Hengaw be Hengaw

Kurdistan | Hengaw be Hengaw,
Committee for Children

Developing and managing education programs that benefit Kurdistan’s children is KOMAK’s mission. The organization has implemented the Kurdish Second Step program in six local schools and hopes to find the funds to bring the program to more schools.

Since 2009 • Website: KOMAK

SecondStep

International Partners

Steg for Steg. Ikinci Adim. Sekando Suteppu. Antras Zingsnis.From Norway to Turkey, Japan to Lithuania, the Second Stepprogram is improving the lives of children around the globe, thanks to our dedicated team of international partners. Each of our partners comes to us with the commitment to translate and adapt the Second Step program. They must first pilot the program, using a translated and culturally adapted version. Then, after making informed improvements, they begin to produce and distribute the program to schools and provide training to school staff. Many of our partner organizations include on their staff renowned psychologists and child advocates. We are honored by their commitment to social-emotional learning and our collective mission to make the world a safer place for children everywhere.

Second Step: Social-Emotional Skills for Early Learning

 Committee for Children

Young children who can listen, pay attention, remember directions, and control their behavior will benefit more from preschool and be better prepared for kindergarten. The new Second Step early learning program teaches self-regulation and executive-function skills that help children learn and skills to manage their feelings, make friends, and solve problems. Short daily activities include Brain Builder games, songs, and puppets your little learners will love.

Second Step: Student Success Through Prevention for Middle School

Navigate stormy middle-school seas with theSecond Step program. The program teaches empathy and communication, emotion-management and coping skills, and decision making. These skills help students stay engaged in school, make good choices, set goals, and avoid peer pressure, substance abuse, bullying, and cyber bullying.

Why Social-Emotional Learning?

Here at Committee for Children, we believe teaching social-emotional learning is as important as teaching math or language. Here’s why.

Students who can self-regulate are better able to participate in and benefit from classroom instruction.

Having empathy prepares students to manage their own strong emotions and solve interpersonal problems with others.

Students who practice emotion management by recognizing strong emotions and calming down cope better and are less prone to aggressive behaviors.

And when students use problem-solving skills to handle interpersonal conflicts with peers, they are less likely to engage in impulsive or aggressive behaviors.

In short, social-emotional learning promotes students’ school success and connectedness and contributes toward a safe and respectful school climate. It also helps prevent problem behaviors, peer rejection, impulsivity, and low academic achievement. So the question is, why shouldn’t we teach our children social-emotional skills?

Bullying: How and Why We Should Prevent It

We can train adults to respond to bullying quickly and effectively. When adults lead anti-bullying efforts in schools, the results are reductions in bullying and more positive student attitudes toward school, increased student willingness to seek help, and less tolerant attitudes toward bullying.

We can teach friendship skills to lessen both the likelihood of victimization and its impact. Studies show that students who have at least one friend are less likely to be bullied, and when they are, those who have a good friend have fewer behavioral problems as a result.

We can teach social skills so that students know how to respond to bullying. If students are passive, they are more likely to be a target of bullying, but if they are aggressive, the bullying can escalate. The middle ground is being assertive by standing up for themselves and their peers.

We can teach responsible bystander skills so that bullying is not encouraged. Since children look to others for how to respond to bullying, their peers’ reactions can make or break a bullying situation. Stand around and watch or laugh, and the bullying is prolonged; intervene appropriately, and the bullying tends to stop.

Child Safety

Personal Safety: How and Why We Should Promote It

Research shows that young children can and should be taught personal safety skills. Prevention education is more effective if students receive comprehensive instruction that includes opportunities to practice the skills in class, multiday presentations, and materials to take home and discuss with parents.

And yes, children do use personal safety skills in real-life situations. One study found that 40 percent of children ages 10 to 16 reported protecting themselves with skills they had learned in an anti-victimization program.

We can teach general safety skills first, such as car, traffic, and fire safety. This establishes a parallel to later touching safety lessons, allowing teachers and students to get comfortable with the lesson format before tackling touching safety.

We can use a rules-based approach to personal safety, rather than a feelings-based approach. So instead of relying on their feelings as a measure of safety, children can learn to protect themselves using simple safety rules.

 OVERVIEW

Trainer’s Manual © 2001 Committee for Children
Pre/K Scope and Sequence Optional parent handout

Unit I
Personal Safety

The goal of this unit is to increase children’s knowledge of and adherence to rules that will help keep

them safe.

Lesson 1: Learning Car Safety

Following safety rules helps keep people safe. Always wearing a seatbelt helps keep people safe in a car.

Lesson 2: Learning Traffic Safety

Following safety rules helps keep children safe. Children should cross the street safely by looking in

all directions first and holding hands. Children should say “No” to breaking safety rules.

Lesson 3: Learning Fire Safety

Following safety rules about fire is very important for children. Children should say “No” to breaking

safety rules. When someone breaks a safety rule, children should tell a grown-up.

Lesson 4: Learning Gun Safety—Never Playing with Guns

Handling or playing with guns is dangerous for children.

Lesson 5: Getting Found

Children need to know how to stay safe when they are lost.

Lesson 6: The Always Ask First Rule—Getting Permission Before Going with Someone

An important people safety rule is: Always ask your parents or the person in charge first if someone

wants you to go somewhere with him or her.

Lesson 7: The Always Ask First Rule—Getting Permission Before Accepting Gifts

An important people safety rule is: Always ask your parents or the person in charge first if someone

wants to give you something.

Unit II

Touching Safety

The goal of this unit is to strengthen children’s ability to distinguish between safe touch and unsafe

touch and to increase children’s knowledge of safety rules about touching.

Lesson 8: Getting and Giving Safe Touches

Safe touches help people feel cared for and loved. They are good for your body.

Lesson 9: Dealing with Unsafe Touches

Children can develop skills to help them resist or avoid unsafe touches.

Lesson 10: Saying “No” to Unwanted Touches

Children (and adults) have a right to say how and by whom they are touched. Children can develop

skills and vocabulary to help them avoid unwanted touches.

Lesson 11: Learning the Touching Rule

Learning the Touching Rule will help children stay safe. The Touching Rule is: A bigger person should

not touch your private body parts except to keep you clean and healthy.

Lesson 12: Learning the Safety Steps (Booster Lesson)

Learning the Safety Steps will help children stay safe. The Safety Steps are (1) Say words that mean

“No”; (2) Get away; and (3) Tell a grown-up.

Lesson 13: Using the Touching Rule

Children should use the Safety Steps if someone breaks the Touching Rule.

Lesson 14: Joey Learns the Touching Rule (Booster Lesson; video used)

Children should use the Safety Steps if someone breaks the Touching Rule. Children should not keep

secrets about touching. It’s never the child’s fault.

Lesson 15: Sam’s Story (Big Book used)

Children should use the Safety Steps if someone breaks the Touching Rule. Children should not keep  secrets about touching.

About Committee for Children

We create research-based social-emotional learning materials to help children succeed in school and in life. We are a nonprofit. And we’re helping create a world in which children can grow up to be peaceful, kind, responsible citizens.

It may seem like a tall order, but our social-emotional learning materials are in schools from Illinois to Iraq, Chile to California. We’ve taught millions of children in 70 countries skills that help them stay safe, manage their emotions, solve problems, avoid risky behavior, and improve their academics.

And with your help, we can reach millions more—one child, one classroom, one community at a time. Learn more about our story.

www.cfchildren.org