February Lessons
January Lessons
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten we will be learning about teamwork and getting along with everyone. I will read "The Crayon Box that Talked" And the students will be given a teamwork challenge. The will work in groups to draw a picture following the directions I give them. The challenge is that I have given each group only 1 color. They must work with other groups to get all the colors they need before they start their drawing. Once they start their drawing, they have to continue working as a team because they will only have 1 crayon of each color. If there is time left, we will read another story called "The Day the Crayons Quit". Second Grade
We are going to watch the Pixar animated short film called "For the Birds". It is a cute and funny video, but focuses on treating others with respect. When it is over, we talk about the moral of the story. We also read the "Juice Box Bully" and I have the students visualize what they think the story is about and what the characters look like. While I am reading, the students draw their visualizations and then share. We close the lesson by looking at the pictures of the story and discussing the different roles the characters play throughout the story (Bully, Victim, and Bystander). |
First Grade
First Grade is learning about careers this month. Georgia has divided careers into 17 different clusters and each year we will focus on 3-4 career clusters. This year, the focus is on Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics; Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security; and Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources. These words can be overwhelming and confusing for most 1st graders, so I use a website to help explain the different jobs in each cluster called Jobs in Pawland. Third Grade
In January, the students are focusing on the last career cluster for this year, Hospitality and Tourism. After discussing what hospitality and tourism means, we divide into groups and the students are given 1 of 4 categories (Restaurant Group, Lodging Group, Travel Services Group, or Recreation/Events Group). They work together to come up with jobs under their topic and make a short skit. The rest of the class has to guess their jobs after they preform their play. |
Fourth Grade
We are learning about 2 of the 4 career clusters for 4th grade in January. STEM and Manufacturing and the two clusters that we will focus on this month. We discuss different jobs that fall into each cluster and they share if they have a parent/relative working in either of these clusters. After the manufacturing lesson, the students will make or "manufacture" a hat out of paper. |
Fifth Grade
The last 2 clusters for careers are the focus for this month's lesson (Information Technology and Government and Public Administration). My husband is in the military so I share pictures of his plane and a little information about his job. He flies C-130's for the Air National Guard so they drop supplies to troops and he also has Navy Seals parachute out of his plane. At the end of the lesson, we play Career Jeopardy to see what they remember from the previous years. |
December Lessons
In December, guidance focused on the Think First, Stay Safe program for grades 3-5. A parent letter was sent home in September outlining the curriculum and purpose of the program. This is a new curriculum that Fulton County has adopted to teach elementary students about lures that could possibly be used to get children into unsafe situations. The main focus of the curriculum is that students should use their brains and inner sirens (instincts) to determine if a situation is unsafe. They should report all incidents to a trusted adult immediately. The curriculum also stresses that most people are kind and safe, but now they are better prepared if they come across a "bad weather person" or "bad weather behavior".
November Lessons
Kindergarten Lesson
This month we will be focusing on self-esteem and acceptance. The students will work together to create a picture. I will have the students come up and pick a crayon out of a bucket and then add something to our picture. Every crayon in the bucket is blue, but the students won't know this because I will not allow them to look in the bucket. It is fun to hear their reactions once they realize what is happening. When we are finished with the picture we discuss how we could make the picture better (add more color!) and compare this to the world we live in. It is our differences that make this world such a special place. Next, we will read the story "What I Like About Me!" and discuss the word self-esteem. The students will end the lesson by completing a worksheet on what they like about themselves.
This month we will be focusing on self-esteem and acceptance. The students will work together to create a picture. I will have the students come up and pick a crayon out of a bucket and then add something to our picture. Every crayon in the bucket is blue, but the students won't know this because I will not allow them to look in the bucket. It is fun to hear their reactions once they realize what is happening. When we are finished with the picture we discuss how we could make the picture better (add more color!) and compare this to the world we live in. It is our differences that make this world such a special place. Next, we will read the story "What I Like About Me!" and discuss the word self-esteem. The students will end the lesson by completing a worksheet on what they like about themselves.
1st grade Lesson
First grade will be learning about Peacemakers and Peacebreakers by reading "No, David!" by David Shannon. The goal is to have students be able to identify bucket-filling and bucket-dipping behaviors. The students will help me fill in a poster with helpful and hurtful behaviors. They will then complete an activity where they identify what they can do to be Peacemakers.
First grade will be learning about Peacemakers and Peacebreakers by reading "No, David!" by David Shannon. The goal is to have students be able to identify bucket-filling and bucket-dipping behaviors. The students will help me fill in a poster with helpful and hurtful behaviors. They will then complete an activity where they identify what they can do to be Peacemakers.
Second Grade Lesson
Second graders will be focusing on the Education and Training career clusters and the Health Science career cluster. They will be learning about the education and training for careers in each cluster as well as the appropriate terms for several types of doctors (for example: skin doctor is a dermatologist, a pediatrician treats children)
Second graders will be focusing on the Education and Training career clusters and the Health Science career cluster. They will be learning about the education and training for careers in each cluster as well as the appropriate terms for several types of doctors (for example: skin doctor is a dermatologist, a pediatrician treats children)
3rd grade Lesson
Third graders will be focusing on 2 career clusters in guidance for November: Human Services and Energy Systems. We will practice filling in a resume for a career they are interested in doing when they are older and we will be doing an experiment with a balloon related to energy.
Third graders will be focusing on 2 career clusters in guidance for November: Human Services and Energy Systems. We will practice filling in a resume for a career they are interested in doing when they are older and we will be doing an experiment with a balloon related to energy.
4th Grade Lesson
Fourth graders are going to continue with the Weird! series and read the story " Tough". This story is from the point of view of the girl who was doing the bullying. After discussing why the character, Sam, is being mean to others we will talk about different chain reactions that take place in the story. We will find positive and negative chain reactions. We will define the positive chain reactions and write them on strips of paper. The students will then make a chain link out of their strip of paper and we will connect them together as a reminder to help end bullying.
Fourth graders are going to continue with the Weird! series and read the story " Tough". This story is from the point of view of the girl who was doing the bullying. After discussing why the character, Sam, is being mean to others we will talk about different chain reactions that take place in the story. We will find positive and negative chain reactions. We will define the positive chain reactions and write them on strips of paper. The students will then make a chain link out of their strip of paper and we will connect them together as a reminder to help end bullying.
5th Grade Lesson
Each year we focus on certain careers clusters in every grade level. This month I will be discussing the Finance and Marketing career clusters with the students. The students will coming up with a product that they want to develop and market in small groups. At the end of the lesson, they will be presenting their product to the class.
Each year we focus on certain careers clusters in every grade level. This month I will be discussing the Finance and Marketing career clusters with the students. The students will coming up with a product that they want to develop and market in small groups. At the end of the lesson, they will be presenting their product to the class.
October Lessons
National Bullying prevention month
Kindergarten Lesson
In Kindergarten we will be focusing on manners and how to be a good friend by using our manners. I will read "Manners Mash-up" to the students, we will watch a short video ("Can you teach my alligator manners?"), and we will play a Monster Manners sorting game. The students will be able to answer these questions by the end of the lesson "What are good manners?", "Why do we use manners?", and "Where do we use manners?". |
First Grade
This month is National Bullying Prevention Month, so 1st grade will be reading "Howard B Wigglebottom Learns About Bullies". The students will learn that being mean and bullying are both unkind, but that bullying is when 1. the action happens over and over again 2. a group of people is being mean to an individual or 3. someone is threatening another person. They will then draw a picture representing the central message of the story and make a craft of the Horton Twins. |
3rd Grade Lesson
“Don’t Laugh at Me” is a wonderful book by Steven Senskin and Allen Shamblin that discusses appreciating people’s differences. I will start the lesson by reading the poem and not showing the book. The students will be asked to visualize what they think the author is trying to convey and then they will draw a picture of the visualization. Next, we will read the book with the pictures and listen to the song that Mark Wills recorded for the story. We will finish the lesson by listing ways to be respectful to others. |
Second Grade
Enemy Pie is one of my favorite books and I will be sharing it with 2nd grade this month. This story is about giving people a chance and learning that we shouldn't judge someone before getting to know him or her. Before the story begins, I will have the students write down "ingredients" that they think would be in Enemy Pie. After we read the story, the students will write down the ingredients for Friendship Pie. |
4th grade Lesson
We will be doing an experiment to start off the 4th grade lesson this month. I will sprinkle pepper in a dish filled with a small amount of water. I will explain to the students that the pepper represents students. Next, I will add a small amount of liquid dish soap to the container. The pepper immediately scatters to the outside of the dish away from the drop of soap. We will compare this to saying hurtful things and treating people poorly. People generally do not want to be around someone who is causing others to feel badly. I will read the book, “Weird!” to the students and discuss how the main character is being made to feel like she isn’t good enough. We will also discuss the importance of being themselves. We will close the lesson by filling out dots with positive things about each student and other dots with negative things they have heard. Each student will crumple up the negative dot and throw it away. They can use the positive dots to decorate their binders or mirrors at home.
We will be doing an experiment to start off the 4th grade lesson this month. I will sprinkle pepper in a dish filled with a small amount of water. I will explain to the students that the pepper represents students. Next, I will add a small amount of liquid dish soap to the container. The pepper immediately scatters to the outside of the dish away from the drop of soap. We will compare this to saying hurtful things and treating people poorly. People generally do not want to be around someone who is causing others to feel badly. I will read the book, “Weird!” to the students and discuss how the main character is being made to feel like she isn’t good enough. We will also discuss the importance of being themselves. We will close the lesson by filling out dots with positive things about each student and other dots with negative things they have heard. Each student will crumple up the negative dot and throw it away. They can use the positive dots to decorate their binders or mirrors at home.
5th grade Lesson
Cliques and groups really start to form in 5th grade. This year, they seem to be already forming so I feel that it is important to address it and give the students strategies on how to handle conflicts. We will view a Prezi on Bullying that I created and read the story “Say Something”. This book has a great message about standing up for others and being a bystander that takes action instead of sitting back and watching things happen. We will discuss ways to stand up to others and things they can do to help people who are being left out. The 5th graders will do a team building activity where they have to work together to make the tallest tower they can out of several pieces of paper and no other materials.
Cliques and groups really start to form in 5th grade. This year, they seem to be already forming so I feel that it is important to address it and give the students strategies on how to handle conflicts. We will view a Prezi on Bullying that I created and read the story “Say Something”. This book has a great message about standing up for others and being a bystander that takes action instead of sitting back and watching things happen. We will discuss ways to stand up to others and things they can do to help people who are being left out. The 5th graders will do a team building activity where they have to work together to make the tallest tower they can out of several pieces of paper and no other materials.
September Lessons
Kindergarten Lesson
I will introduce myself to the Kindergartners and explain what a school counselor's job is by using Mr. Potato Head. As I attach each piece to Mr. Potato Head I explain the following... Eyes- Look out for students and see ways to help them; Hands/arms - helping hands, arms for hugs; Mouth - speaks kind words, teaches students lessons, and never repeats what they tell me unless they are in danger; ears - listen to their problems; feet - walk around the building and make sure everyone is safe and learning. After we are finished with Mr. Potato Head, we will take a "brain break" and do an activity from GoNoodle. The students will then color a worksheet that they can take home to help them remember what I do in a school.
I will introduce myself to the Kindergartners and explain what a school counselor's job is by using Mr. Potato Head. As I attach each piece to Mr. Potato Head I explain the following... Eyes- Look out for students and see ways to help them; Hands/arms - helping hands, arms for hugs; Mouth - speaks kind words, teaches students lessons, and never repeats what they tell me unless they are in danger; ears - listen to their problems; feet - walk around the building and make sure everyone is safe and learning. After we are finished with Mr. Potato Head, we will take a "brain break" and do an activity from GoNoodle. The students will then color a worksheet that they can take home to help them remember what I do in a school.
First Grade Lesson
Most of the first grade students know who I am from last year, but I want to remind them of my role in the school. We will review as a group what a school counselor's job is and then I will give them a worksheet where they will cut and paste sentences corresponding to the correct body part that the arrow is pointing to.
We will also read "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" and discuss what it means to say "I'm sorry". We will compare saying "I'm sorry" to putting a Band-Aid on a scrape. Although the scrape is not instantly healed, it does make it better. Each of the students will receive a heart. As a class, we will talk about hurtful things that we sometimes hear. For each hurtful sentence, we will crumple part of the heart. Next, we will try to flatten out the heart by saying "I'm sorry". We will observe that the heart does not look like it did when we started. Using a Band-Aid, the students will attach a poem to help them remember that saying "I'm sorry" does help, but it's best not to say hurtful things in the first place.
Most of the first grade students know who I am from last year, but I want to remind them of my role in the school. We will review as a group what a school counselor's job is and then I will give them a worksheet where they will cut and paste sentences corresponding to the correct body part that the arrow is pointing to.
We will also read "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" and discuss what it means to say "I'm sorry". We will compare saying "I'm sorry" to putting a Band-Aid on a scrape. Although the scrape is not instantly healed, it does make it better. Each of the students will receive a heart. As a class, we will talk about hurtful things that we sometimes hear. For each hurtful sentence, we will crumple part of the heart. Next, we will try to flatten out the heart by saying "I'm sorry". We will observe that the heart does not look like it did when we started. Using a Band-Aid, the students will attach a poem to help them remember that saying "I'm sorry" does help, but it's best not to say hurtful things in the first place.
Second Grade Lesson
The start of a new year can bring about different worries for students. To help them get used to their new routine I will read Wilma Jean Worry Machine by Julia Cook. It is a cute story that illustrates how a young girl, Wilma, worries that things will go wrong at school. She learns that most of her worries do not come true and her day turns out just fine. We model the "pickle face" she makes when she worries throughout the story. I will have the students write down their worries on a post it note and then we will discuss whether the worry is something we can control or something that is out of our control.
The start of a new year can bring about different worries for students. To help them get used to their new routine I will read Wilma Jean Worry Machine by Julia Cook. It is a cute story that illustrates how a young girl, Wilma, worries that things will go wrong at school. She learns that most of her worries do not come true and her day turns out just fine. We model the "pickle face" she makes when she worries throughout the story. I will have the students write down their worries on a post it note and then we will discuss whether the worry is something we can control or something that is out of our control.
Third Grade Lesson
We will start off the lesson by discussing the role of a school counselor. The students will play a sorting game where they draw a card and put it in 1 of 3 bags labeled "What a Counselor Does", "Reasons to see the counselor", or "What a Counselor Does NOT Do". The ITBS is coming up in October, so we will spend the rest of the time discussing test taking strategies. I will pass out a "timed test" after I ask the students to make sure they read the directions carefully. The directions are "You have seven minutes to complete this test. Read through each item on the test before you start." If they follow the directions, they will know that they only have to answer the first questions. Most students will complete the entire test and then realize they were only supposed to answer the first question.
We will start off the lesson by discussing the role of a school counselor. The students will play a sorting game where they draw a card and put it in 1 of 3 bags labeled "What a Counselor Does", "Reasons to see the counselor", or "What a Counselor Does NOT Do". The ITBS is coming up in October, so we will spend the rest of the time discussing test taking strategies. I will pass out a "timed test" after I ask the students to make sure they read the directions carefully. The directions are "You have seven minutes to complete this test. Read through each item on the test before you start." If they follow the directions, they will know that they only have to answer the first questions. Most students will complete the entire test and then realize they were only supposed to answer the first question.
Fourth Grade Lesson
"Intelligence and character, that is the goal of true education." Martin Luther King, Jr. The students and I will discuss this quote. Can an intelligent person be truly successful in life without good character traits? Many schools have guidance lessons that focus on teaching character education. Why is this important? We will discuss how one of my roles is to teach character education and we will play a game to see if the students remember what my other roles are in a school. We will also discuss hurtful words. I will squeeze some toothpaste onto a paper plate and ask for volunteers to come up and get the toothpaste back in the tube only using a toothpick. It is not possible to get it all back in the tube and I will compare this to words we use. Once you say something hurtful, it is hard to take all of the words back. We will read "Just Kidding" by Trudy Ludwig and discuss the difference between teasing and kidding around. |
5th Grade Lesson
The 5th graders are going to play a game where they answer questions about a counselor's role in the school. This will help remind the students what my job is and it will help the new students get to know me. We will also be discussing teamwork. I will give a group of 5 students a stack of cups, 5 pieces of string, and a rubber band. I will then challenge them to work together to make a pyramid with the cups by using the items they have been given. They cannot touch the cups with their hands even if a cup falls on the floor. We will discuss the challenge afterword and these are some of the questions they will answer... Was anyone frustrated with the activity? How was it handled? What is hard about teamwork? Did everyone get a chance to contribute? What are some skills needed to be good at teamwork? |