The Second Step Program
A Program at Timonium Elementary
Authors
• The Committee for Children, the authors of the
Second Step program, is an independent
nonprofit organization whose mission is to
foster the social and emotional development,
safety, and well-being of children through
education and advocacy.
• Founded in 1997, Committee for Children,
develops and distributes a wide range of
educational materials, conducts original
research, and offers training to parents,
teachers, and other community professionals.
Purpose of Second Step
• Second Step is a program of curriculum
designed to reduce aggressive behavior in
children and increase their level of social
skills and competence.
Goals of Second Step
1. To understand and get along better with
others
2. To solve problems and use social skills
3. To deal with anger
School-based Programs
• School-based programs create positive
change since they can reach large numbers of
children at an early age.
• Children learn to be:
• more caring
• solve their own problems
• deal with anger in nonviolent and productive
ways.
Family Involvement
• The school and family are the two most
important social-emotional learning
environments for children.
• It is known that the more involved the
parents are, the more successful their
children are both socially and academically.
Skills Taught
• The program teaches skills in four main
areas: empathy, impulse control and problem
solving, and anger management. These skills
are central to children’s healthy socialemotional development. Each skill involves
feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Learning
healthy ways of thinking is important in a
child’s development.
OVERVIEW
• Empathy: It means identifying and
understanding others’ feelings in order to be
a more caring person.
• Empathy Skills
1. Listening: Children and adults can understand others
just by improving listening skills.
2. Recognizing and acknowledging others’ feelings: It is
important for parents to listen to their child’s
feelings even if you disagree with those feelings.
3. “I feel when…” messages let a person know how his
or her behavior affects you.
OVERVIEW
• Impulse Control: Managing emotions can be
challenging. Most children could benefit by learning
to slow down and think through options when faced
with difficult situations or problems.
• Some ways to Calm Down:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Taking deep breaths
Counting
Thinking calming thoughts
Talking to yourself
Doing something physically active
Doing something quiet by yourself
Getting support from an adult
Overview
• Calming down from strong emotions and
controlling our first impulses are skills
learned in the Second Step program.
Practicing the skills at home is very
important.
Overview
• What to do when you are angry:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ask yourself: How does my body feel?
Take deep breaths
Count forward or backward slowly
Think calming thoughts
Talk to yourself
Think out loud to solve problems (use the
problem solving steps
7. Think about it later.
OVERVIEW
• Problem Solving:
ASK:
– What is the problem?
– What are some solutions?
• For each solution, ask yourself…
–
–
–
–
–
–
Is it safe?
How might people feel about it?
Is it fair?
Will it work?
Choose a solution and use it.
Is it working? If not, what can I do now?
Overview
• Anger Management: Anger and conflict are
normal parts of life. Anger is not a bad
emotion, but what a person does when angry
can be a problem.