TGFD - Maximizing Life - Grade 8

TGFD - Maximizing Life for Grade 8 lays the groundwork for drug-free living through a fun and interactive journey of setting reachable goals, communicating effectively, making responsible decisions, managing emotions, and refusing negative peer pressure.

Equipped with the skills developed throughout the course, students can better prepare, plan, and evaluate their choices. By differentiating impulsive behavior and thoughtful decisions and examining how goals, media, peers, and family influence their decisions, eighth graders will be better prepared to take actions consistent with their short-term and long-term goals.

Incorporating their emotional management, effective communication, and social awareness skills, students practice applying their empathy with their friends to provide the healthy qualities their friends need in a variety of predicaments in “The Buddy System.” Lessons also explore the risks and harmful effects alcohol, tobacco, THC, and marijuana have on the developing brain and body as well as the dangers associated with the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Home Workouts and cross-curricular activities follow each lesson so students can practice and apply the concepts developed in each lesson at home and with their peers

The Maximizing Life Grade 8 Curriculum Kit is available in two sizes.

Standard Curriculum Kit - for classrooms of up to 24 students.
Large Curriculum Kit - for classrooms of up to 30 students.

Additional Student Workbooks are sold separately. Scroll down the page to view replenishment products.

Implementation with Web-based Resources

Some of the curriculum resources in this Too Good program are hosted and disseminated through the Too Good Lesson Resource Center. Once you have purchased your curriculum kit, we will contact you to assist you in establishing your account in the Lesson Resource Center.

Schedule an Implementation Consultation

2026 Edition

$325.95

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Grade 8 Middle School Program Kits Program Materials

The Too Good Curriculum Kit includes everything you need to teach the lessons:

Teacher Manual
30 Student Workbooks
Goal Setting Model Poster
Goal Setting Scramble Puzzle
Decision Making Model Poster
Healthy, Alcohol Impairment, and THC Impairment Brain Scan Cards
Stroop Test Poster
Role Play Script Activity Set
Cash Flow Activity Cards
At Your Own Risk Activity Cards
Party Smart Activity Set
The Operating System Activity Cards
The Buddy System Activity Cards
The Blunt Truth Activity Cards
That's Life Activity Cards
Listen Up! Activity Cards
The Social Hacker Activity Cards
Game Pieces w/ Die

Curriculum Features include:

Scripted Design - Ten 50-minute fully scripted, research-based lessons conveniently presented in a tabbed spiral-bound book, making them easy to use and enjoyable to teach.
Comprehensive Lesson Planner with clearly-stated, measurable objectives, topic rationale, and allotted activity times.
Lesson Resource Pack with Activity Visual Displays, Activity Instructions, Home Workouts, and Evaluation Instruments in a downloadable for display or print format.
Parent Component - “Home Workout: Exercises for Adults and Kids,” to extend prevention skills and messages into the home.
Looking for More? - Each lesson includes cross-curricular lesson extenders with suggestions for infusion, recommended reading, and additional activities for reinforcing important concepts and skills.
Assessment Materials to measure student outcomes and process outcomes including implementation effectiveness and fidelity of implementation as well as student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
Comprehensive Pre-Delivery Training Component covering Character Education and Normative Education concepts, Fidelity of Implementation, as well as guidance for facilitating discussions about various conflict and peer influence topics.
Logic Model including the program’s theory of change and the proven strategies incorporated into the lessons.
Strategies and methods to build family and school connections to reinforce the healthy social and emotional development of the students.

Lessons Overview

RTI / PBIS Alignment

Lessons Sample

How does Too Good work?

Too Good offers separate, developmentally appropriate curricula for each grade level in grades six through eight. Each grade level builds on the previous by continually developing skills and addressing common issues faced in middle school life, teaching students how to manage situations in a positive and healthy way.

Mitigates risk factors and builds protective factors

Too Good uses skill development to mitigate the risks associated with problem behaviors including:

Poor Social Skills
Peer Rejection
Inappropriate Social Behaviors
Favorable Attitudes Toward Drug Use
Low Perception of Harm
Friends Who Engage In Problem Behaviors

Too Good builds protection within the student by:

Providing Opportunities for Pro-Social Involvement
Establishing No-Use Norms
Promoting Bonding to Pro-Social Peers
Increasing Personal and Interpersonal Skills Associated with Positive Behaviors and Student Success

Understanding the Logic Model

The Mendez Foundation developed Logic Models for Too Good to map out the Theory of Change and demonstrate graphically the assumptions that drive the learning and behavior change in Too Good. The logic model communicates an "if-then" message of what changes the program intends to produce. It helps to make the connections among the target group, goals, strategies, objectives and planned program results and lays out what the program is expected to achieve and how it is expected to work.

Logic Model

Research Design

Each of the Too Good evaluation studies were conducted by third-party researchers and used randomized treatment-control group designs (pre-test/post-test, 20-week post-test, or one-year follow-up). The Researchers examined pre-test equivalence between treatment and control groups; potential bias of loss of student data over time; quality of program implementation; and estimates of reliability and validity of assessment tools.

The award-winning Too Good programs have undergone rigorous, independent evaluation studies to measure their effects on students' skills, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national evaluation conferences. These studies demonstrate the effectiveness of Too Good.

Research Reports

2000 Summary 2000 Full Report 2001 Summary 2001 Full Report 2003 Summary 2003 Full Report

2007 Summary 2007 Full Report 2013 Summary 2013 Full Report

Organization/Agency	TGFD K-8	TGFV K-8	TGFD&V High School
What Works Clearinghouse: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Science	Positive effects on behavior View Report	Positive effect on behavior & knowledge, attitudes & values View Report	Positive effect on behavior & knowledge, attitudes & values View Report
CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning	Not Yet Rated	Elementary SELect Program View Report	Not Yet Rated
NREPP: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs & Practices	Reviewed evaluation View Report	Reviewed evaluation View Report	Reviewed evaluation View Report
CEBC: California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare	TGFD Grade 6 Scientific Rating 2 - Supported by Evidence View Report	Not Yet Rated	Not Yet Rated
OJJDP: Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention	Promising program View Report	Exemplary program View Report	Exemplary program View Report
Promising Practices Network: Programs that Work	Screened program View Report	Screened program View Report	Screened program View Report
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration	Model program	Model program	Model program

Awards

Too Good programs have earned recognition and acclaim for their impact in promoting safer and healthy youth and communities.

Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association's (FADAA) Best Practices Award
The American Medical Association's National Congress on Adolescent Health
The President's Child Safety Partnership
Southeast Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities Shining Star Award
Our programs received a high rating in "Drug Strategies"

Other Recognition

Recognition for Too Good for Drugs™ in Drug Strategies "Making the Grade": "Some very strong elements in this very detailed, 10 session per year curriculum. Provides developmentally appropriate information about alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Normative education activities creative and compelling, new ideas for games. Includes no-use pledge."

Recognition for Too Good for Violence in Drug Strategies "Safe Schools, Safe Students": "A delightful package of materials (that) complements this highly interactive 4-9 session program. Strongly focused on critical skill areas. Extremely detailed instructions for teachers. Very complete."

Replenish Your Kit ( 22 )

TGFD - Maximizing Life Grade 8 Teacher Manual

$195.95

The Teacher Manual layout and design makes implementation easy with quick set-up and guided materials preparation and lesson objectives and activity timing. The layout...

A2805 - TGFD Maximizing Life Grade 8 Student Workbook English - Pack of 30

$54.95

The Student Workbook is an integral part of the interactive lessons. Workbook activities apply lessons on setting reachable goals, making...

Goal Setting Model Poster

$6.95

Setting a reachable goal is the first step to building confidence, self-esteem, and positive expectations for the future. The Goal...

Goal Setting Scramble Puzzle

$1.95

Students learn that reaching their goals is a lot easier when they have a plan in place and know what...

Decision Making Model Poster

$6.95

Students learn the steps to making responsible decisions and how their decisions can take them closer or further away from...

Scan of Healthy Brain (Underside)

$7.95

SPECT Scan of the underside of an active, healthy brain. Item #A4849

Scan of Brain Damaged by Marijuana Use (Underside)

$7.95

SPECT Scan of the underside of a teenage brain damaged by marijuana (THC) use. Item# A2809

Working Memory Scan - Nondrinker

$7.95

A functional MRI (fMRI) scan of the brain of a teenager completing a working memory test. Item# A2807

Working Memory Scan - Alcohol Impaired

$7.95

A functional MRI (FMRI) scan of the brain of a teenager under the influence of alcohol completing a working memory...

Stroop Test Poster

$6.95

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The Stroop Test illustrates the challenge of processing two conflicting messages simultaneously...