09/12/2015
Space
Territorial space refers to those places we feel attached to through ownership or identification. In relation to nonverbal language, our personal space is more important than our territorial space.
Personal space refers to a portable territory we all carry around with us and can be described as a flexible bubble that surrounds us (Duke, Nowicki, & Martin, 1996, p. 70-71). The following may help in explaining space to your student:
• Begin by asking students to explain what they understand by the word “space.”
• To develop an awareness of space variation, ask students to observe people sitting on park benches or sofas or standing in line; point out that unless there is a good reason to do so, they are not touching each other. Have older students keep a diary for a few days describing how much space people seem to need or to allow in various situations.
• Help students make a list of public places where awareness of personal space is important. Examples could include parks, libraries, swimming pools, public transport, churches, and restaurants. For each location, list the ways people protect or delineate personal space (lanes in swimming pool, family names on church pews, etc.). Discuss appropriate and inappropriate personal distances for each location.
• Make a poster to illustrate the results of your discussion.
• Working one-on-one, allow the student to establish a comfortable and appropriate distance from you. Then shift your position either closer or further away and ask the student to readjust as well. Do this several times, role-playing in different situations (at the park, at a mall, at home).
• Give students a large piece of paper and ask them to draw how long they think a centimeter, an inch, or a foot is. Ask them to use their hands to show you what various distances would look like.
• Introduce the ideas of intimate, personal, social, and public spaces, and make sure the student has a solid understanding of the words.
• Mark these words and distances on your floor plan. Intimate= 0 inches to 18 inches, personal = 18 inches to 4 feet, social= 4 feet to 12 feet, and public= 12 feet to infinity.
• Create some relationship cards---mother, father, sister, brother, teacher, clergyman, friend, etc.---and ask students to place them at an appropriate distance from themselves for a conversation.
• Make a large chart with your student to show who would be permitted into each of the above zones, adding a discussion of the tone of voice required and type of conversation you might hold in each. Make this table bright and colorful and keep it as a permanent record of the session.
• Talk about how people allow their personal space bubble to alter in size depending on the situation. Make a list of comparable public and private activities and talk to the student about how the location of the activity affects the student’s space bubble.
• Ask students to remember occasions when their space was invaded and when they invaded someone else’s space. Help students understand the emotional consequences of misusing personal space.
• Compile a warning list of possible conflict situations where personal space is either restricted or shared. Examples might include group work at school, art lessons, locker rooms, bedrooms shared with siblings at home, and the family living room.
• Discuss, negotiate, or role-play who is and who is not allowed in certain territorial space locations. Should the mailman come inside the house? Should a brother be allowed in the student’s bedroom?
Duke, .P., Nowicki, S. & Martin, E.A. (1996). Teaching Your Student the Language of Social Success. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
