This post is part 3 in a series on school counseling core curriculum planning. You can read part 1 on the overall vision here and part 2 on needs assessments here. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I’m particular about my lesson plans. Downright picky. In part, this is because […]
Making Study Skills (Learning Skills) Lessons Fun
The only real consensus our 2nd grade team had on the needs assessment was that they thought their students needed lessons on…well…how to be better students. People often call this “study skills” but I try to use the term “learning skills” or “learner skills” because I think it better captures what we mean when we’re […]
School Counseling Needs Assessment
This is the second in a series of posts all on how I map and plan my core curriculum; the first was on my vision for curriculum mapping. I posted a quick pic on my instastories about my needs assessment this year and got a few requests for more info after. Questions about my needs […]
Whose Job Is It? Responsibility Lesson Plan
Next up for 4th grade’s responsibility unit (part one was choices and consequences) was helping them understand what responsibilities are theirs versus their teachers’ versus their parents’. Our teachers had noticed students saying things like “My mom forgot to put my homework in my backpack!” and “You didn’t remind me!” It was time to review with […]
School Counseling Curriculum Mapping : A New Vision
When I first started as a school counselor, I had no experience teaching. Zero. I didn’t even have internship experience because most of my internships had been in school-based therapy positions and one I did while actually employed in my first position. Delivering classroom lessons was TERRIFYING and overwhelming. I saw so much value in […]
Choices and Consequences Lesson
One of the topics my 4th grade teachers wanted me to cover, per their needs assessment results, was responsibility. I’ve got to admit “Sorry I asked” and “Ugh, boring” were both thoughts that ran through my mind. I put that aside though and forged ahead in trying to plan engaging lessons for their second quarter […]
6 Ways Becoming a Mom Changed Me As a School Counselor
It’s an interesting thing, working full time with kids but not having any of your own. Giving parenting advice but not being a parent yourself. Being somewhat of a kid ‘expert’ but (in theory) leaving your responsibility for the kids at the school doors. Before becoming a mom, I had moments where I hoped parenting […]
Conflict Resolution Activities in 3rd and 4th Grade
This post contains affiliate links. Last fall, I published a post that discussed all the different ways we’ve taught and reviewed conflict resolution strategies over the years at our school. We stuck with some of the original plan but I mixed it up some with my ‘big kids’. 3rd Grade After whipping out the plush […]
BE a Leader – Lesson Plan
Back in the spring, I did a lesson with my 4th graders about choosing what reputation they wanted to leave behind at elementary school and start middle school with. I loved it, and started thinking that maybe this same idea could be used at the start of the year too. We ask a lot […]
