There are many skills and social norms that come along with manners and being polite. Things like saying please and thank, excuse me, and I'm sorry. Phrases that I'm sure were drilled into you as a child and that you already drill into your child as well.
But it can also include things like tone of voice, interrupting, rolling eyes, holding the door open for others, avoiding swear words, and so much more. So while there are lots of social stories about manners and being polite below, they certainly don't touch on every possible topic or skill.
So if you've been trying to teach your kids about using their manners, try one of these free printable or video social stories as a starting point. And remember, you can always write your own stories too.
This collection of manners social stories was last updated on November 23, 2022. A ton of new stories were added, dead links were removed, and more details were provided to make sure you can find what you need quicker.
Free Printable Social Stories About Good Manners
Have you been looking for a social story about good manners or being polite? Then look no further than these free printable manners social stories. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best social story about being polite and kind for you and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them with your child.
1. Apologizing Social Scripts - Okay, these aren't technically a social story, but they do help kids know what to say when they're saying sorry. So they're a great tool for teaching about manners and politeness.
2. Social Story About Saying Thank You from The ABLEities Foundation on TPT - A 10 page social story using clipart and simple text that talks about being saying thank you and other polite words.
3. Thank You Social Story (Sign Language Version) from The ABLEities Foundation on TPT - Similar to the story above, but with the addition of some sign language.
4. Saying Thank You Social Story (Christmas Themed) from Fabulous Room 6 on TPT - This story is called "Mr. Elf Can Do it Himself" and has a Christmas theme. However, you could probably read it all year round as a way to teach about politeness and manners.
5. Social Stories About Saying Please from Happy Learners - The stories here are text only. No images are included. The topics covered here are "If I Say Please" and "Saying Please."
6. Social Stories About Saying Thank You from Happy Learners - Two more text only social stories. The topics covered here are "If I Say Thank You" and "Saying Thank You."
7. Saying Excuse Me Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - A simple text based story with two photos. It covers waiting to talk and saying "excuse me."
8. Calling Out to Someone Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - This simple text based story talks about walking over to people to talk instead of shouting and why that's the polite thing to go.
9. Social Story About Interrupting Others from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - This story is text only. It has one image that's likely from someone else's story, but the story does talk about why it is polite to wait to talk instead of interrupting.
10. Excuse Me Social Story with Minions from Specialized Instruction on TPT - A social story about how's it polite to say excuse me instead of interrupting. It uses images of Minions to support the text.
11. Butting in Social Stories from Happy Learners - Two text only social stories that talk about interrupting others. The topics are "Butting in" and "When I Interrupt Others." No images are included with these stories.
12. Waiting to Speak/Calling Out Social Stories from Happy Learners - These two text only social stories talk about how it's polite to wait your turn to speak. No images are included with these stories and the topics are "Calling Out" and "Waiting my Turn to Speak."
13. Gaining Attention Social Stories from Happy Learners - Two more text only stories. These ones focus on getting someone's attention when you want to talk to them. Again, no images are included here.
14. Swearing Social Stories from Happy Learners - These two social stories talk about swear words and how they're not polite to use. They are text only. No images are included.
15. Swearing is Not a Good Idea Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - A simple text only story about why swearing isn't polite.
16. Tone of Voice Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - Another text only story. This one focuses on talking about tone of voice.
17. Eye Contact Social Stories from Happy Learners - Two text only social stories that discuss eye contact. No images are included. Please remember that eye contact should never be forced with an autistic child.
18. Avoiding Being Rude Social Story from Miss E's Freebies on TPT - This story uses colorful clipart and talks about being kind instead of rude. It's apparently designed for middle schoolers, according to the description. FYI, this story also discusses God as it was written for a Christian school. Since the story is available as a PowerPoint, you should be able to edit and change it.
19. Don't Be Rude! Social Story from Lori Hilliker on TPT - At 21 pages, this story looks pretty detailed. It uses colorful clipart and discusses various aspects of kindness and rudeness and their related social cues.
Video Social Stories About Manners & Being Polite
Here are some video social stories that explore various aspects of politeness and good manners. You can uses these in teletherapy sessions, social skills groups, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the printable social stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for discussing and teaching about manners, rudeness, and using polite words.
Can't Find Exactly What You Need? Try this Being Polite Social Story!
Didn't find quite what you needed above? Don't feel like writing one from scratch yourself? Sometimes free social stories aren't the way to go when it comes to teaching manners and politeness.
But perhaps this being polite social story from my shop will be just what you need! It features full color photos and even includes some sign language, as you can see on the cover below.
Grab your copy of the being polite social story
There are many other social stories available in the Conversation Skills Social Story Bundle, like this one, that cover topics related to manners. Things like voice volume, interrupting others, saying sorry, and more. They may more detailed and helpful than some of the free social stories about manners from above.
