Tips for Teachers
Get Off to a Good Start
Ready, set, go! Whether you're teaching the SECOND STEP program for the first time or you have years of experience, the following tips will help you get started and keep going this school year.
Scheduling Lessons
- Teach lessons at a consistent time each week (once a week usually fits a schedule best).
- Teach a lesson early in the week and follow up with role-plays on other days. Allow adequate time for students to practice and internalize skills and concepts from a lesson before introducing new material.
- Use your students as a guide for how often to present new lessons. If students seem to understand and apply the skills quickly, then you may be able to present new lessons sooner. (Optimally, no more than one or two lessons should be taught per week.) If students struggle with understanding or applying skills, then slow down and provide additional practice before moving on to the next lesson.
Preparing for Lessons
- Read the Unit Card when you begin a new unit.
- Consider where you will teach the lesson: Will students sit on the floor in a circle or at their desks?
- Preview any videos that are part of the lesson if you aren't familiar with them.
- Practice the role-play you will model for the class.
- Think about how to facilitate student role-plays and other activities in each lesson.
- Decide which activities you plan to target as transfer-of-learning opportunities for practicing new skills.
Establishing Group Rules
- Establish rules that are consistent with already existing classroom rules.
- Encourage students to participate in making the rules.
- Phrase rules in a positive way that clearly defines expected behaviors: "Raise your hand and wait until you're called on" rather than "Don't shout out answers."
- Set a positive tone for the program at this stage to help your implementation be more effective.
Handling Disruptive Behavior
- Use disruptive behaviors during lessons as opportunities to reinforce concepts and strategies that students are learning.
- Acknowledge prosocial behavior and set positive behavior goals for the group.
- Keep the material relevant to students' experiences by providing classroom examples that integrate with the lessons.
- Provide a time-out spot, if possible, where a disruptive student can still hear and observe the lesson. Invite the student back into the group to practice the skills. Banishing disruptive students to the hallway or principal's office during lessons deprives them of an opportunity to learn new behaviors.
The SECOND STEP program not only teaches interpersonal skills, but also complements academic skills and concepts common to reading, language arts, social studies, and math. Think of the program as a supplemental tool for meeting the key learning objectives in your classroom curriculum.
Callie Rivas
Program Implementation Specialist
Committee for Children
