Second Step E-Newsletter
August 2011
What’s New and What’s Different in the New Second Step Program
We are very excited about the release of our new Second Step program, and, judging by educators’ response, they are too! Whether you’re new to the K–5 Second Step program or have been teaching it for years, we thought you might be curious about what’s new and what’s different in the new edition. Here’s a rundown of the highlights.
What’s New?
Skills for Learning: In addition to lessons on empathy, emotion management, and problem solving, all grades of the new program feature Skills for Learning—focusing attention, listening, using self-talk, and being assertive—that help students self-regulate and be better learners.
Brain Builder games: Included in K–3, Brain Builders are fun new games that help students build crucial executive-function skills, such as paying attention, memory, and controlling their behavior.
Home Link activities: For all grades, the new program includes short, fun activities called Home Links, which students do at home with parents or caregivers. Home Links introduce families to the skills their students are learning at school and give students an opportunity for additional practice.
Following Through cards: The Following Through cards found in all grades provide five-minute daily activities to reinforce students’ new skills after each lesson. Counselors who are teaching the program can leave copies behind so that classroom teachers can reinforce the skills.
Online components: The new program comes in two parts—the items in the box or binder, and the items found online at SecondStep.org. The Teaching Guide and the Program Implementation Guide are now online, as are video examples of lessons being taught in the classroom and electronic versions of handouts, homework, Home Links, and other teaching tools.
What’s Different?
Grades 4 and 5 format: Grades 4 and 5 have been reformatted to better reflect students’ age and interests and help them transition to middle school. Media components accompany each lesson instead of the photo-lesson cards used in K–3. Grades 4 and 5 also contain three award-winning new music videos.
New media: All grades include new color photographs and songs, and all except kindergarten contain new videos.
School-based examples: All lessons now use school-based stories, examples, and situations so students learn and practice skills in the context they would use them in at school.
Revised skill steps: The Calming-Down Steps and Problem-Solving Steps have been simplified, making them easier to learn, remember, and reinforce.
Unit changes: In K–3 there is a new Skills for Learning Unit, which increases the program’s focus on academic achievement. (Skills for Learning are woven throughout the Grades 4 and 5 lessons.) The Anger-Management Unit in all grades has been expanded to cover emotion management, and it has been moved to before the Problem-Solving Unit so students can learn to calm down before solving problems.
Pre/K is now kindergarten: The new program includes a kit for kindergarten only. Preschool and early learning lessons are in our brand new Second Step early learning program!
Learn more about the new K–5 Second Step program.
Learn more about the new Second Step early learning program.
