Equip For Educators: Teaching Youth (grades 5-8) To Think And Act Responsibly

Based on the original EQUIP program for adolescents and young adults, this manual is designed for working with younger students in grades 5-8. The authors place particular emphasis on cultivating a positive youth culture, on helping students learn to take the perspectives of others, and most important on helping them to identify and correct self-serving cognitive distortions, or thinking errors. The research-based training approach utilizes role plays, group discussions, stories, self-relaxation exercises, and more. The skill lessons are divided into three main sections: Equipping with Skills to Manage Anger and Correct Thinking Errors, Equipping with Social Skills, and Equipping with Mature Moral Judgment (Social Decision Making). EQUIP is presented as a 10-week curriculum that can be used in large or small group settings. It is especially useful for working with students who have behavioral and emotional disorders.