "winning" if they are first in line or if it is their turn to do something. This social story addresses that specific concern. I have included the text for the story so that you are able to see if it fits your needs before downloading.

Thanks for looking and if you choose to download please leave a rating!

Story Text:

I like playing games at school. I like to win.

When I win games it’s OK to be happy that I won. I shouldn’t tease my friends because they didn’t win. When I tease my friends, it hurts their feelings. I don’t want to make my friends sad. If they are sad, they won’t want to play with me.

Sometimes when I play games I lose. It’s hard to lose. It’s OK to feel sad when I lose, but I don’t need to scream, cry or hurt my friends.

When I lose it’s OK to feel sad. When I feel sad I can take deep breaths until I feel calm or take a break and spend some time by myself.

Sometimes other activities we do at school feel like games where I can win and lose too. It’s hard for me when I want to be first to get somewhere but I’m not, or when I want it to be my turn but it’s my friend’s turn. This isn’t about winning and losing. Everyone gets a turn.

When I can’t be first or when it’s not my turn it’s hard for me. It can’t always be my turn. If my friends never had turns they would be sad. I want my friends to feel good and be happy. My friends get to go first and have their turns too. I will have a chance to be first and have my turn too.

I can be calm when I lose games or when it’s not my turn. If I stay calm my friends will want to play with me and that will make me happy too!