Hardin Elementary uses the Too Good for Drugs program for classroom guidance. This program contains five interwoven components which appear throughout the curriculum: Goal Setting, Decision Making, Bonding With Others, Identifying and Managing Emotions, and Communicating Effectively.

TGFD Third Grade

Guidance Lesson Objectives

Lesson 1: Go For Your Goal

Objective: The student will be able to:

Define goal.

Recite 5 steps to use.

Set a personal goal.

Describe personal progress toward the goal.

Rationale: Studies show that goal setting is a developmental asset which helps children to become resilient. By having children think about a goal they have already achieved, and about how they accomplished it, the lesson helps children gain a sense of self-efficacy and positive expectations for the future.

Lesson 2: Your Magnificent Machine

Objective: The student will be able to

Discuss the functions of body organs.

Discuss things the body needs to function well.

Discuss things that damage the body.

Rationale: This lesson helps students to accept personal responsibility for making healthy choices and to consider the negative consequences of drug use. The interactive lesson format is designed to reinforce students' attitudes against drug use.

Lesson 3: Making My Day

Objective: The student will be able to:

Define stress.

Describe symptoms of stress.

List at least three sources of stress.

List at least five healthy ways to reduce stress.

Rationale: In addition to everyday stressors, many young children experience significant stressors, such as a move, a divorce, remarriage, chronic illness or death of a pet or a loved one. Children also see many people dealing with stress in unhealthy ways. Studies show that teaching healthy strategies for coping with stress is an important protective factor in preventing tobacco, alcohol and other drug abuse.

Lesson 4: Connect-a-Kid

Objective: The student will be able to:

List ways that s/he is connected to the family, school and community.

Demonstrate ways to begin, continue and end a conversation.

Rationale: a sense of connectedness helps build resiliency in children. Friendship skills are an important part of social competence, a critical developmental asset.

Lesson 5: I-Messages

Objective: The student will be able to:

Review feelings.

Recite an effective communication formula.

Discuss reasons for using I-messages.

Rationale: Communicating effectively is one of the keys to resiliency. Effective communication skills help children to resolve conflicts with others, bond with others, and avoid involvement in drug use and other problem behaviors. By identifying, accepting and expressing feelings in positive ways, children learn empathy and build the developmental asset of interpersonal competence.

Lesson 6: Decision Making

Objective: The student will be able to:

Review the stop and think decision-making model.

Describe 4 more steps in the decision making model

Discuss decisions and consequences.

Rationale: Learning to make good decisions and to plan ahead are developmental assets that help children to achieve their potential and to remain drug and violence free.

Lesson 7: Too Good for Alcohol

Objective: The student will be able to:

Describe the negative effects of drinking alcohol.

Discuss the risks associated with underage drinking of alcohol.

Discuss the actual prevalence of alcohol use compared to perceived prevalence.

Demonstrate making good decisions about alcohol.

Rationale: In order to make good decisions about drinking alcohol, students must have information about the consequences of alcohol use, especially for children. This lesson provides the negative effects of drinking alcohol and helps students predict the negative impact drinking would have on activities that are important to them. The lesson also corrects students' misperceptions about the percentage of people who drink alcohol and the percentage of young people who approve of alcohol use among their peers.

Lesson 8: The Truth about Tobacco Advertising

Objective: The student will be able to:

Describe the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes and cigars.

Describe the social influence of advertising on decisions about smoking.

Describe the actual incidence and prevalence of cigarette smoking.

Rationale: This lesson contrasts facts about smoking cigarettes with the messages implied in cigarette ads. Studies show that an understanding of advertising is a valuable tool for helping children to resist its influence.

Lesson 9: Peer Pressure

Objective: The student will be able to:

Define peer pressure

Describe the effects of peer pressure on decision-making.

Demonstrate ways to handle peer pressure

Describe the physical, social and mental effects of marijuana.

Rationale: Accoring to Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research Based Guide, from the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information, prevention programs should target all forms of drug abuse including the use of marijuana, and should include skills to resist drugs, strengthen personal commitments against drug use, and increase social competency. This lesson is designed to meet those criteria.

Lesson 10: Third Grade Game Show

Objective: The student will be able to:

Review the concepts learned in TGFD, Grade Three

Perform role-plays to demonstrate the decision to stay drug free.

Rationale: Studies show that effective dfrug prevention programs teach information and skills, provide opportunities to practice the skills, reinforce the skills and recognize students' participation.