research and benefits

Why Choose Modern Manners for Your Classroom? 

Deliberately teaching life skills improves classrooms and lives!

Research over the last 15 years has demonstrated significant improvements in student outcomes when life skills are taught effectively. These gains are largest among students that face the greatest number of risk factors. 

Modern Manners Classroom Edition is designed to effectively target the 5 main categories of life skills that produce proven results in the classroom. 

Research has shown measureable student gains from teaching these

5 Key Life Skills

Click on the tabs below to explore each key skill and how many times it is addressed in the Modern Manners course. 

Self-Awareness

Self-Management

Social Awareness

Relationship Skills

Responsible Decision-Making

Examples of relationship skills lessons:

  • Decline kindly
  • Friendship takes time and work
  • Be a good listener
  • Express gratitude

Lessons

Examples of self-management lessons: 

  • The way you smell matters
  • You attract what you put into the world
  • Advocate for yourself at school
  • Do your part

Lessons

Examples of social awareness lessons:

  • Don't share hurtful things
  • Don't leave just one person out
  • Say no to ratings 
  • Keep your phone silent

Lessons

Examples of responsible decision-making lessons:

  • Nothing online is private
  • Keep private information private
  • Get permission

Lessons

Examples of relationship skills lessons:

  • Decline kindly
  • Friendship takes time and work
  • Be a good listener
  • Express gratitude

Lessons
Durlak, J. A., Domitrovich, C. E., Weissberg, R. P., & Gullotta, T. P. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of social and emotional learning: Research and practice. The Guilford Press.

Research shows that life skills programs are most effective when they follow the "SAFE" pedagogy. 

Durlak, Joseph & Weissberg, Roger & Dymnicki, Allison & Taylor, R.D. & Schellinger, Kriston. (2011). Enhancing students' social and emotional development promotes success in school: Results of a meta-analysis. Child Development. 82. 474-501. 

See how Modern Manners Classroom Edition employs these strategies:

Sequenced

Each lesson has a sequenced format that introduces and illustrates the skill, followed by discussion or writing to deepen and personalize understanding, and finally an activity to aid application. 

Active

Each Modern Manners lesson includes activities that actively engage students in the
learning process.

Focused

Every part of each Modern Manners lesson is designed to target a specific life skill.

Explicit

The Modern Manners course teaches 52 specific individual skills that accrue to greater social and personal competence. 


Modern Manners Classroom Edition is designed specifically for the needs of today's teens & tweens

Adolescents face new social, academic and emotional challenges, while simultaneously feeling a pull to handle them more independently.  Teaching explicit skills and mindsets helps them navigate this developmental journey with more confidence and success. 

Research shows that life skills programs that are most effective with adolescents appeal to their specific motivations--helping them "feel respected by both adults and peers" and helping them "gain status or admiration for those whose opinions matter to them." 

Modern Manners lessons appeal to the motivations of teens and tweens while giving them concrete skills to apply, and helpful mindsets to adopt. Preview this lesson video to see what we mean! 
Write your awesome label here.
multi-tasking opporTUNITIES

Cross-Curricular Alignments

In addition to direct and focused ties to the 5 key life skill categories,  lessons align with other curriculum standards as well! Each lesson will list cross-curricular standards that apply to it. Here is a sample of some Common Core language arts standards and state health standards for middle grades that align with the concepts or activities in the Modern Manners Classroom Edition course. 

Middle School Common Core ELA Speaking & Listening Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.B
Follow agreed upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.C
Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.D
Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.D
Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1.C
Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1.D
Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.

Middle School Common Core ELA Writing Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.C
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.D
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.E
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.C
Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.D
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.



Utah Core Health Education Standards for Middle School

HI.HF.3
Practice resiliency skills (including strategies to develop a positive self-image, taking responsibility for one's actions, and developing coping skills).
5.HF.4
Demonstrate ways to express gratitude and treat others with dignity and respect.
5.SAP.2
Practice ways to resist negative peer pressure and positively influence relations with peers in a variety of situations.
6.HF.5
Describe how to build and maintain healthy relationships through positive habits, friendships, honesty, and respect. Describe how to end unhealthy relationships.
6.SDD.3
Explore consequences for using technology inappropriately.
6.HD.2
Explain the importance of practicing behaviors that maintain good hygiene. 

Who we are

Modern Manners Classroom Edition is a course designed by Brooke Romney and her team based on her best-selling book, "52 Modern Manners for Today's Teens."

Featured links

Connect with us

 modernmanners@brookeromney.com
Copyright © 2024
Created with