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School Counseling Classroom Lessons 2021-2022

Topic: School Counselor Role

Dates Presented: August 23rd - September 3rd

Students will learn the duties of the school counselor and how they can self-refer when needed.

Topic: Start with Hello Week - Empathy/Compassion

Dates Presented: September 6th-17th

Students will learn Start with Hello steps and practice using them. 

3 Essential Steps

  • See Someone Alone

  • Reach Out and Help

  • Start with Hello

This program was created by Sandy Hook Promise in order to prevent violence and suicide. 

Want to learn more? Head to this link. 

Topic: Tattle vs. Tell (Pre-K-1)

Dates Presented: September 20th-October 1st

Students will learn the difference between tattling and telling an adult something that is helpful. 

See the Get Help Goat and Tattle Snake on the right.

Topic: Size of the Problem (2nd-4th)

Dates Presented: September 20th-October 1st

Students will learn 4 different problem sizes to help them distinguish when to get help from an adult and when to problem solve on their own.

Problem Sizes:

Windy: Very tiny problem. This is something that's "no biggie" - no big deal. You can handle these problems on your own.

Rainy: A small problem. You can solve these problems all on your own. Be a problem solver!

Stormy: A medium problem. You need an adult to help with thunderstorm problems. Talk to your parent, teacher, or counselor to get some help.

Tornado: A BIG problem. A tornado-sized problem means there is an emergency. Someone may even be in danger. You need to find a safe adult to help with these problems.

Topic: Empathy/Perspective Taking (5-6th)

Dates Presented: September 20th-October 15th

Students will review empathy and perspective taking skills by going though a serious of puzzles to solve in an escape room style format.

Topic: Following Directions (PreK-1)

Dates Presented: October 4th-8th

Students will practice following directions while using self-talk by saying the direction over and over so they don't forget each step.

Topic: Communication Styles (2nd-4th)

Dates Presented: October 4th-15th

Students will learn the 3 styles of communication and examples of each (see picture on the right). 

Students will practice being assertive by paying attention to their body language, their voice tone, and the words they say.

Topic: Making Healthy Choices/Red Ribbon Week (PreK-6)

Dates Presented: October 18th-29th

PreK-K - Students will learn about making healthy choices for their body and brain. They will go through several items and discuss whether they are healthy all of the time or only to be eaten/used sometimes.

1st Grade - Students will learn about making healthy choices for their body and brain. They will also go through several healthy choices during a "Would You Rather" game in order to plan to make healthy choices a daily part of their lives.

2nd-3rd Grade - Students will learn 4 different Fit Choices and examples of each during a "Would You Rather" game. Then they will set goals within each of their fit choices to keep making healthy choices a habit.

4 Fit Choices:

1. Mood - It's hard to make good choices when you're in an "I won't mood. Finding your favorite way to turn your mood around, like listening to music or talking to a friend, can hel you make the decision to say, "I will."

2. Recharge Your Energy - When Your Energy is low, it prevents you from making healthy choices. Finding your favorite relaxing activity or getting a good night's sleep are great ways to recharge your energy so you can make healthy choices. 

3. Move Your Body - Wether it's going for a hike or playing a game, finding your favorite way to move throughout the day will help you make healthy choices.

4. Think Your Food - When it comes to choosing the right fuel, try eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water and milk, and decreasing sugars.

For more information head to this link.

4th-6th Grade - Students will learn 4 different Fit Choices and examples of each during a "Would You Rather" game. Then they will set goals within each of their fit choices to keep making healthy choices a habit.

Topic: Career Exploration (PreK-6)

Dates Presented: Nov. 9th-18th

PreK - Students will learn learn about a variety of jobs by associating tools with different careers. Students begin to grasp a greater understanding for what people do at their jobs when they think about the tools that are used.

Kindergarten-1st Grade - Students will learn about the connection between something they enjoy doing, something they are good at doing, and their future career. They will identify one thing they are good at doing, one thing they enjoy doing, and at least one potential career of interest.

2nd Grade & 4th Grade- Students will learn about the connection interests, skills, and their future career by creatively thinking about a job that they might have at the north pole and filling out an application for that job including interests and skills that feel that they would need to do well in that job.

3rd Grade- Students will explore Paws in Jobland by taking a quiz to find potential careers that relate to their interests. They will then spend some time exploring these careers from their results.

5th Grade - Students will interview each other for careers. They do not know what career they are interviewing for under they are finished. If they marked more yes's then no's in the interview, the career would be a good fit. If more no's than yes's, it is not a a good fit. They go through as many interview sheets as possible in the lesson time.

6th Grade- Students will take a quiz on RUReadyND to find potential careers that relate to their interests. They will then spend some time exploring these careers from their results.

Topic: Feelings/Emotions (PreK-5)

Dates Presented: Nov. 1st-5th and Nov. 30th-Dec. 3rd

PreK- Students will begin to recognize how others are feeling by looking at their faces.

Kindergarten-1st Grade- Students will learn and practice skills to understand how someone is feeling by looking at their faces and bodies. We focused on the following feelings: sad, mad, silly, worried, happy, and scared.

2nd -3rd Grade- Students will learn and practice skills to understand how someone is feeling by looking at their faces and bodies. The students had a list of 30 feelings to act out in a game called Face It.

4th-5th Grade- Students will learn and practice skills to predict how someone is feeling by guessing how someone might feel in. a given situation. We focused on excited, sad, embarrassed, disappointed, happy, worried, scared, and angry.

Topic: Rumors (6th Grade)

Dates Presented: Nov. 30th -Dec. 2nd

Students will be reminded to (1) use empathy and kindness when speaking about others and to use the THINK acronym when decided whether or not to spread a rumor. (2) They will learn to change the subject when they hear a rumor and to stop spreading it. (3) They will learn to respond to others spreading rumors by not getting upset and treating them like a friend. For more information go to this website.

Topic: Compassion (PreK-5)

Dates Presented: Dec. 7th-16th 

Students will learn that compassion is saying kind words and/or doing something to help make a difference when others are upset. You can show care and concern by listening and helping

We will practice listening to our classmates when they tell about a time they were sad, afraid, or went through a difficult situation. They will also show compassion by making Christmas/Get Well cards for those who are sick in the hospital.

Topic: Disagreeing Respectfully (6th Grade)

Dates Presented: 14th-16th

Students will practice respectfully disagreeing with a classmate or a small group of students. They will practice using common disagreements like Walmart vs. Target or McDonalds vs. Burger King. We briefly talked about compassion and made cards for those sick in the hospital along with the other grades.

Topic: Calm Down Steps (PreK-5)

Dates Presented: Jan. 4th-27th

Students will learn steps to take when they feel a strong feeling in their bodies. We will begin by discussing the way strong feelings feel in our bodies (PreK-5) and what thoughts we have before we have those feelings (2-5). 2nd -5th grade will also learn the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and actions. 2nd and 4th grade students will make negative thought monsters and practice telling them to stop when they say something true in their head.

Once students begin to notice their thoughts in their head and how their body feels, they know to start the calm down steps (see poster on the right). We we go through each of these steps in detail.

Topic: Bullying (6th Grade)

Dates Presented: Jan. 11th-27th

Students will learn 4 different types of mean behavior, 3 reasons someone is mean, and how to respond to each of them. They will practice these responses in a card game called Squabbles.

Topic: Positive Self-Talk (PreK-5)

Dates Presented: Feb. 1st-10th

PreK-1st Grade:Students will practice using positive self-talk like "I can do it" and "everything will be okay with a few rely races that might create some frustration.

2nd - 5th Grade:Students will brainstorm and add positive self-talk for frustration to a fortune teller. They will then practice positive self-talk with a golf ball stacking challenge.

Topic: Steps to Say in Control (6th Grade)

Dates Presented: Feb. 8th-10 and March 1st-3rd

Students will learn and practice the Second Step Staying in Control Steps:

  • Notice - recognize your physical and mental signs

  • Pause - use your signal

  • Think Twice - use your brain

  • Calm down if necessary - use your calming-down strategies.

  • Reflect. How did you do?

Week 1: Students will spend time recognizing physical signs of strong emotions and the negative self-talk or mental signs of these emotions. 

Week 2: Focus more on coping skill examples.

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