Goals & Lesson Sequence
The goals of the Second Step Middle School program are to decrease aggression, bullying, and substance abuse and increase students’ social skills and school success. The program meets its goals by teaching the skills below.
Empathy and Communication
Students will be able to:
Bullying Prevention
Students will be able to:
Emotion Management
Students will be able to:
Problem Solving
Students will be able to:
Substance Abuse Prevention
Students will be able to:
The goals of the Second Step Middle School program are to decrease aggression, bullying, and substance abuse and increase students’ social skills and school success. The program meets its goals by teaching the skills below.
Empathy and Communication
Students will be able to:
- Lesson 1: Working in Groups
- Identify behaviors involved in listening and respecting others’ ideas
- Apply group communication skills
- Define empathy
- Apply empathy skills while identifying feelings
- Lesson 2: Friends and Allies
- Apply empathy skills
- Apply active listening skills
- Identify ways to make friends and join groups
- Define the term ally and identify when and how to be one
- Lesson 3: Considering Perspectives
- Understand that people’s perspectives are based on their feelings, experiences, and needs or wants
- Recognize the value in being able to consider another’s perspective
- Apply perspective-taking skills
- Lesson 4: Disagreeing Respectfully
- Apply perspective-taking skills
- Distinguish between disrespectful and respectful disagreement
- Identify and apply effective communication skills
- Apply skills to give constructive feedback
- Lesson 5: Being Assertive
- Distinguish differences between passive, assertive, and aggressive communication styles
- Identify and assume the physical and verbal characteristics of assertive communication
- Apply assertive communication skills
Bullying Prevention
Students will be able to:
- Lesson 6: Recognizing Bullying
- Recognize and define bullying
- Understand how bullying can affect them and their peers
- Empathize with individuals who are bullied
- Understand what they can do if they or someone they know is bullied
- Lesson 7: Bystanders
- Recognize and define the role of a bystander in bullying
- Understand how a bystander can be a part of the problem or part of the solution
- Apply empathic concern and perspective taking
- Identify ways to be part of the solution to bullying
Emotion Management
Students will be able to:
- Lesson 8: Emotions—Brain and Body
- Understand what happens to their brains and bodies when they experience strong emotions
- Identify the first three Steps for Staying in Control
- Understand why using self-talk is a key to managing emotions
- Apply self-talk strategies
- Lesson 9: Calming-Down Strategies
- Apply centered breathing techniques correctly
- Recognize self-talk that intensifies or calms down strong feelings
- Use self-talk to manage emotions
- Identify calming-down strategies that work best for them
Problem Solving
Students will be able to:
- Lesson 10: Using the Action Steps
- Analyze a problem by stating what the problem is and identifying the perspectives of those involved
- Generate multiple options for solving a problem
- Understand how to consider each option and decide on the best one
- Apply the first four Action Steps
- Lesson 11: Making a Plan
- Generate a plan for carrying out an option
- Apply the Action Steps
- Understand how to make amends
Substance Abuse Prevention
Students will be able to:
- Lesson 12: Tobacco and Marijuana
- Define addiction and understand its dangers
- Identify the personal, health, and social consequences of using tobacco and marijuana
- Identify consequences that they consider their personal best reasons for not using tobacco and marijuana
- Lesson 13: Alcohol and Inhalants
- Identify the personal, health, and social consequences of using alcohol and inhalants
- Identify consequences that they consider their personal best reasons for not using alcohol or inhalants
- Lesson 14: Identifying Hopes and Plans
- Identify their hopes and plans for the future
- Identify the ways that using alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and inhalants can interfere with their hopes and plans for the future
- Identify how people who care about their future would be affected if they knew they were using alcohol or other drugs
- Lesson 15: Making a Commitment
- Generate individual commitments to stay free from alcohol and other drugs
- Identify skills to help maintain their commitments
- Review and apply Stepping Up skills to certain situations