About Sociograms

In short, a sociogram is a visual representation of social interactions and relationships. This can be useful in understanding, managing, and planning an early learning environment. Such an illustration might help you see that a child is socially isolated, or that another is a conversation initiator with most of her peers, or that a third kid tends to prefer playing alone.

Creating an accurate visual representation of your early learning setting’s social dynamics requires a fair amount of observation.

Some things you can diagram:

• Mutual or one-way interactions
• Positive or negative interactions
• Leaders and followers
• Language interactions
• Who initiates interactions
• Who initiates conflict
• Who initiates play
• Preferred playmates

Generally, a sociogram consists of a diagram noting the names of individuals with color-coded lines and other notations highlighting how the named individuals interact. These interactions can get quite complicated, so a key explaining the notations is usually included.

Related Forms

Here are links to a couple of free sociogram observation forms I created:

• Free Forms | Individual Child Sociogram
• Free Forms | Classroom Sociogram

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