In today’s digital landscape, visuals are a necessity, not a luxury or an accoutrement. The spread of smartphones and social media has made them an essential part of communication. Visual is the broad term for anything we look at (photographs, illustrations, videos, etc.) used for communication. Visuals are a more effective and efficient means of communication than the written word.
We are visual learners, and we equate seeing with the truth. Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, and “90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual” (Walter & Gioglio, 2014). Not surprisingly, we remember 80 percent of what we see compared to 20 percent of what we read and only 10 percent of what we hear1. Compelling images account for 94 percent2 more views than content without images.
Visuals are a ubiquitous presence in our lives. The challenge facing communication professionals is how to make their message stand out. Visual metaphors offer an opportunity to penetrate clutter and reach an audience.
A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to imply a resemblance. For example, the internet is the information superhighway. Metaphors are ingrained in how we think and make sense of the world. They’re “pervasive in everyday life, not just language, but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). Metaphors are commonplace in advertising. Approximately 75 percent3 of print advertisements include at least one metaphor in its headline.
Visual metaphors are visual tropes. They are highly structured images that stimulate viewers to understand one concept in terms of another concept (Zeeshan, 2015). Visual metaphors perform better than verbal metaphors in advertising. “…subjects comprehended the advertiser’s intended meaning more often for visual metaphor ads than for verbal metaphor ads” (Scott & Batra, 2004). The reason is simple. The inclusion of the visual eases comprehension because viewers don’t need to create mental images. Visual metaphors are more common than you might think. According to the limited research on the subject, slightly more than three out of ten print ads4 contain visual metaphors.
Types of Visual Metaphors
There are three types of visual metaphors: juxtaposition, fusion, and replacement. The three types have different levels of complexity based on the amount of inferences viewers need to make to come to an acceptable conclusion. Juxtaposition is the least complex, fusion is moderately complex, and replacement is considerably complex (van Mulken, van Hooft & Nederstigt, 2014).
Juxtaposition, also called similes, includes two images side-by-side. The visual includes the product (or target) next to what it’s being compared with (or the source).
This example from Volkswagen juxtaposes a Volkswagen Passat with the lead Elk. The Volkswagen separates the leader from the herd, so we perceive the Volkswagen with the lead Elk. The association is formed from Gestalt’s principle of proximity. Because the Volkswagen is close to the leader, we group it with the leader. Volkswagen is a leader—it is the lead Elk.
The next example is from Gravity Anomaly, an activewear apparel company. It juxtaposes a pair of shorts in front of a gravestone. On face value, it’s a bizarre message. Why would a brand want its product associated with death? The gravestone is a metaphor for a lifetime guarantee. This line of activewear is so durable it will last a lifetime.
The Gravity Anomaly advertisement is a prime example of the necessity for textual clues. At the bottom, proceeding the logo is the text, “With its LIFETIME GUARANTEE, you wouldn’t want to be caught dead in anything else.” This practice is called “anchoring,” and it provides advertisers with a lifeline to ensure viewers understand the metaphor and the ad’s message. Almost every visual metaphor includes a text anchor to explain the metaphor’s puzzle if viewers can’t work it out for themselves. The desire for text anchors makes sense. Text anchors are a double-edged sword for advertisers. They are proven to aid in viewer comprehension but decreased consumer pleasure in interpreting the message (Phillips, 2000).
Let’s look at an example from Heineken next. The advertisement juxtaposes a glass of beer next to a large stack of CDs. This visual has a few drawbacks that lessen its effectiveness. The scale of the glass of beer is off, or it’s a tiny glass. The second problem is having the Heineken label appear in the stack of CDs. The metaphor is too simple. It requires little cognitive effort—or elaboration—to solve. Generally speaking, the more difficult the puzzle, the more enjoyment a viewer attains from finding the solution. Finally, the advertisers included a text anchor.
This advertisement would be better without the label on the stack of CDs or, better yet without the glass of beer—just the “labelled” stack of CDs as a fusion metaphor.
Fusion—also known as hybrid or synthesis—combines the product (target) with what it’s being compared with (source) to form a single visual element (called a gestalt).
The above example is an advertisement for Sydney Brewery’s Glamarama Summer Ale. It fuses the ale bottle with a popsicle. For the metaphor, the popsicle equals cold—a cold ale is a perfect complement for a hot summer day.
The next fusion example is a Fresh Mug advertisement. It fuses a bale of wheat with a mug complete with beer foam. The metaphor is our beer is so fresh you can taste the wheat.
The next fusion example comes from McDonald’s advertising the McFlurry. The advertisement fuses a man and ice cream, with the ice cream replacing his hair. It’s obvious that he has a McFlurry on the brain. The man’s expression is a further clue that he is thinking of ice cream. He’s staring off in a classic look of contemplation.
The final and most complex type of visual metaphor is replacement. Replacement is when either the product (target) or what it is being compared to (source) is absent. Replacement is also called a contextual metaphor because it relies on context for viewers to find (or infer) meaning.
This example from Mercedes-Benz uses a chicken to represent a car, and foxes represent danger and the lane markers. If the chicken strays from her lane, she’ll find danger. This visual plays on viewers understanding that foxes are a natural predator for chickens. Using two of the same predators taps the Gestalt principle of similarity, so viewers group them, making them easily understood as lane markers.
The advertisement above is for Walkin Fitness Studio, an Indian fitness studio. This example uses animals as metaphors for a person. The visual includes silhouettes of an elephant’s rear end, the studio logo, and the front half of a horse. Each silhouette is cut off by a vertical line. The lines are on either side of the logo form a boundary for the logo. The lines and negative space surrounding the logo form the studio. The metaphor is rich: lumber in an elephant, leave a stallion.
Chevrolet provides the example above, where a game of football replaces a car. It’s the context—in this case the lines of the parking space—that allows viewers to infer the action replaces a car.
However, this is another example of how dependent visual metaphors are on text anchors. Without the text mentioning hands free park assist, it would be difficult to apply meaning to the visual. The replacement metaphor is strong (football replacing a car), but the intended meaning is unclear. The football action is also a metaphor for what someone is thinking about when he or she is parking the Chevrolet, and the hands-free park assist allows him or her to think about football instead of parking the car.
Interpreting Visual Metaphors
Visual metaphors aren’t read literally. They require interpretation. Visual metaphors deviate from viewer expectations. It’s the unanticipated deviation (or incongruity) that causes viewers to think figuratively and make inferences about the advertisement’s intended meaning. What viewers do is find the first plausible meaning that seems relevant to the message.
Think of visual metaphors as puzzles—when we see them, we instinctively need to solve them. In our quest to solve the puzzle, we’re going to be lazy and use as little energy as possible. We’re also going to assume that the amount of effort it takes to solve the puzzle equals the amount of reward we’ll gain from finding the solution.
“Receivers are inclined to expend as little effort as possible to understand the message and at the same time they will try to gain as much effect as possible from the message by processing it. In other words, receivers expect that the more processing costs a message requires, the more effect they will gain” (van Mulken, van Hooft & Nederstigt, 2014).
Viewers trade cognitive effort for information and pleasure – the satisfaction gained from finding the visual’s meaning. This exchange of cognitive effort for information and pleasure is visual metaphors’ value for advertisers. It’s also an inherent risk because the information and pleasure effect is contingent on viewers ascertaining the visual’s intended meaning—solving the puzzle. Without the payoff, visual metaphors can frustrate viewers and can be a brand liability.
In visual metaphor research, when an audience can easily understand an advertisement’s meaning, it’s called strong implicature. Conversely, it’s called weak implicature when an audience has difficulty finding a meaning. Let’s look at a few examples.
Most of the examples discussed before were strongly implied. This example from Volkswagen has an ostrich in a cheetah suit as a metaphor for a car. It is relying on the audience to know that an ostrich is fast, but a cheetah is faster. The message is our car was fast—the new model is faster.
This visual for Viande, a Brazilian food company, is weakly implied. It is difficult to read without prior knowledge of the company. The text anchor (or caption) translates to “noble cuts of beef.” The cow represents the beef—that connection is easy to make. It’s the nobility that is difficult to make. The author’s first thought was that cow looks like a piece of furniture?
The advertiser’s intent was the pattern to be likened to the imprint on a high-end fashion accessory. Viewers were expected then to associate high-end fashion with nobility and apply the attributes of nobility to a cut of beef. Our cattle are premium quality, so our cuts of beef are premium quality.
This advertisement for Boag’s Draught is also weakly implied. The unexpected deviation is the dog’s head. Why is it small? The text anchor, “These waters just make things better,” doesn’t necessarily answer the question. The stick in the dog’s mouth is the clue. He didn’t submerge his head. The water made him big. The advertisement is relying on the audience to know the cliché bigger is better. Without this knowledge, the image looks bizarre. The message is the water from Tasmania is special, and the beer is special because it is brewed with Tasmanian water.
Visual metaphors have three primary benefits: attention, elaboration, and pleasure. Visual metaphors grab attention because viewers notice their novelty—deviation from expectation—stands out from the clutter, particularly in low involvement viewing conditions (e.g., magazine). Visual metaphors provoke elaboration (or cognitive activity), which means viewers make inferences or develop a theory. Pleasure comes from a sense of accomplishment from resolving the visual’s meaning.
“The novelty of metaphors induces perception of error, but when the meaning is understood, the negative tension is relieved. Visual metaphors also elicit pleasure since the initial ambiguity stimulates interest and motivation, and the subsequent resolution is rewarding.” (Jeong, 2008).
Visual metaphors can be seen as counterintuitive for advertisers because “research has shown time and again that consumers are uninterested in, ignore, and actively avoid processing advertising messages” (Phillips, 2003). If viewers avoid “processing” or comprehending advertising messages, why would advertisers want to make it more challenging to process their messages? The answer is simple: people love to solve puzzles.
When we see a visual metaphor, it jars us and grabs our attention because it’s so unexpected. We elaborate on the picture and solve the puzzle and are left with a feeling of satisfaction. We are satisfied because the experience flatters our intelligence (or intellectual capabilities) by showing us that we’re smart enough to solve the puzzle.
The secret potential of visual metaphors is the pleasure (or positive feelings) from solving a visual metaphor becomes associated with the product or company. This means that the pleasure the audience gains translates to a positive attitude toward the product and the brand. The boost in a positive attitude is a result of a rapport between the advertisers and the audience established when the audience solves the puzzle. Van Mulken et al. found that advertisements with visual metaphors are appreciated more and better understood than advertisements without visual metaphors (2014).
Solving a visual metaphor also “enhances memory trace for the ad” (Phillips & McQuarrie, 2004)—simply put, it increases viewer recall of the advertisement.
Visual Metaphors are Persuasive
Including a visual metaphor improves the audience’s perception of the sender’s (or source) credibility. Viewers judge companies that use visual metaphors as more credible because their creativity is evaluated highly. “Metaphors may lead to greater persuasion mediated by message recipients’ positive evaluations of the message source.” (Jeong, 2008).
Jeong (2008) found that advertisements with visual metaphors are more persuasive than advertisements without visual metaphors. The persuasiveness of visual metaphors is linked to the amount of engagement the audience needs to figure out the advertisement’s meaning. “Greater degree of mental participation required by visual argumentation may lead to a product of audiences’ own construction of meaning…and because people are often more willing to adopt a proposition that they have constructed, the implicitness of visual [not clearly expressed] argumentation can be a strong point of visual persuasion.” (Jeong, 2008).
Some research also suggests that persuasiveness is affected by the amount of cognitive effort used making inferences because viewers will have fewer cognitive resources left to counter-argue the advertisement’s claim. The more effort viewers spend speculating on the meaning, the less likely they are to weigh the validity of an advertisement’s claim. This will, of course, increase the likelihood viewers accept an advertisement’s message. We enjoy a compelling visual metaphor so much that we accept its message without looking at it critically.
Novelty (or deviation from expectation) is the catalyst for all the benefits of visual metaphors. It’s challenging to come up with a novel concept. What’s worse, the benefits of visual metaphors are dependent on comprehension. Without understanding, visual metaphors are at best useless and at worst destructive. At their root, visual metaphors are a balancing act between complexity and comprehension. If either is out of balance, advertisers have a big problem.
Visuals that are too complex will decrease persuasion and pleasure. “Several studies have suggested that if a message is considered too difficult to solve, demanding too much cognitive processing effort, readers/viewers may opt-out and appreciation decreases.” (van Mulken et al., 2014).
On the other side of the spectrum, visuals that are too easy have minimal benefit. So, if the product and what it’s compared to are similar, viewers have less appreciation for the advertisement. “Advertisements with metaphors that contain relatively comparable sources and targets were less appreciated than advertisements with metaphors with relatively incomparable sources and targets” (van Mulken et al., 2014).
The same study found conventional metaphors were less appreciated than unconventional metaphors (van Mulken et al., 2014), which underscores how tied the benefits of visual metaphors are to novelty.
Visual metaphors rely heavily on context and are culturally constructed. This means that visual metaphors—especially weakly implied ones—run the risk of being misinterpreted and having unintended or conflicting meanings applied to them.
Let’s look at examples of ineffective visual metaphors.
This example promoting a Toyota with a push-button start is perplexing. Most people associate poking a beehive with pain—being stung—which begs the question, why would a company want its push-button start associated with a beehive? One can only hazard that the concept is to challenge viewers to try it because it isn’t painful.
This advertisement for Karlsberg’s Mixery Blend is cringeworthy. The error may be attempting to be too literal. Clearly, the advertisers didn’t pay enough attention to the implications of attaching an umbilical cord to an acholic beverage. Is it wise to have an acholic beverage associated with infants or nursing mothers? Also, this idea could link this beverage to bodily fluids—not appetizing.
The execution of this advertisement for Gringo’s Tequila, a South African Tequila company, is excellent. The concept, however, raises cultural issues. The replacement visual metaphor has a Lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) wrestler’s head in a shot glass replacing tequila. It relies on a common stereotype—a lucha libra wrestler—that can easily be seen as offensive, which will impact the company’s brand. In this case, the company probably doesn’t care if it’s seen as a politically incorrect brand—and maybe its customers don’t care either. The point is advertisers and designers need to be cognizant of the cultural implications for their visual metaphors.
There is no denying that visual metaphors grab viewer attention—a necessity for any advertising—the question is to what effect? They offer the opportunity to improve consumers’ attitudes toward a product and brand. Visual metaphors are more persuasive, more appreciated, and better understood than advertisements without visual metaphors.
Visual metaphors are a balance between complexity and comprehension. To viewers, visual metaphors are a puzzle to solve and the greater the challenge, the greater the reward for solving the puzzle. Advertisers need to find the elusive middle ground between too complex and frustrating viewers or too simple and boring them. If viewers can’t resolve a visual metaphor, it hurts appreciation for the product and brand. Text anchors (included text) ensure viewers understand a message but at the expense of spoiling the fun of solving the puzzle. Further, Jeong 2008 found that visual metaphors without text anchors were more persuasive and concluded that “supplementary verbal propositions may not be necessary.”
Moderately complex fusion metaphors have the most potential for advertisers and communicators. “The results from our study demonstrate that visual metaphors of moderate complexity are indeed most effective. Fusions turn out to be appreciated most, whereas replacements, the most complex type of metaphors, are least appreciated.” (van Mulken et al., 2014).
Visual metaphors are a gamble and not for the risk averse. However, if advertisers are willing to roll the dice, visual metaphors present a unique opportunity to penetrate through the clutter and make a rewarding connection with an audience.
- Wyzowl infographic
- Power of Visual Storytelling by Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio.
- Kim, Baek, & Choi, 2012 reported that approximately 75% print advertisements included at least one metaphor in their headline.
- Studies on the prevalence of visual metaphors are rare. Kaplan (1992) looked 464 prints advertisements for automobiles and alcoholic beverages and found that 31% used visual metaphors.
Walter, E., & Gioglio, J. (2014). The power of visual storytelling: How to use visuals, videos, and socail media to market your brand (1st ed.) McGraw-Hill Education.
Bonner, C. (2014, September 15). Using gestalt principles for natural interactions. Retrieved from https://thoughtbot.com/blog/gestalt-principles
Lupton, E. (2017). Design is storytelling. New York, NY: Cooper Hewitt.
Simplicity, symmetry and more: Gestalt theory and the design principles it gave birth to. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/learn/gestalt-theory/
Agrawal, A. (2017, January 19). How visual advertising will change marketing in 2017. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2017/01/19/how-visual-advertising-will-change-marketing-in-2017/#1100c5213408
Parera, E. (). 10 types of visual content you must include in your social media strategies (+ tools for creating them and the best tricks from the experts). Retrieved from https://postcron.com/en/blog/visual-content-strategies-for-social-networks/
Zen, P. (2017, December 27). Learn about the 5 ways in which storytellers use images to sway audiences. Retrieved from https://www.yotpo.com/blog/5-visual-storytelling-secrets-to-improve-your-marketing-images/
Gkiouzepas, L., & Hogg, M. K. (2011). Articulating a new framework for visual metaphors in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 40(1), 103-120. doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367400107
Jeong, S. (2008). Visual metaphor in advertising: Is the persuasive effect attributable to visual argumentation or metaphorical rhetoric? Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(1), 59-73. doi:10.1080/14697010701717488
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). The metaphorical structure of the human conceptual system. Cognitive Science, 4(2), 195-208. doi:10.1207/s15516709cog0402_4
Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Bulter, J. (2015). The pocket universal principles of design (1st ed.). Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers Inc.
Phillips, B. J., & McQuarrie, E. F. (2004). Beyond visual metaphor: A new typology of visual rhetoric in advertising. Marketing Theory, 4(1-2), 113-136. doi:10.1177/1470593104044089
Scott, L. M., Batra, R., & ProQuest Ebooks. (2003). Persuasive imagery: A consumer response perspective. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. doi:10.4324/9781410607256
Shan, C., Yu, M., & Xue, K. (2017). Effects of metaphor advertising on brand extension evaluation: Construal level as mediator. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 45(6), 967-985. doi:10.2224/sbp.5962
van Mulken, M., van Hooft, A., & Nederstigt, U. (2014). Finding the tipping point: Visual metaphor and conceptual complexity in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 43(4), 333-343. doi:10.1080/00913367.2014.920283
Zeeshan, A. (2015). Visual metaphors in language of advertising. Language in India, 15(10), 74-82. Retrieved from http://libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu/login?url=https://search-ebscohost-com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=110414996&site=ehost-live&scope=site


Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is a beloved children's bedtime story. Young children instantly relate to the struggle of the little bunny trying to get to sleep. Such stories are memorable because they move children and allow them to make personal connections that inspire them to think more deeply, to feel more wholeheartedly, and to become more curious listeners.
Many of us can remember from our own experience the precious time spent sharing and talking about stories. We remember relating to the friendship between a little girl and a teddy bear named Corduroy in the book of the same name by Don Freeman. We also related to the friendship between a spider and her pig friend, Wilbur, in E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
We connected to the characters, their situations, or the settings in which the stories took place. Little did we know that when we were making such connections we were learning to think and act like good readers. Because reading aloud provides children with a model of confident and expert reading, many parents and teachers make it a vital part of their teaching practice.
Helping children understand what they read
This article praises the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to praise the power of thinking out loud while reading to children. It's an easy way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, once told a seventh-grader, "A book is a cooperative venture. The writer can write a story down, but the book will never be complete until a reader, of whatever age, takes that book and brings to it his own story." Developing into this kind of reader requires children to become conscious of the multiple comprehension strategies that allow them to deeply understand and engage with the material.
- Connecting books to children's own life experience
- Connecting the books children are reading to other literature they have read
- Connecting what children are reading to universal concepts
The first three sections of this article present current research and practices related to reading aloud. The last section shows how to apply this research to your work with children. We will discuss the important benefits of reading aloud; how to choose good books to read aloud; how to model or teach comprehension strategies as you read aloud; and examples of how to use these comprehension strategies with two sets of books.
The benefits of reading aloud
Reading aloud is the foundation for literacy development. It is the single most important activity for reading success (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000). It provides children with a demonstration of phrased, fluent reading (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). It reveals the rewards of reading, and develops the listener's interest in books and desire to be a reader (Mooney, 1990).
Listening to others read develops key understanding and skills, such as an appreciation for how a story is written and familiarity with book conventions, such as "once upon a time" and "happily ever after" (Bredekamp et al., 2000). Reading aloud demonstrates the relationship between the printed word and meaning – children understand that print tells a story or conveys information – and invites the listener into a conversation with the author.
Children can listen on a higher language level than they can read, so reading aloud makes complex ideas more accessible and exposes children to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech. This, in turn, helps them understand the structure of books when they read independently (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). It exposes less able readers to the same rich and engaging books that fluent readers read on their own, and entices them to become better readers. Students of any age benefit from hearing an experienced reading of a wonderful book.
Choosing good books
Children need to be exposed to a wide range of stories and books. They need to see themselves as well as other people, cultures, communities, and issues in the books we read to them. They need to see how characters in books handle the same fears, interests, and concerns that they experience (Barton & Booth, 1990). Selecting a wide range of culturally diverse books will help all children find and make connections to their own life experiences, other books they have read, and universal concepts. (Dyson & Genishi, 1994).
Children use real life to help them understand books, and books help children understand real life. Choose books that invite children to respond with enthusiasm and understanding. Look for books with rich language, meaningful plots, compelling characters, and engaging illustrations (Gambrell & Almasi, 1996).
- Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time?
- Does the story sound good to the ear when read aloud?
- Will it appeal to your audience?
- Will children find the book relevant to their lives and culture?
- Will the book spark conversation?
- Will the book motivate deeper topical understanding?
- Does the book inspire children to find or listen to another book on the same topic? By the same author? Written in the same genre?
- Is the story memorable?
- Will children want to hear the story again?
"Think aloud" to model how to make connections
By modeling how fluent readers think about the text and problem solve as they read, we make the invisible act of reading visible. Modeling encourages children to develop the "habits of mind" proficient readers employ.
- Connecting the book to their own life experience
- Connecting the book to other literature they have read
- Connecting what they are reading to universal concepts
- (Keene & Zimmermann, 1997)
Helping children discover these connections requires planning and modeling. Parents and teachers can encourage and support thinking, listening, and discussion, and model "think-alouds," which reveal the inner conversation readers have with the text as they read (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). Parents and teachers can point out connections between prior experiences and the story, similarities between books, and any relationship between the books and a larger concept.
- To make connections between the book and your own life, think aloud as you share. When you read the beginning of A River Dream by Allen Say, for example, you can comment, "This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Have you ever been fishing?"
- To make connections between related books with the same author or similar settings, characters, and concepts, say "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe is an African tale that is similar to the tale of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters – one kind and the other spiteful. Do you know any stories about nice and mean sisters or brothers? Let's continue reading to find out other ways the stories are similar."
- To connect a book to a larger world or universal concept, you could say to your student, "Stellaluna by Janell Cannon helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it's our differences that make us special."
While fluent readers make these types of connections with ease, many readers do not. Children need to be shown this type of thinking and then asked to join in and participate in book conversations. This active involvement gives you, the teacher, a glimpse into each reader's thinking.
Putting it all together
We found that many children's books are based on classic or universal concepts that come up again and again: understanding ourselves, exploring relationships with families and friends, and investigating other communities, people, and ideas. These concepts help children better understand the social fabric that makes up our world.
One way to begin training parents in how to use "think alouds" is to bring a selection of books with a universal theme, like friendship or family traditions, and have parents read them aloud to one another. Prompt parents to think about the comprehension strategies they are using and to make the same connections they want children to make.
The following are two collections of books that lend themselves especially well to "think alouds."
Read aloud collection 1: We can be anything we want to be
- Concept: We can be anything we want to be.
- Anchor book: Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
- Companion book: The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
- Companion book: City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
- Age range: All
Amazing Grace opens the conversation. Begin by asking an open-ended question to help the listener make a connection between the book and his or her own life experience. For example, "Grace loves to pretend to be characters from stories. When you pretend, who do you like to be?"
The story then reveals that Grace wants to play Peter in her class's production of Peter Pan, but the other kids tell her she cannot – Peter's neither African American nor a girl. Model thinking out loud with a connection such as, "This reminds me of the time I was told I couldn't play soccer because I couldn't run fast enough." This helps draw the listener into the connection.
Ask the listener to share his own experiences, and to predict what Grace might do next. Like many children, Grace turns to her family. Nana, Grace's grandmother, takes her to see an African American ballerina performing Juliet from Romeo and Juliet. While this reference may be lost on some children, they will relate to the line from the story, "I can be anything I want?"
Children will be eager to predict the ending of the story – at the tryouts for the play, the class agrees that Grace is best – and will relate to the last line of the book, "If Grace put her mind to it, she can do anything she wants."
In The Wednesday Surprise, Anna and Grandma work every Wednesday night on a surprise for Dad's birthday. At the beginning of the story, ask your student to talk about hir or her experiences of attending surprise parties, being watched by a babysitter, having a grandparent who lives nearby, or simply reading books with someone – including with you.
As the story continues, model book-to-book connections. For example, "This story is about the relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter. There were also a grandmother and granddaughter in Amazing Grace. Do you think these two stories will be alike? Let's keep reading to find out."
Encourage your student to think about what reading every Wednesday night might have to do with the surprise. The story reveals that Anna is teaching her grandmother how to read. Although Dad thinks he has received all his presents, Grandma gives him the best one of all – she reads aloud the stories that Anna has taught her.
Draw out the book-to-book connection: "When I read that Anna's grandmother wanted to be a reader, I think that the story is about how we can be anything we want to be. This reminds me of the story, Amazing Grace. Grace also believed she could be anything she wanted to be. Also, like that story, this one shows the relationship between a grandmother and a grandchild." Then follow i[ with an open-ended question to your student, "How is Anna's relationship with her grandmother different than Grace's?"
City Green is the last book in this set. Like the others, it is well written and supports the universal concept of self-determination.
When a young girl and her elderly friend create a community garden, an empty lot in an urban neighborhood is transformed into a wonderful place filled with flowers and vegetables. While many children may not have had experiences with community gardens, they may connect to the city scene and the idea of wanting the place you live to be beautiful.
By this time, your student might be eager to share her thoughts on book-to-book connections. All three stories depict a grandparent figure and a young girl. All three show how the two work together to get something done. In both Amazing Grace and City Green, the characters did not believe in something, but had a change of heart.
Connections between books and universal concepts are made during the reading of each story, and deepen after the last story. You might model how all three stories support the idea that we can be anything we want. "Grace wanted to be Peter Pan. Anna's grandmother wanted to be a reader. What did Marcy want to be in City Green? What would you like to be? Who will help you become what you want to be?"
Read aloud collection 2: Being a newcomer
- Concept: Being a newcomer is filled with challenges and memories.
- Anchor book: Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki
- Companion book: Going Home by Eve Bunting
- Companion book: The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff
- Companion book: My Freedom Trip by Frances Park and Ginger Park
- Age range: Second grade and up
Painted Words/Spoken Memories is the anchor book for this theme. It is a picture book that shows two aspects of the immigrant experience, both from a child's perspective. The first story, "Painted Words," follows Marianthe or Mari, who is new to the United States, and her mother on the dreaded first day of school.
Some children have personal stories of being new to this country; others have stories of being new to a classroom, school, or neighborhood. These experiences will help relate what you read to the theme. Your conversations with your student may include topics such as moving to a new home, making new friends, or learning a new language.
In the "Spoken Memories" section of the book, Mari shares her life story through art. Encourage your student to share parts of his life story by modeling how to do so. "My mother used to tell me stories about what it was like to leave her home in Jamaica. Has your family always lived in this area or did they move here from some place else?" Try to be sensitive if the child is not comfortable sharing. Your student will see herself as a storyteller and immediately relate to this aspect of the book.
Like "Painted Words", Going Home is about a family leaving one country to live in another. Ask your student to make this connection between the two books. This book also presents the idea that parents may call one place home, and their children, another. When Carlos and his family go to his parents' village for Christmas, he realizes the sacrifices his parents have made so their children may have better lives.
Pause to listen to your student's thoughts about work, family values, and so on. Reread the lines from "Spoken Memories": "People were leaving our poor village. They were going to a new land, hoping for a better life." This line will emphasize the connection between the two books.
Compared to the first two, the remaining books in this collection may be more abstract (for some children). The Memory Coat begins at the turn of the century in the characters' native country and ends in the United States. The character, Grisha, who has lost his parents, will not give up the tattered coat his mother made him before her death.
Unless your student has a personal experience with immigration, it will be the coat that he or she relates to. Your student will likely make a connection between a sentimental or favorite item he or she could not part with and the character's need to hang onto the coat.
My Freedom Trip is the last companion book in this collection. Unlike the other books, the characters in this book do not immigrate to the United States. They flee North Korea for a better life in South Korea.
Your student may want to compare and contrast this story with the others for a richer understanding. Explore the idea that many people leave their countries or communities for a better life, and a better life does not necessarily have to take place in the United States. You can also ask, "What are the things that make life better?" Through this rich discussion, you can help your student make connections between the books and the main concept of the collection – being a newcomer is filled with challenges and memories.
Developing comprehension strategies through reading aloud requires planning and setting up an environment of thinking, listening, and discussion. You will soon learn how to follow your student's lead: modeling connections, asking questions, encouraging discussion, and using literature to prompt personal storytelling.
Become comfortable with slight diversions. Through conversations and diversions, children make meaning and share connections that are relevant to them. Reading aloud to children gives them the opportunity to try on the language and experience of others. It helps them make connections with their lives, and informs their view of themselves and others. Thinking aloud helps children learn how to use comprehension strategies that are important when reading independently.
Sample read aloud collections to try
- Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco
- Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes
- Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson
- Matthew and Tilly by Rebecca C. Jones
- Henry and Amy (Right-Way-Round and Upside-Down by Stephen Michael King
- Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber
- Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki
- Going Home by Eve Bunting
- How Many Days to America? A Thanksgiving Story by Eve Bunting
- My Freedom Trip by Frances Park and Ginger Park
- The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff
- More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby
- Papa's Stories by Dolores Johnson
- Amber on the Mountain by Robert Johnston
- Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
- Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Click the "References" link above to hide these references.
Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Barton, B., & Booth, D. (1990). Stories in the classroom: Storytelling, reading aloud, and roleplaying with children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Betz, A. (1998). Scholastic treasury of quotations for children. New York, NY: Scholastic Reference.
Block, C.C. (1997). Teaching the language arts: Expanding thinking through student-centered instruction (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Neumann, S.B., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Cullinan, B.E. (2000). Read to me: Raising kids who love to read (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Scholastic.
Fountas, I.C., & Pinnell, G.S. (1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Gambrell, L.B., & Almasi, J.F. (Eds.). (1996). Lively discussions! Fostering engaged reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Greene, M. (1994). "Multiculturalism, community, and the arts." In A.H. Dyson & C. Genishi (Eds.), The need for story: Cultural diversity in classroom and community (pp. 11-27). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Hearne, B. (with Stevenson, D.). (1999). Choosing books for children: A commonsense guide (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Keene, E.O., & Zimmermann, S. (1997). Mosaic of thought: Teaching comprehension in a reader's workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Kostelnik, M.J., Soderman, A.K., & Whiren, A.P. (1999). Developmentally appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Moir, H. (Ed.). (1992). Collected perspectives: Choosing and using books for the classroom (2nd ed.). Boston. MA: Christopher-Gordon.
Mooney, M.M. (1990). Reading to, with, and by children. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owen.
Rosenblatt, L.M. (1968). Literature as exploration (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Noble & Noble.
Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Trelease, J. (1995). The read-aloud handbook (4th ed). New York, NY: Penguin.


NOTE: The Second Step program described below is not the current version of the curriculum. This version of the curriculum was available for schools until 2011. See “Other Information” below to learn about the Second Step curricula currently available.
Program Goals/Target Population
Second Step®: A Violence Prevention Curriculum was a universal prevention program designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents by increasing their social competency skills. Students were taught to reduce impulsive, high-risk, and aggressive behaviors and increase their socioemotional competence and other protective factors.
The program was composed of three grade-specific curricula: preschool/kindergarten (Pre-K), elementary school (grades 1–5), and middle school (grades 6–8). The curricula are designed for teachers and other youth service providers to present in a classroom or other group setting. A parent education component, “A Family Guide to Second Step®” for Pre-K through grade 5, is also available.
The Second Step® elementary curriculum consisted of 15 to 22 thirty-five-minute lessons per grade level taught once or twice a week. Group discussion, modeling, coaching, and practice were used to increase students’ social competence, risk assessment, decision-making ability, self-regulation, and positive goal setting. The program’s lesson content varied by grade level and was organized into three skill-building units covering the following:
In all of the units, students practiced specific behavioral skills that are meant to serve as building blocks for social problem solving, including resisting negative peer pressure, apologizing, and showing appreciation.
- Empathy Training: taught young people to identify and understand their emotions and those of others. Emotional understanding, prediction, and communication are taught as core skills.
- Impulse Control and Problem Solving: helped young people choose positive goals, reduce impulsiveness, and evaluate consequences of their behavior in terms of safety, fairness, and impact on others. Students repeatedly practiced generating and evaluating solutions to social problems.
- Anger Management: enables youth people to manage emotional reactions and engage in decision making when they are highly aroused. Cognitive–behavioral techniques such as self-talk and attention control were emphasized in this unit.
Teacher Ratings of Social Behavior
Frey and colleagues (2005) found that overall there were some significant program effects detected during the first year of the Second Step® program; however many of those effects were not noticed during the second year of the program. During the first year of program implementation, among those students who had a high antisocial baseline rating, the intervention group showed significantly greater declines in antisocial behavior than the control group. Among students with a low antisocial baseline rating, intervention students showed no change in antisocial behavior, whereas control students’ antisocial behavior increased (a significant difference). However, there were no significant group differences in antisocial behavior change during year 2 of the study, regardless of antisocial baseline rating.
During the first year of the program, the intervention group showed significant gains in social competence compared to the control group. There were similar significant gains observed for the intervention group during the second year as well, but they were not as substantial as the first-year gains. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses confirmed the group differences in measures of antisocial behavior and social competence in the first year, but the analyses did not confirm the group differences in social competence observed during the second year.
Student Ratings of Hostile Attributions and Intentions
The preliminary analyses of students’ responses to surveys that assessed attributions of hostile goals from hypothetical vignettes of ambiguous provocations found the behavioral intentions had nearly identical patterns of responses to the ambiguous and non-ambiguous provocations. There were no significant differences between groups in hostile attributions and behavioral intentions during both years.
Prisoner’s Dilemma Game
Analyses of the students’ outcomes when playing the Prisoner’s Dilemma game showed some significant differences between the groups. The goals chosen by the intervention group were significantly more likely to be prosocial than those chosen by the control group. Students in the control group expected greater satisfaction for the self-high outcome than intervention group students. However, the groups did not differ in the proportion of cooperative choices made between the pair of students, and there were no group differences in the outcome of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game. The intervention group students were more satisfied with the game outcome and prize division than control students. Although HLM analyses confirmed the group difference in satisfaction with the prize division, the analyses did not confirm the difference in satisfaction with the game outcome.
Overall, Schick and Cierpka (2005) found significant improvements among students in the experimental group in measures of anxiety, but there were few significant differences in other measures. There were also significant differences between experimental and control group girls in some behavioral measures, but not between boys in both groups.
Structured Interviews with Students
At posttest, experimental students reported a significantly reduced fear of loss of control compared to the control group. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in measures of fear of being injured and fear of bad things happening. There were also no significant differences in measures of empathy, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Measures of peer acceptance showed students in the control group felt significantly more accepted by their peers than students in the experimental group. Although aggressive behaviors were significantly reduced for girls and boys in both the experimental and control groups, experimental group girls assessed themselves to be significantly more aggressive than control group girls.
Parent Ratings of Student’s Behavior
The outcome measures showed that parents of students in the experimental group rated their children as exhibiting significantly less anxiety/depression problems compared to ratings from parents of control group students. However, there were no other significant differences between experimental and control group parents in any other measures on the Child Behavior Checklist (including social withdrawal, social problems, attention problems, delinquent behavior, and aggressive behavior). There were also no significant differences between parents’ rating on measures of self-control, assertiveness, and cooperation/social rules.
Teacher Ratings of Student’s Behavior
There were no significant differences between experimental and control group teacher ratings on student’s behaviors measured by the Landau scales of social climate in the classes (LASSO), including measures of rivalry between classmates, aggression against classmates, and extent of clique formation. There was a significant decrease in the extent of discrimination against classmates, but that decrease was observed for both groups.
Holsen, Smith, and Frey (2008) found mixed results when examining the outcomes of the Steg and Steg program, the Norwegian version of Second Step®. The posttest measures of social competence were significantly higher in the sixth-grade intervention group than in their comparison group. There was also a significant increase in social competence scores when examining the seventh-grade intervention group, but only for girls.
For externalizing behaviors, there was a significant decrease in the measures for grade 6, but only for boys. There were no significant effects found for either sex in grade 7. There were also no significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups with regard to the self-reported measure of internalizing problem behaviors for either grade.
Frey and colleagues (2005) examined the impact of the Second Step® program on students’ behavior and social cognitions. The study sample included 15 elementary schools (seven K–fifth grade schools and eight K–sixth grade schools) from three cities across Western Washington. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention group (two-thirds of the sample) or the control group (one-third of the sample). Schools were reluctant to agree to a waitlist control design; therefore, schools assigned to both intervention and control groups received program materials and teacher training. However, control schools received these benefits for classrooms that were not included in the study sample.
The final sample included 462 students in the intervention group and 436 students in the control group. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control group schools with respect to race/ethnicity. The school populations ranged from 52 to 89 percent European American, while Asian Americans and African Americans populated the next largest ethnic groups. Study participants were 48.2 percent female and between 7 and 11 years old.
Students were followed for 2 school years. The program was implemented in second- and fourth-grade classrooms during year 1 of the study, and in third- and fifth-grade classrooms during year 2. Teachers were administered the School Social Behavior Scale (SSBS) that asks them to report how frequently students engage in each of 32 antisocial and 33 socially competent behaviors. Students were administered surveys that assessed attributions of hostile goals from hypothetical vignettes of ambiguous provocations. After rating the intentions of the vignette characters, students rated how likely they were to respond with physical aggression, verbal aggression, and socially competent behavior on a 5-point scale.
In addition, four same-sex, same-grade children from two different classes were randomly selected to participate in eight trials of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game. Each pair would choose either a cooperative or exclusively self-interested strategy. Students were given the opportunity to earn money for a class party thrown at the end of the school year. The student’s earnings for each pair of answers were determined jointly by his or her selection and that of the other student. Charts displayed overall and for each trial how much students would earn given the four possible combinations (equal-high, self-high, self-low, and equal-low). The students were also audiotaped explaining why they selected their first and second choice and their satisfaction with the outcomes. The decision-making process of each pair was also audiotaped as they jointly selected a cooperative or self-interested strategy on each of eight trials. The outcome measures coded from the observations of the game included the number of prosocial goals; the self-reported expected satisfaction with the outcome and the self-reported actual satisfaction with the outcome of the game; the number of cooperative choices made during joint decision making; the number of positive or negative comments made during negotiations; the need for adult intervention during negotiations; and observed negotiation strategies (cooperative or coercive).
Omnibus multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) were used to test for significant group differences, followed by confirmatory hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses of individuals nested within classroom.
Schick and Cierpka (2005) evaluated the effectiveness of the Faustlos curriculum, which is the German version of the Second Step® program (“Faustlos” is the German word for “without fists”). The Faustlos curriculum includes 51 lessons divided into three units: empathy, impulse control, and anger management. The lessons start in grade 1 and continue through grade 3.
The study used a pre–post evaluation design with a control group. Pretest data collection occurred in spring 1999 and posttest data was collected in fall 2000, when teachers had delivered 35 of the 51 planned lessons. The study examined changes on the behavioral level of students (improving social competences and reducing aggressive behavior), changes on the emotional level of students (effects on emotions correlated with aggressive behavior), and the gender-specific effects of the program.
The sample included 21 elementary schools from the school districts of Heidelberg and Mannheim, Germany. Fourteen elementary schools (30 classes, 496 students) were randomly assigned to an experimental group, and seven elementary schools (14 classes, 222 students) were randomly assigned to a control group. Parents (n=718) and teachers (n=35) from both groups were administered questionnaires. In addition, two children from each class (one girl and one boy who were randomly selected and whose parents gave informed consent) were also selected for an interview (60 students in the experimental group and 28 students in the control group).
A complete pre–post data set was available for 64 percent of the students, including 161 girls and 174 boys. At the time of the posttest, 17 percent of the students were 5–6 years old, 74 percent were 7–8 years old, and 7 percent were older than 8 years. There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups, except on gender and the school qualification of mothers. The control group had more boys than girls, whereas the experimental group had more girls than boys, and the mothers’ level of education was higher in the experimental group.
Behavioral problems were assessed by the students’ parents using the German version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The social competences of students were measured using several scales from the Heidelberg Competence Inventory (HKI). In addition, a structured interview for the students was developed based on items from different questionnaires. The interview measured students’ empathic competences, self-esteem and competences, aggressive behaviors, and anxieties. Finally, teachers were given six subscales from the Landau scales of social climate in the classes (LASSO 4–13) to assess the effects of the curriculum on the class as a whole.
The data collected from the structured interviews with students, the parents’ questionnaire, and the teachers’ assessments were examined by two-factorial analyses of variance with repeated measurement (group x time). Gender-specific effects based on the students’ structured interviews were examined using three-factorial analyses of variances with repeated measurement (group x time x gender).
Holsen, Smith, and Frey (2008) examined the effectiveness of the Norwegian version of the Second Step® program (called the Steg for Steg program) among students in grades 5 and 6. The study employed an age cohort design. Two sets of complementary analyses were conducted. The first was a repeated measures design. In the second analysis, children of the same age (but from different cohorts) were compared at each measurement time. Since the study schools began implementation simultaneously with fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade students, this made it possible to compare age-equivalent groups that had and had not yet participated in the program for a school year. For example, when fifth-grade students reached sixth-grade after one year of the intervention, their posttest data was compared with pretest data from the cohort of sixth-grade children from a time before they had received the intervention.
The primary outcomes of interests included social skills and problem behaviors. Social skills were measured using the 34-item student version of the Social Skills Rating System, which was translated into Norwegian. The scale measures cooperation, assertiveness, empathy, and self-control. Student self-reports of problem behaviors were obtained with the student version of the Problem Behavior Scale. The scale consists of 13 items that measure internalizing problem behavior, externalizing problem behavior, and hyperactivity.
The study included 338 students in grade 5 (age 10 at baseline), 405 students in grade 6 (age 11 at baseline), and 389 students in grade 7 (age 12 at baseline). Baseline data was collected in November 2004 and follow-up data was collected one year later in November 2005. The seventh-grade students were included only as a comparison at baseline. Approximately 670 students participated at the follow-up in 2005. At baseline, sixth- and seventh-grade students differed significantly in social competence scores. Students in different grades did not differ with respect to internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The pattern of gender differences was the same for all grades: girls reported higher levels of social competence and lower levels of externalizing problem behaviors than boys. There were no gender differences for any grade regarding internalizing problem behavior.
The outcome data was analyzed using linear mixed model (LMM) analysis. LMM used correlated residual structures to account for repeated observations within individuals and provide the tools necessary to estimate fixed and random effects in one model. Effect sizes were calculated using the pooled standard deviation of the intervention and comparison groups.
There were some limitations to this type of study design. There was no “true” comparison group available at posttest. The age cohort design controlled for the effects of maturation, but not for the effects of repeated measurements. Unlike the intervention group, the comparison group was measured only at baseline.
Specific cost information is available on the Committee for Children Web site (a link is available under Additional References). Individual grade-level kits are available for $250–325, while a bundle of kits for grades K–5 is available for $1,250–1,500.
Training requirements: training information can also be found on the Committee for Children Web site (a link is available under Additional References). An online training option is available for teachers and counselors.
Languages: Family materials that can be emailed to parents are available in English and Spanish. The curriculum has been translated into other languages for implementation in countries outside the United States and Canada, including German and Norwegian.
Other Information (Including Subgroup Findings)
This version of the Second Step Program is no longer active. In 2011, the Committee for Children developed and released the fourth edition of the Second Step program, which includes revised content and materials to enhance student success in school, and offers new content related to teaching students skills for learning such as aspects related to self-regulation (Low et al. 2015). A revised version of the 2002 edition of the Second Step program is also included on CrimeSolutions.gov. For more information on the updated version of Second Step, please see the profiles for the Second Step for Elementary School (2011 Edition): https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=570
Evidence-Base (Studies Reviewed)
These sources were used in the development of the program profile:Study 1Frey, Karin S., Susan Bobbitt Nolen, Leihua Van Schoiack Edstrom, and Miriam K. Hirschstein. 2005. “Effects of a School-Based Social–Emotional Competence Program: Linking Children’s Goals, Attributions, and Behavior.” Applied Developmental Psychology 26:171–200.Study 2Schick, Andreas, and Manfred Cierpka. 2005. “Faustlos: Evaluation of a Curriculum to Prevent Violence in Elementary Schools.” Applied and Preventive Psychology 11:157–65.Study 3Holsen, Ingrid, Brian H. Smith, and Karin S. Frey. 2008. “Outcomes of the Social Competence Program Second Step in Norwegian Elementary Schools.” School Psychology International 29(1):71–88.
These sources were used in the development of the program profile:Carlo, Gustavo, George P. Knight, Nancy Eisenberg, and Kenneth J. Rotenberg. 1991. “Cognitive Processes and Prosocial Behaviors Among Children: The Role of Affective Attributions and Reconciliations.” Developmental Psychology 27:456–61.Committee for Children. 2010. “Homepage.” Accessed January 15, 2012.http://www.cfchildren.org/ Crick, Nicki R., and Kenneth A. Dodge. 1994. “A Review and Reformulation of Social Information–Processing Mechanisms in Children’s Social Adjustment.” Psychological Bulletin 115:74–101.Frey, Karin S., Susan B. Nolen, Leihua Van Schoiack–Edstrom, and Miriam K. Hirschstein. 2005. “Effects of a School-Based Social Competence Program: Linking Children’s Goals, Attributions, and Behavior.” The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 26:171–200.Grossman, David C., Holly J. Neckerman, Thomas D. Koepsell, Ping–Yu Liu, Kenneth N. Asher, Kathy Beland, Karin S. Frey, and Frederick P. Rivara. 1997. “Effectiveness of a Violence Prevention Curriculum Among Children in Elementary School.” The Journal of the American Medical Association 277:1605–11.Halberstadt, Amy G., Susanne Denham, and Julie C. Dunsmore. 2001. “Affective Social Competence.” Emotional Social Development 10:79–119.Izard, Caroll E., Sarah E. Fine, David Schultz, Allison J. Mostow, and Brian P. Ackerman. 2001. “Emotion Knowledge and Social Behavior.” Psychological Science 12:18–23.Litvack–Miller, Willa, Daniel McDougall, and David M. Romney. 1997. “The Structure of Empathy During Middle Childhood and Its Relationship to Prosocial Behavior.” Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 123:303–24.
Low, Sabina, Clayton R. Cook, Keith Smolkowski, and Jodie Buntain-Ricklefs. 2015. “Promoting Social–Emotional Competence: An Evaluation of the Elementary Version of Second Step.” Journal of School Psychology
53:463–77.McMahon, Susan D., and Jason J. Washburn. 2003. “Violence Prevention: An Evaluation of Program Effects With Urban African-American Students.” The Journal of Primary Prevention 24(1):43–62McMahon, Susan D., Jason J. Washburn, Felix J. Yakin, and Gary Childrey. 2000. “Violence Prevention: Program Effects on Urban Preschool and Kindergarten Children.” Applied and Preventive Psychology 9:271–81.Nelson, W. Michael III, and Alfred J. Finch, Jr. 2000. “Managing Anger in Youth: A Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Approach.” In Philip C. Kendall (ed.). Child and Adolescent Therapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures. New York, N.Y.: Guilford, 16:129–70.Orpinas, Pamela, Guy S. Parcel, Alfred McAlister, and Ralph F. Frankowski. 1995. “Violence Prevention in Middle Schools: A Pilot Evaluation.” Journal of Adolescent Health 17:360–71.Social and Character Development Research Consortium. 2010. Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children (NCER 2011–2001). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/20112001/pdf/20112001.pdfTaub, Jennifer. 2002. “Evaluation of the Second Step® Violence Prevention Program at a Rural Elementary School.” School Psychology Review 31:186–200.Van Schoiack–Edstrom, Leihua, Karin S. Frey, and Kathy Beland. 2002. “Changing Adolescents’ Attitudes About Relational and Physical Aggression: An Early Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention.” School Psychology Review 31:201–16.Wentzel, Kathryn R., and Allan Wigfield. 1998. “Academic and Social Motivational Influences on Students’ Academic Performance.” Educational Psychology Review 10:155–75.
Following are CrimeSolutions.gov-rated practices that are related to this program:School-Based Bullying Prevention Programs
The practice includes programs that aim to reduce bullying and victimization (being bullied) in school settings. Some interventions aim to increase positive involvement in the bullying situation from bystanders or witnesses. The practice is rated Effective for reducing bullying, bullying victimization, and for increasing the likelihood of a bystander to intervene. The practice is rated No Effects for increasing bystander empathy for victims of bullying.Evidence Ratings for Outcomes:
School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs
| ||Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Bullying|
| ||Victimization - Being bullied|
| ||Victimization - Bystander intervention|
| ||Mental Health & Behavioral Health - Empathy for the victim|
Designed to foster the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies, in order to provide a foundation for better adjustment and academic performance in students, which can result in more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, and less emotional distress. The practice was rated Effective in reducing students’ conduct problems and emotional stress.Evidence Ratings for Outcomes:
Universal School-Based Prevention and Intervention Programs for Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior
| ||Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Multiple juvenile problem/at-risk behaviors|
| ||Mental Health & Behavioral Health - Internalizing behavior|
Universal school-based prevention and intervention programs for aggressive and disruptive behavior target elementary, middle, and high school students in a universal setting, rather than focusing on only a selective group of students, with the intention of preventing or reducing violent, aggressive, or disruptive behaviors. The practice is rated Effective in reducing violent, aggressive, and/or disruptive behaviors in students.Evidence Ratings for Outcomes:
| ||Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors|