Everyday classroom discussions about choices, peer pressure and staying safe can be easier when children have a clear model to practise with. The DARE-Elementary-KIR-Workbook brings together decision making, communication and reporting activities for primary school pupils, with prompts that fit D.A.R.E. lessons, PSHE-style sessions, prevention education and home follow-up conversations.
Children are supported to define problems, weigh choices, respond confidently and evaluate decisions using the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model. The early practice page introduces Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate, then asks pupils to apply the steps to a realistic dilemma about choosing between a best friend’s birthday party and an important soccer match.
The contents point to a structured elementary prevention workbook covering D.A.R.E. rules, risky situations, safe and responsible choices, resistance strategies, responding to pressure, signs of stress, communication styles and confident communication. Later activities also focus on effective communication, a D.A.R.E. report, the five W’s of reporting bullying, responsible and safe reporting, help-seeking, a help network, journal pages, a word search, crossword and glossary.
Teachers, D.A.R.E. officers, school counsellors and youth workers could use the workbook across classroom lessons, small group work or one-to-one mentoring with children in the upper primary or elementary age range. Parents and carers may also find the decision prompts useful for talking through friendship choices, team commitments, pressure from others and when to ask an adult for help.
The format is student-facing, with simple rules for respectful discussion, spaces for written answers and a recurring cast of child characters to make scenarios feel familiar. It is especially suited to printable life skills lessons, drug prevention education, bullying reporting practice and social skills work where pupils need a repeatable process rather than a one-off talk.
