Get Real About Violence
Get Real About Violence is a mixed-media prevention program for grades K–12 that helps schools and community-based organizations build a culture of nonviolence. The program targets a wide range of violent behavior, including bullying, teasing, and spreading rumors among younger children, and threats and assaults in later years. Designed to give students the skills to stay safe, and healthy, the curriculum shows them how to resolve conflicts without violence and prevent or avoid violent situations by using self-control. Throughout the program, students and school adults carefully examine their beliefs about stereotypes, interpersonal relationships, and popular culture. Get Real About Violence was developed by the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation.
Children in grades K–12 and school staff.
No information at this time.
Get Real About Violence has curriculum kits for the following grade groupings: K–3, 4–6, 6–9, and 9–12. The curriculum consists of three separate modules:
- Vulnerability to Violence: shows students that they're affected by violence and motivates them to do something about it
- Contributors to Violence: explains what's behind the violence
- Alternatives to Violence: teaches students how they can not only stay away from violence themselves, but how to help their friends stay away from violent situations as well.
Designed to be a school-wide intervention, Get Real About Violence should be conducted across all grade levels, with participation by the entire school community. The lessons can be integrated into core curriculum areas and include a parental component. The number of lessons varies by grade level:
- Grades K-3: 29 lessons, 3 posters, and 3 videos
- Grades 4-6: 22 lessons, 2 videos, 2 posters, and an audiocassette
- Grades 6-9: 12 lessons , 3 posters, 3 videos, an audiocassette, and playing cards
- Grades 9-12: 28 lessons at grades 9–12, 3 posters, 7 videos, 26 playing cards and a CD.
Another important component of Get Real About Violence is a newsletter, which is included in the program’s Teacher's Guide. It was developed to help teachers and adult staff effectively implement the curriculum in their schools. The newsletter includes interviews with teachers who have used the program in classrooms, as well as a 16-step implementation procedure, including choosing a team leader, creating a core team (students and school adults who manage the program), conducting surveys, and introducing the program to community members. In addition, the Discovery Education Web site includes a section that outlines how state health goals and content standards are met by the program.
Customized training on how to use Get Real About Violence is available through Discovery Education.
Teacher training is one or two days and is designed to:
- Prepare participants to be site coordinators and train teachers within their schools.
- Prepare participants to implement the curriculum with confidence.
- Show participants how implementation of the curriculum can change the behaviors and lives of their students.
Mentor training is two or three days and is designed to:
- Provide up-to-date information on the curriculum.
- Prepare participants to be site coordinators and train teachers within their district.
- Learn about the latest prevention research.
- Learn strategies for combining prevention efforts with curriculum.
Training of trainers is two or three days and designed to:
- Prepare participants to lead teacher trainings for their organization and community.
- Provide more in-depth knowledge on the research, rationale, and potential use of the curriculum.
Training information is available at www.discoveryeducation.com.
Those who are trained have access to Discovery Education via phone at 800-323-9084. Technical assistance calls are unlimited at no additional cost.
Discovery Education
1560 Sherman Ave.–Ste. 100
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: (800) 323-9084
Email: Jim_McColl@discovery.com
Web site: www.discoveryeducation.com
The cost of a one-day training conducted by Discovery Education is $2,500. Each additional day costs $1,000. All expenses are included in the cost.
Matched experimental and control groups of approximately 250 junior high school students in a major metropolitan area completed pre-test and post-test questionnaires to determine the effectiveness of the Get Real About Violence program. Survey data and anecdotal evidence obtained from teachers demonstrated a positive effect of the program.
Students who experienced Get Real About Violence:
- Were less verbally aggressive
- Were less likely to be verbally aggressive in the future
- Were less likely to watch a fight in the future
- Were less likely to spread rumors about a fight in the future
Get Real About Violence provides a blueprint for conducting a needs assessment. It defines goals and objectives and contains pre-tests and post-tests for all grade levels to measure the extent students have achieved objectives. There are also evaluations for teachers to determine their attitudes about program efficacy.
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Promising Program
American Society of Educators (2003). Reducing verbal aggression and bullying in schools. What's New, 36(4), 32.
Baseline Research, LLC (2000). Get Real about Violence curriculum evaluation: Final report. Milwaukee, WI: Author.
Comprehensive Health Education Foundation. (1995). Get Real About Violence. Educational Leadership, 52(8), 89-90.
Meyer, G., Roberto, A. J., Boster, F. J., & Roberto, H.L. (2004). Assessing the Get Real about Violence curriculum: Process and outcome evaluation results and implications. Health Communication, 16(4), 451–74
Reducing verbal aggression and bullying in schools. (2003). What’s New, 36(4), 32.
