Downers Grove Township

The Township offers Social-Emotional Life Skills classes to local elementary and middle school students.

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Life Skills Program Topics

Life Skills Program Information

In 1981, the Human Services Division began its Life Skills program to address the social and emotional needs of local students. Our program has expanded over the years and we now offer instruction on various life skills topics in numerous elementary and middle schools. This program is designed to help fulfill the State Board of Education’s Social and Emotional Learning Standards. Each  program uses grade level appropriate concepts and materials to teach specific skills to students in grades 4 through 8. Over 3,400 students are served by this program, which focuses on preparative and preventative education.

The Township employs 3 certified teachers, who use a variety of techniques incorporating individual and group participation.

For more information regarding these free classes to our local schools, contact one of our Life Skills educators at the Township.

The program topics include:

 The goal of this course is to impress upon students the effects of bullying and to build a better understanding of the importance of showing empathy to others. Students use real-life scenarios to stand up to bullying in effective and assertive ways. This course is available to students in grades 4-6. SEL Standards: 1A.2a., 1A.2b., 2A.2a, 2A.2b, 2A.3a., 2A.3b., 2B.3a, 2B.3b.

The goal of this course is awareness and prevention of substance abuse. Through the use of interactive activities and research, students learn about the social and emotional consequences controlled substances can have. This course is available to students in grades 6-8. SEL Standards: 1B.3a., 2D.3b.

This is an interactive course that helps students start visualizing their futures self. Using the S.M.A.R.T. goals format, through engaging activities, students sketch out their academic, career and personal goals. The stress management part of this course can be taught along with the goal setting or can be separated into its own offering. The goal of the stress management course is to define stress and then learn and put into practice healthy techniques to relieve that stress. SEL Standards: 1A.3a., 1A.3b., 1C.2a., 1C.2b., 1C.3a., 1C.3b.

This course serves as an introduction to various topics of Executive Functioning including organization, planning, time management, attention and persistence. Students work through hands-on activities to create strategies in each category in order to be successful in school and out. SEL Standards 1C.C1, 3A.E4, 3B.C3, 3B.F1, and 3B.F4-6.

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Life Skills Teacher

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