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| Home > News > Early Childhood Education News > New program aims to help early childhood teachers promote social skills |
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| New program aims to help early childhood teachers promote social skills |
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Many elementary education students struggle academically because they have poor social skills that hamper their ability to absorb new information.
Past research has shown that children who manage their emotions and exhibit self control score higher on standardized tests than those who do not, regardless of their levels of intelligence. Thus, it is the responsibility of early childhood teachers to help strengthen their students' social skills.
In an effort to address these issues, the nonprofit group Committee for Children recently released an updated version of a critically-acclaimed program called Second Step. The product offers a specially designed curriculum that focuses on emotional and social issues, such as empathy, peer relationships and problem solving.
Committee for Children released the original version of Second Step two decades ago, and it has since received high praise from the U.S. Department of Education, Health and Justice. It is currently used in more than 25,000 schools in North America.
"The new version of Second Step teaches skills shown to support academic achievement, such as listening, paying attention, following directions, and ignoring distractions," said Dr. Brian Smith, a researcher who helped develop the program.
Second Step contains songs and music videos that were created to both engage students and help them become better learners. The new edition also includes online resources which, unlike other curricula, saves teachers the hassle of making photocopies. |
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