Our curriculum consists of the following five units:

• Understanding Conflict
• Effective Communication
• Understanding Anger
• Handling Anger
• Peer Mediation

In each of the first four units, there are three lessons (each designed for approximately one class period) with progressive, interrelated content. The fifth unit, Peer Mediation, contains one lesson designed to introduce students to the concept of mediation and what they might expect if they sought mediation at their school.

The curriculum can be presented by (a) teaching the lessons within each unit consecutively or (b) teaching one lesson from each unit to introduce each topic area to students within a group of five lessons.

Each lesson includes suggestions for teacher-led activities, student practice activities, and overhead transparencies (or hand-outs). Lessons are "teacher friendly" and can be expanded or condensed,
depending on time available

Materials for training students to be peer mediators include the manual, with or without teacher instructions. You would need the manual with teacher instructions for each instructor and as many student manuals as there are participants.

The training is designed for a minimum of 10-12 hours, usually accomplished with a two-day workshop. The manual is based on an understanding of conflict resolution concepts as provided in the conflict resolution curriculum but includes some review of these concepts before focusing on the structured mediation process. Concepts and skills include the following:

• Understanding Conflict
• Confidentiality
• Effective Communication
• Listening
• The Mediation Process

Also included is a Peer Mediation Agreement form to document mediation activities.

Tools for Getting Along is a problem-solving curriculum designed for 4th and 5th grade students. Its instructional focus is on understanding and dealing with frustration and anger, since anger is a frequent correlate of disruptive and aggressive behavior and can be preceded by frustration.

Twenty core lessons include concepts and skills related to anger management and problem solving and incorporate direct instruction, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, and skill generalization. Five of those lessons are devoted to practicing learned skills through role plays. Six booster lessons (in our NEW VERSION of the curriculum) complete the instruction with each booster emphasizing the basic skills learned in Tools... and allow for continued practice over long periods of time.