Playing at Recess
Aisha joins her classmates on the playground during recess, learning how to play together, take turns, and have fun with friends.
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Read the Story
7 pages · 6 min read read
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Read the Story
7 pages · 6 min read read
It is time for recess. My class goes outside to the playground. The sun is warm and bright. I see my friends playing.
Maya and Jamal are playing tag. They are running and laughing. They see me watching them.
Maya calls to me, 'Aisha, come play tag with us!' I feel happy because my friends want me to join their game.
I run to join them. We play tag together. When it is my turn to tag someone, I run fast.
I tag Jamal and he laughs. Now it is his turn to tag us. We all run around the playground together.
Mrs. Thompson blows the whistle. Recess is over. I feel happy because I played with my friends.
I walk back inside with my friends. Tomorrow we can play tag again at recess.
Social Story Methodology
Why This Story Works
Playing at Recess uses a predictable narrative arc to demystify an unstructured social situation that many children find overwhelming. By walking through the exact sequence—from the whistle to the invitation to the tag game itself—this story gives children with autism and anxiety a clear mental map of what recess looks like and how peer interactions unfold. Gray's approach here normalizes both the sensory experience (sun, running, laughter) and the social reciprocity (being invited, taking turns, playing together), making an otherwise chaotic playground feel manageable and even joyful.
Story Structure
How It's Written
Sentence Types
Voice & Perspective
Story Structure
Practical Guidance
Ways to Use This Story
Read Before the First Recess
Take Photos of Your Child's Actual Friends
Practice Tag Before Recess
Coach the Peer Invitation Moment
Celebrate Playing With Friends Afterward
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