You can see part 1 of 4th grade’s goal setting unit here. Part 2 of my mini-unit on goal setting with a 4th grade classroom was on the three components of a “good goal”. While I think SMART goals are great, that’s too much for my 4th graders to handle, so we focus on the […]
CBT Baseball: A Cognitive Behavioral Game for Kids
Right after I graduated from grad school, I went back to take a CBT class. Besides being a phenomenal course (with a stellar instructor), the textbook I got for it was actually worthwhile. Cognitive Therapy Techniques for Children and Adolescents: Tools for Enhancing Practice (affiliate link) had some actually tangible strategies for doing this kind […]
Goal Setting in 4th Grade – Part 1 – All About Goals
One of the options for the academic skills unit I gave my 4th grade teachers was a 3-part lesson on goal setting. Another was for an “all in one” goal setting lesson. I had one teacher pick each, so lesson planning/editing I went. So much of what I was finding on goal setting in my […]
Journey to Friendsville Review
Because social skills/friendship groups are the most common small groups we do, we’re always looking for awesome interventions for sessions. Games of course, are a hit with both us and the kiddos. More often than not, we’re more successful just adapting regular board games to fit our needs, but sometimes “therapeutic” games can be great […]
Confict Resolution Review: Rotations
Last year I devoted an entire lesson in 3rd grade to reviewing the skills taught in previous lessons and I think it was well worth the time. This year I decided to do the same. Last year I used both a Mario and a Jeopardy game (pre-created PPT templates with my Qs added in). They […]
Sorry! Book Companion on Peer Pressure and Staying True to You
Last spring, my 4th graders became overly focused on being cool and some of my 3rd graders started doing really…well..stupid things…because others told them to. I wanted to do a lesson on peer pressure but needed something that was elementary appropriate and had nothing to do with substances. Something about staying true to yourself. And […]
Teaching Students How to Identify and Ignore Distractions: Lesson Plan
Have you ever asked the teachers to tell you what they want a lesson on, and they tell you, and then you regret asking a little because you have no idea how to accomplish what they want? No? Maybe it’s just me… This year’s most requested academic topic lesson is “Identifying and Ignoring Distractions”. Yowza. […]
Just Say It! Communication Skills Resource Book Review
Because positive communication is a major theme in my 4th grade Life Skills curriculum this year, I was excited to check out Just Say It! by Kathie Guild. The cover says “6 Fun and innovative lessons designed to teach students communication skills to use in everyday interactions.” It states grades 2-5. At $22, it’s pretty […]
Circle of Control Activity and Lesson Plan
Part of my 3rd grade’s problem solving unit, after we tackle conflict resolution, is to identify problems inside vs. outside of our control. As many, many other counselors have done, I start with a hands on visual to introduce the idea (though I don’t use play-doh). This is the lesson I created and how I […]
