Too Good for Drugs & Social Perspectives - Grade 8

Too Good for Drugs & Social Perspectives in Grade 8 lays the groundwork for for safe and drug-free living through a fun, interactive journey of setting reachable goals, communicating effectively, making responsible decisions, build pro-social relationships and make healthy choices.

This bundle of Too Good for Drugs and TGFV-Social Perspectives includes all three lesson units for Grade 8 including the core Self-efficacy and Interpersonal Skills Development Unit, Substance Use Prevention Unit, and Violence Prevention Unit in a single 15 lesson adaptation.

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.

In “Cover Story,” students learn healthy approaches to resolving a conflict in order to negotiate which story makes the cover for their school newspaper. Once they share their story idea and offer supporting arguments to the editorial team, they work together to come up with a resolution. Students offer constructive “kicking tips” to Dave, a soccer star, that he can share with his friend, Kara, without offending her. The constructive criticism Dave offers Kara helps her improve her soccer game before she tries out for the team. In “Warning Message,” students distinguish healthy qualities from unhealthy ones and determine how to spot signs of abuse in the context of dating relationships.

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.

Curriculum Kits are 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

This item is discontinued and no longer available.

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Maximizing Life and A Peaceable Place - Grade 8 - 2026 Edition

2019 Edition

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Grade 8 Program Materials

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

Teacher Manual
30 Student Workbooks
Goal Setting Poster
Decision Making Poster and Accessories
Stroop Test Poster
Healthy Relationships Poster
Healthy, Alcohol Impairment, and THC Impairment Brain Scan Cards
Goal Setting Scramble Puzzle
Role Play Script Sets
Spend or Save? Activity Cards and Boards
Listen Up! Activity Cards
The Buddy System Activity Cards
Party Smart Activity Cards and Boards
The Blunt Truth Activity Cards
That's Life Activity Cards
At Your Own Risk Activity Cards
The Operating System Activity Cards
What's the Deal? Activity Cards
Game Pawns and One Die
Glue Dots

Curriculum Features include:

Scripted Design - Fifteen 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 more complex lesson 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

Comprehensive Prevention Education

Too Good for Drugs and A Peaceable Place together form a universal substance use prevention, violence prevention, and character education program series that promotes the development of the skills, attitudes, and behaviors consistent with positive, pro-social living to encourage healthy emotions management and actions, resistance to substance use and medicine misuse, respect between peers, and self-awareness and social awareness to foster supportive and respectful learning environments.

Too Good offers developmentally appropriate curricula for Kindergarten through High School. Each grade level builds on previous levels developing the skills sequentially with engaging, age-appropriate lessons and activities.

Mitigates Risk Factors and Builds Protective Factors

Too Good focuses on the risk factors and negative social norms that can be positively affected in the classroom: favorable attitudes toward substance use, violence, and other problem behaviors and friends who engage in problem behavior.

Too Good builds protection within the student by:

Providing opportunities for pro-social involvement
Establishing positive norms including healthy beliefs and clear standards
Promoting bonding to pro-social peers
Increasing self-efficacy and interpersonal skills
Establishing No-Use Norms

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

Strengths-Based Skills Development

TGFDV introduces and develops self-efficacy and interpersonal skills linked with healthy development and academic success to promote self-awareness and social awareness:

Setting Reachable Goals
Making Responsible Decisions
Identifying and Managing Emotions
Communicating Effectively
Bonding with Prosocial Peers

Additional skills development and application concepts built into the course to promote positive social development and resistance to substance use:

Conflict Resolution
Anger Management
Respect for Self and Others
Identifying and Managing Bullying Situations
Problem Solving
Stress Management
Peer Pressure Refusal
Safe Use of Medicines
Effects of Alcohol on the Brain and Body
Effects of Nicotine on the Brain and Body

Develops Core Character Traits

TGFDV promotes character development by strengthening nine character traits:

Caring
Cooperation
Courage
Fairness
Honesty
Respect
Responsibility
Self-discipline
Integrity

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 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.

TGFV Logic Model TGFD 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.

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."

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