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Positive Action = Excellence4 brochure
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Mission
The mission of the Positive Action program (PA) is to transform individuals, schools, families, and communities by teaching and reinforcing positive actions for a lifetime of health, happiness, and success.
We define success and happiness as feeling good about who you are, what you do, and how you treat others.
Goals
Positive Action = Excellence4
Our goal is to offer a program that is effective, efficient, empowering, and easy to use. Positive Action is a proven evidence-based program for improving academics, behavior, and character. Our program helps you achieve excellence by meeting your needs, challenges, and goals.
- Effective
The U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (6/07) determined Character Education to be an important topic and listed the top-rated programs. Positive Action is the only program in the nation they gave their highest rating, “positive effects,” and it is in both domains: academics and behavior.
- +15 percentile in academics
- +19 percentile in behavior
- Efficient
Positive Action's all-in-one program saves time, money, and headaches. It goes to the root of all behaviors, eliminating the need for separate programs for every purpose. Our single program simultaneously increases positive behaviors and decreases negative behaviors. It works for all people and in any setting.
- Empowering
Positive Action’s philosophy goes to the core of each person. You feel good about yourself when you think and do positive actions, and there is always a positive way to do everything. Positive Action strengthens the intrinsic motivation to make positive choices for a lifetime.
- Easy to Use
Positive Action is a program with five components that comes in self-contained tool-kits. Each kit is complete with all instructions and materials.
How It Works
Positive Action consists of five components. It works by teaching and reinforcing the intuitive philosophy that you feel good about yourself when you do positive actions and there is a positive way to do everything. The program teaches the positive actions for the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional areas of the self.
The philosophy is illustrated by the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle where positive thoughts lead to positive actions, positive actions lead to positive feelings about your self and positive feelings lead to more positive thoughts.
We’re proud of our record of fostering success and happiness in families, schools, and communities. It’s a goal that Positive Action has been fulfilling for over 25 years. Throughout this time, more than 13,000 homes, schools, and a wide variety of community organizations have benefited and are continuing to grow with Positive Action programs.
Materials
Five Main Components: Positive Action is comprised of five main components that are effective separately or in any combination seamlessly. Each component is based on the same philosophy, Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle, and six unit concepts.
Six Unit Concepts:The first unit begins with the philosophy and Thoughts-Actions-Feeling, and units two through six explain key positive actions for the whole self or physical, intellectual, social, and emotional areas.
- Unit 1: Self-Concept. What It Is, How It’s Formed, and Why It’s Important (Philosophy and Circle)
- Unit 2: Positive Actions for your Body and Mind
Positive Actions for the Social and Emotional Areas:
- Unit 3: Managing Yourself Responsibly
- Unit 4: Treating Others the Way You Like to be Treated (Social Skills and Character)
- Unit 5: Being Honest with Yourself and Others (Mental Health)
- Unit 6: Improving Yourself Continually (Setting and Achieving Goals)
K-12 Curriculum Kits
Instructor’s Curriculum Kits are scoped and sequenced. They are complete and age-appropriate for every grade level. Each kit is based on the same philosophy and six unit concepts.
Kits contain an instructor’s manual with scripted 15-minute lessons, along with completely prepared materials. Included are student activity booklets, journals (4-12), and other hands-on materials for 30 students.
The lessons contain activities that address academic standards and some lessons are aligned with states’ standards. The lessons are interactive, engaging, and allow for maximum flexibility and implementation.
K-6 Curriculum Kits include materials and activities such as: posters (some interactive), puppets, flannel boards, music, games, stickers, fiction and non-fiction stories, activities related to poetry, art, literature, science, and math, plays, and role plays.
7-8 Curriculum Kits: The seventh grade curriculum reinforces the scientific method as students pose questions, hypothesize, collect data, and analyze results as they learn about personal development. A radio play and fun, interactive games enhance many lessons and engage students in activities with materials that emphasize the importance of self concept, physical, intellectual positive actions, and self- management.
The eighth grade curriculum continues the radio play, with activities that emphasize social skills, self honesty, and goal setting.
High School Kits I-IV for grades 9-12.
- Kit I helps students through a variety of activities and strategies to find the answer to Life’s Big Question: “Who Am I?”
- Kit II features the “Lives on the Line Play,” a 44-act play in a variety of settings, a virtual reality survivor game where six multicultural characters learn positive actions.
- Kit III contains a different project for each unit: a collage, health and wellness fair, newsletter, community service projects, and art and media projects. These are interactive, hands-on activities done in groups and each project contains content from a specific unit. Students use unit skills to create the product at the end of each unit.
- Kit IV is based on the Positive Actions for Living manual. Two implementation options are available:
- Option 1. Teachers monitor students who are organized into small groups in which they mentor and teach lessons to each other as teams. They come together and share their experiences with the whole class.
- Option 2. Teachers monitor students who are organized into small groups in which they teach lessons as family members and practice roles as individuals, members of the family, parents, and community members. They come together and share their experiences with the whole class.
Supplemental Kits
Grade 5 Drug Education Supplement Kit targets substance use and violence with engaging materials, including posters, music, games, a poster, and activity booklets for 30 students. Includes drug-specific brochures from National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Middle School Drug Education Supplement Kits target substance use and violence with engaging materials, including posters, music, games, a mysterious play, a full-color, nine poster mural, bookmarks, posters, and activity booklets for 30 students. Includes drug-specific brochures from National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Conflict Resolution Kit (for all ages) teaches how to use the Conflict Resolution Plan. The kit provides lessons and conflict situations on which to apply this plan.
Site-Wide Climate Development Kits
The Elementary Climate Development Kit and Secondary Climate Development Kit contain manuals with materials and activities that reinforce the positive actions taught in the classroom curriculum and can also stand alone. Each kit contains materials for 20 teachers and plans for a site-wide implementation.
The Elementary Climate Kit includes manuals for leaders, parents and support staff, calendars, Word-of-the-Week cards, stickers, tokens, ICU Doing Something Positive boxes, posters, music, Positive Notes, letters to parents, and instructions for conducting assemblies and creating newsletters.
The Secondary Climate Kit includes a manual for the leader, ”Buzz Word” calendars, Positive Actions Leaders (PALs) Club cards, a Peace flag, posters, instructions for assemblies and for peer mentoring community service, and activities for a variety of interests (e.g. drama, art, and technology).
Counselor Kit
The Counselor’s Kit has a manual with lessons for counselors and therapists for educational or therapeutic purposes. It can be used with individuals, large and small groups, families, and in the classroom. It has a topical guide to identify appropriate lessons for specific issues or topics (e.g. substance abuse, violence, anger management, social skills). The manual lists community service opportunities and includes a Conflict Resolution Plan and Problem Solving and Decision Making Check-List.
Family Curriculum
The Family Kit is a curriculum for families, with 42 engaging 30-40 minute lessons. It includes posters, music, and a variety of hands-on materials. Families do the lessons and activities together to learn positive actions as individuals, family members, parents, and members of the community.
A Condensed Family Kit is a curriculum for families, with seven 30-40 minute lessons plus posters, music, and a variety of hands-on materials. It is also available for use with the Family Classes Instructor’s Kit or in other settings that require a limited version. The Family Kit can be used by itself or in conjunction with family or parenting classes.
The Family Classes Instructor’s Kit has a Family Kit and four instructor’s manuals: one each for children, adolescents, parents, and the family together. The manuals guide seven two-hour classes that teach families how to use the Family Kit and do positive actions in the home. In the first hour, children, adolescents, and parents meet separately. In the second hour, the whole family comes together for a wrap-up activity.
The Family Classes Materials for 10 Families contains a Family Kit (42 lessons) and all the materials for the family classes and home use.
The Family Classes Condensed Materials for 10 Families contains a Condensed Family Kit (seven lessons) and all the materials for the family classes and home use.
The Parents Classes Instructor’s Kit has a Family Kit and an instructor’s manual for parents only. The manuals guide seven classes that teach parents how to use the Family Kit and do positive actions in the home.
The Parents Classes Materials for 10 Families contains a Family Kit (42 lessons) and all the materials for the parents classes and home use.
The Parents Classes Condensed Materials for 10 Families contains a Condensed Family Kit (seven lessons) and all the materials for the parents classes and home use.
Community/Coalition Kit
Positive Action’s Community/Coalition Kit is used to organize community-wide events, as well as involve the various community groups to do their own independent Positive Action projects. The kit includes instructional guides for groups such as media, business, health, welfare, faith-based, government, schools, families, individuals, and many others. It contains: a manual, music, a poster, a Family Kit, a Counselor Kit, a Media Kit, and Conflict Resolution Kit.
Last Modified: 5/13/2008 6:10:14 PM
Program Overview