SEL & Bullying Prevention

TGFV - Social Perspectives Grade 8 - 2019 Edition

Social Perspectives for Grade 8 supports students’ commitment to being positive role models in their schools and communities. Eighth graders demonstrate their self-efficacy and interpersonal skills in fun, interactive activities, games, and role-play so they can continue making healthy choices and building positive, healthy friendships with others.

Social Perspectives’ interactive learning design immerses the students in the learning to build their capacity to resolve conflict peacefully, avoid participating in unhealthy activities that have negative consequences, and build positive, healthy relationships with pro-social peers.

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.

The TGFV - Social Perspectives Grade 8 Curriculum Kit is available in two sizes. The Standard Curriculum Kit includes activity materials for classrooms of 24 students. The Large Curriculum Kit includes activity materials for classrooms of up to 30 students.

$305.95

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

  • Teacher's Manual
  • 30 Student Workbooks
  • Goal Setting Model Poster
  • Decision Making Poster and Accessories
  • Healthy Relationship Poster 
  • Grade 8 Role Play Script Set
  • Goal Setting Scramble
  • Spend or Save? Game
  • The Buddy System Game
  • What's the Deal? Game
  • Listen Up! Game
  • Game Pawns and One Die
  • Glue Dots

Curriculum Features include:

  • Ten 50-minute fully scripted, research-based lessons conveniently presented in a tabbed three-ring binder, making them easy to use and enjoyable to teach.
  • Comprehensive planner for each lesson with clearly-stated, measurable objectives, topic rationale, and allotted activity times.
  • 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-Training Component covering Character Education and Normative Education concepts as well as guidance for facilitating discussions about various conflict and peer influence topics.
  • Too Good for Violence 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

 

Too Good for Violence 

Too Good for Violence is a universal violence prevention, bully prevention, and character education program using social and emotional skills development to build capacity for conflict resolution, anger management, and respect for self and others. In Middle School, students learn the negative consequences of aggressive behavior. Engaging, age-appropriate lessons develop personal and interpersonal skills including learning to respect others and celebrating our differences. Students also learn how to anticipate, avoid, and resolve conflict through effective communication, anger management, emotional self-awareness, social awareness, and self-control.

Too Good for Violence is social emotional learning

Too Good for Violence teaches the following social and emotional learning skills, which research has linked with healthy development and academic success:

  • Conflict Resolution
  • Anger Management
  • Respect for Self and Others
  • Effective Communication

Too Good for Violence develops core character traits

Too Good for Violence promotes character development by strengthening eight key character traits:

  • Caring
  • Cooperation
  • Courage
  • Fairness
  • Honesty
  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Self-discipline
  • Integrity

How does Too Good work?

Too Good offers separate, developmentally appropriate curricula for each grade level in grades Kindergarten through Eight. A single volume curriculum is offered for grades 9-12. 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 employs skills 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 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

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.

Too Good for Violence Research Reports

2001 Summary 2001 Full Report 2003 Summary 2003 Full Report 2005 Summary 2005 Full Report

Organization/AgencyTGFD K-8TGFV K-8TGFD&V High School
What Works Clearinghouse: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education SciencePositive 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 LearningNot Yet RatedElementary SELect Program
View Report
Not Yet Rated
NREPP: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs & PracticesReviewed evaluation
View Report
Reviewed evaluation
View Report
Reviewed evaluation
View Report
CEBC: California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child WelfareTGFD Grade 6 
Scientific Rating 2 - Supported by Evidence
View Report
Not Yet RatedNot Yet Rated
OJJDP: Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency PreventionPromising program
View Report
Exemplary program
View Report
Exemplary program
View Report
Promising Practices Network: Programs that WorkScreened program
View Report
Screened program
View Report
Screened program
View Report
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Model programModel programModel 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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