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Classroom Lessons
Classroom Lessons are the perfect way to reach all the students and to provide developmentally appropriate lessons K-8th; lessons that have information focusing on the three domains: social/emotional, academic, and career.
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Lesson Topics:
Feelings (Understanding and Naming)
Celebrating our Differences
Friendship
Popularity
Kindness
Respect
High School Readiness
Stress Relief
Developing a Positive Self-Image
Growth Mindset
Careers
Organizational Skills
Conflict Resolution
Bullying
I-Messages
And many more!
At the beginning of the school year, my very first lesson is introducing myself. For Kindergarten we learned what a school counselor does with Mrs. Potato Head. For First and Second we read Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives. The older grades (3-8th) needed reminders of what a school counselor is and we played fun games to remember what we talked about.
Introduction to the School Counselor
Exploring Feelings
Kindergarten and First grade learned different feeling words, what they can look like, and how they can affect us. Jamie Lee Curtis did a wonderful job writing this book, and the students loved it! We talked about different things that make us happy: eating pizza and ice cream were popular ones.
My Secret Bully
After introducing myself to 5th grade we read My Secret Bully, a story about a girl whose friend is being mean to her, but she does not know why. We discuss what a good friend does and does not do, and how important it is to spend time with people that makes you feel good about yourself.
Just Kidding:
A Wrinkled Heart Activity
This is my favorite classroom lesson! I did this lesson with 3rd and 4th grade.
We start off by reading Just Kidding, then talk about what D.J. did in the story and then we do the wrinkled heart activity. We have a red heart cut out and describe what it looks like. I then ask the kids to give me examples of mean and unkind things we could say or do, folding it for each example. We talk about the difference of how the heart looks before and after, and what we could to help fix the heart, and unfold it with each example. We discuss how even though we did kind and nice things, the heart still remembers what was said and done to it, so we need to:
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"Before you speak, think and be smart. It's hard to fix a wrinkled heart."
The Rainbow Fish: Friendship
In Kindergarten and First grade we read the Rainbow Fish and talked about what a good friend does and what a bad friend does. We then talk about how we are all friends in our classroom and make a friendship chain, showing that we will be practice and be a good friend to our classmates. The students LOVED watching the chain get longer and had fun discussing where to have it displayed in the classroom.
Face Value
Be Popular or Be an Upstander?
In 5th and 6th grade we talked about what a good friend does and what a bad friend does. In our second lesson we played a game called Face Value. Each student had a card, and without looking at their own, they had to walk around the room and treat their classmates based on the face value of the card they had. I then threw in the Joker cards (Upstander) a person who talks to everyone despite the "value" of their card.
We talk about how they felt the first time and then after the Jokers were involved, and how this game related to popularity. We talked about how important it was to be an Upstander and be kind to everyone, and how being popular does not matter if you are not kind.
Respect
In Second grade we learned how to be respectful from a dragon named Diggory Doo. Both classes drew pictures on how we can be respectful at school, and discussed ways we can be respectful to our siblings, parents, and the Earth.
Henny
Celebrating Our Differences
In 3rd grade we continued our discussion about how we should say and do kind, nice things to other, by reading a book called Henny. Henny is not like a regular chicken, she has arms. We talk about how we are all different, we may look different, like different things, and be good at different things.
We did an activity going around asking our classmates what their favorite things were and looked at the different ways we were similar and different.
A Bug and a Wish: Problem Solving
Some times our friends and classmates do things we do not like, and it is important to tell them how we feel because they might not know. In Kindergarten, First, and Second grade learned how to problem solve by using a Bug and a Wish. Instead of telling the teacher right away, it is important to try and solve the problem themselves first. This book is wonderful in teaching them exactly what they can say to help solve their problems.
I-Messages
Hint: It has nothing to do with phones or texting.
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In Third and Fourth grade we have been talking a lot about what a kind friend is, bullying, and using kind words. Using an I-Messages are the perfect way to tell others what they feel and make requests in a firm, but kind way. We talked about using a calm, normal, and confident voice and body when using an I-Message. We also talked about ways to respond when someone gives you an I-Message. Each class partnered up to practice giving and responding to I-Messages.
Empathy
In Fifth and Sixth grade we had a very important lesson on Empathy. We talked about what empathy means and the difference between empathy and sympathy; and then we watched some videos to really understand what empathy is. These videos brings out an emotional response in me, so before we watched Silent we talked about how we might see some behaviors that make us feel uncomfortable, and that you might feel it physically (ex: knots in your stomach). And how important it is to listen to our body and those responses because that is the Holy Spirit talking to us, telling us that we do not like that situation. We had some really good discussions with each class, and I am very grateful for this group of students.
Teamwork
In Kindergarten, First, and Second grade we talked about how important teamwork is. We read a great book about working as a team in school and how sharing is important when working together. We talked about what makes someone a good teamwork, what does it look like? We then practiced teamwork by either getting into teams and putting a puzzle together or working as a class to get a hula-hoop around the circle.
Goal Setting
In Third-Sixth grade we focused on goal setting. Goals are milestones we set to help us reach our destination. In Third and Fourth grade we read the book Salt in His Shoes, a book about Michael Jordan and what he did to reach his goal. They then filled out their own S.M.A.R.T. goal worksheet.
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In Fifth and Sixth grade we worked through a goal setting flip-book. The flip-book went over why we set goals, our values/beliefs, why we should have a good mindset, what are our strengths and weaknesses, and making our goals S.M.A.R.T. We watched two videos: one about having a growth mindset (click yellow button to watch) that they loved and The Pursuit of Happyness basketball scene (click to watch) to remind them to never give up on their dreams.