Elementary Curriculum

Reduce Suicide Attempts

“Students are more understanding of classmates when they are having big feelings, and offer to help when someone is struggling.” - Classroom Teacher

Overview

We have heard from our partners across the country about the need for a quality strength-based prevention curriculum at the elementary level. Much of what exists in this space includes solid Social Emotional Learning content but an inadequate focus on mental health or proactive prevention for things like bullying, substance abuse, violence, and suicide.

By moving upstream in the prevention cycle through the Sources of Strength Elementary Model, students and staff are invited into creating communities where belonging, wellness, and connection are the norm, leading to increased purpose and agency, therefore diminishing downstream negative outcomes. Our model creates a cultural shift and moves to increase health and wellness through empowering individuals and communities of belonging and connection to Empower a Well World.

Overview Brochure

Elementary Model

Elementary Coaches

We believe that to have maximum impact with students, we need adults who are engaging with and modeling strengths and wellness in their own lives. We are just as focused on supporting and empowering adults as we are students. To facilitate effective and sustainable implementation, our Elementary Model includes a two-day Coaches Training to create district and building level buy-in.

This training will build Coaches' understanding and fluency in the curriculum, content, and capacity to coach and support classroom instructors. Coaches may include classroom teachers, counselors, social workers, school based mental health professionals, administrators, district leaders, and other interested school staff.

Coaches will receive resources to facilitate ongoing coaching meetings, professional development sessions for staff, implementation strategies, ongoing support calls, and tools to facilitate ongoing conversations that build staff wellness.

Coaches Resources

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Elementary Instructors

The Elementary Curriculum is delivered by the classroom teacher, school mental health staff, paraprofessionals or other adults based upon school context and need. At the foundation, Instructors lead the way in our upstream prevention approach.

Instructors build strong relationships with students, empower students, and cultivate overall wellness in their communities that last a lifetime. Instructors will have ongoing access to resources, program support calls, and virtual or in-person professional development opportunities.

Instructor Resources

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Portrait of three teachers in the school hall. They are smiling for the camera.

Elementary Curriculum

Sources of Strength Elementary is a Tier 1 universal curriculum for all students grades K-5. Lessons are designed to be approximately 30-40 minutes in length and delivered once a week. Every lesson incorporates a Talking Circle where students are invited to think, share, and practice building healthy relationships and listening skills as we learn from various perspectives. Lessons are engaging and interactive with games, emotional regulation practice, and creative expression designed to:

Increase student and adult connections and trust with one another
Invite students to identify the Strengths (known as protective factors) they have in their lives that help them through life’s ups and downs
Develop understanding of how our brain and body communicate to help us regulate
Increase emotional vocabulary
Identify and practice a variety of healthy emotional regulation strategies
Understand the importance of seeking help for oneself, as well as how we can connect others to help in times of need.
Empower students and staff alike to be agents of healthy culture change
Develop a growth mindset and practice of celebrating oneself and each other
Navigate conflict and how to effectively resolve using restorative practices
Process transitions in healthy ways and build strategies

Sources of Strength Elementary is a classroom-based curriculum, designed to be taught by any adult staff member:

Classroom teacher
School counselor
Social worker
School mental health professional
Classroom paraprofessional

Learn more about the Elementary Curriculum:

Curriculum Components

It is a driving principle of Sources of Strength to incorporate student voice and active engagement with our teaching practices. We believe that the deepest learning occurs when we approach the subject matter from a positive mindset and bring awareness to our Strengths, while also incorporating interactive learning components. This helps people of all ages fully internalize and apply the concepts to their own lives. Lessons at each grade level includes the following core elements:

Active learning components including art, stories, games, activities, etc. that engage different learning centers of the brain for optimal application and growth.
Talking Circles to facilitate a collaborative sharing time that fosters connection and empathy, empowers student voice, and promotes equal amount of voice.
Guided reflection exercises including breathing, sensory, and other activities that support self-regulation and self-awareness.
Celebrations of growth that highlight students’ Strength and skill development while applying a growth mindset.

Staff Wellness

We believe that to have maximum impact with students, we need adults who are engaging with and modeling strengths and wellness in their own lives. We are just as focused on supporting and empowering adults as we are students. Each school will identify 1-2 staff members to attend a 2-day Coaches Training. Coaches will facilitate ongoing Staff Wellness meetings with their Classroom Instructors as well as ongoing Professional Development opportunities.

Social Emotional Learning Focus

This curriculum integrates well with many of the practices and programs that schools are already using, such as Restorative Practices, Mindfulness, PBIS, and more. Each lesson aligns with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) core competencies which include relationship skills, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management, and self-awareness.

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Curriculum

The kindergarten, first, and second grade Sources of Strength curricula each contain 24 lessons over three units centering on connections and community, engaging strengths, and empowering students to see the ways they can use their voices to make a difference. There is a frequent rhythm of celebration in these grade levels as students are invited to notice and name the positive growth they see in themselves and those around them. Lesson extensions, worksheets, and additional resources are included to support classroom integration.

3rd - 5th Grade Curriculum

The third, fourth, and fifth grade Sources of Strength curricula each include 24–25 scaffolded, grade-specific lessons organized into five core units: Introduction to Sources of Strength, Brain and Body Science, Emotional Regulation, Connecting to Help, and Growing in Our Strengths. These lessons introduce key concepts like the human stress response, mirror neurons, and emotional regulation while providing updated tools and language based on developmental research and feedback from educators. Each grade also includes Celebration Lessons, Navigating Conflict Lessons, and Transition Lessons that build year over year and reinforce themes like respectful relationships, dignity, and belonging. Lesson extensions, scope and sequence guides, and appendices with games and regulation strategies are included to support classroom integration.