Academic Standards
Academic Progress and Social Skills
According to a study, social and emotional skills training has been linked to fewer classroom disruptions, decreased absences, and higher grades among children (Shriver and Weissberg, 2005).
Psychologist Dr. Daniel Goleman (1995) has reported that children who are better able to manage their emotions can pay attention better and absorb and remember information better. Best of all, children's emotional intelligence will serve them long after they become adults.
The SECOND STEP program aligns with content standards in two ways:
- It contains core content elements and concepts, such as empathy, problem solving, and anger/emotion management. These content elements and concepts are reinforced throughout the curriculum at each grade level. When an academic content standard is aligned with a core SECOND STEP concept, that standard is addressed multiple times in the curriculum.
- The program employs core teaching and learning strategies, such as story and class discussion, role-play, teacher modeling, coaching and cueing, and planned behavior reinforcement.
The program also aligns with standards set for character education programs by the Character Education Partnership and Head Start. Download the Early Childhood Alignment Chart. (PDF) (Note: this document is best viewed if printed on ledger-sized paper)
Alignment Charts for Academic Standards
The alignment charts illustrate the many connections between the SECOND STEP program and student academic learning standards from kindergarten to ninth grade.
Fill out our information form to download the alignment charts for Pre/K, Grades 1–5 and Middle School, along with other helpful resources.
These charts align the curriculum with standards from a comprehensive model drawn from national subject-matter associations.
References
Shriver, T. P. and Weissberg, R. P. (2005, August 16). "No Emotion Left Behind" [Op. Ed. article]. The New York Times.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam.
