5th: Middle School, Here I Come!
Did I just say Middle School? According to many resources, parents express that they are feeling unprepared and even fearful of the middle school transition and I believe students also feel very anxious about this significant change in their life. To better prepare Salem students, we will be talking about the new grading system, how to calculate the average, the impact of missing an assignment, attendance, and how to open a lock. 5th grade students enjoy this lesson as they slowly become more confident about what's to come next.
3rd-4th: Testing, Testing, Testing
Tyler is a 3rd grade student and he is feeling anxious about the State Achievement Test. When he opens his test booklet, he sees an imaginary tiger trying to devour him and he shows us how he discovers to tame the tiger. Here is his secret.
- Be prepared (high preparation=low anxiety)
- Reframe your thinking about the tests
- Be a good listener
- Recognize your fear (real or imagined?)
- Study day-by-day (don't cram)
- Watch the time (pace yourself)
- Relax with deep breathing
- Think positively
- Read each question carefully
- Check your answers
K-2: Career Exploration
K-2 students are currently exploring various jobs so that they can start thinking about planning their future. My emphasis is always on linking what they learn and develop at school to what they will be doing in the real world. I believe that it is so important for children to understand that what they gain from school is so valuable and the main focus should not be just about the grades.
For this unit, I chose several occupations that students may not know about but still can develop some familiarity. Click the Here to explore. |
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4-5: Theater 4 Change is Back!
Theater 4 change has a children's program that has been approved by WCPSS Counseling Services which engages students to learn about 4th: conflict resolution and 5th: Bullying. It is a 45 minute long program that visits every 4th and 5th grade classroom to act out scenes and discuss as a small group. Students had a lot of fun and I received positive feedback from teachers.
2-3: Mindfulness
Mind-full, like your mind is full of the present.
Full of right now.
Listen to Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda story and find out a way to practice Mindfulness. When our mind is full of the present, Happy Panda suggests that we will be happier. I also sometimes find myself thinking about the past or worrying about tomorrow which can create stress and anxiety. At the end of the lesson, students listened to a bell ring and practiced "just listening" to the bell.
Student Samples |
Template of the Brain Activity |
K-1: Calm Down Strategies
After learning about various feelings that can come and go, we focused on how to calm down when we feel frustrated or angry. We read a short book to make some personal connections to understand frustration and anger. Then, we learned 4 different breathing techniques that we may use to calm down. We had so much fun! |
Is it a harmful teasing?
We hear the phrase, "Just Kidding" a lot and this story shares with the readers that teasing can become harmful when you cross the line. Salem students did an activity to discuss further about healthy teasing and harmful teasing. It was very interesting to see that many of students use others' flaws to make a joke which can be harmful to the others. We talked about how we need to brainstrom more nonharmful ways to joke around and laugh with our peers.
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K-1: The Way I Feel
Although we cannot see our feelings with our eyes, they are as real as other parts of our body and at times, our feelings can lead us to act in certain way. There is much more to feelings than just happiness and sadness. We explored our feelings together and we had so much fun!
The Invisible BoyDuring my beginning of the year workdays, I was in a search for some good books and this title captured my attention. So, I start my lesson with this question: "If you can have any superpower in this world, what would it be?" As you have guessed, I always have at least one student expressing that they would like to have the power of invisibility. Then, I begin to read the story of this invisible boy who actually feels invisible because he is excluded and ignored by his peers. But a new student shows up and gradually helps Brian (the invisible boy) to feel visible. Here is how.
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Is Your Brain Growing?
4th and 5th grade students continue to learn ways to grow their brain. This cute Disney video demonstrates perseverance in a fun way and students have been enjoying it so much. Here are some ways to grow your brain.
- Fine and fix your mistakes
- Practice practice practice
- Try hard tasks
- Try new things
- Never quit
- Use the word "YET" when you can't get it right
The Ugly Pumpkin
The pumpkin in the story calls himself "The Ugly Pumpkin," because he looks around and sees that he looks very different from everyone else. When it is time for people to pick their pumpkin, the main character is left alone; no one wants to give him a home. However, at the end of the story, we see a huge surprise--he was actually a SQUASH! Now, the character embraces his unique qualities and gains his confidence.
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Kindergarten students made their own version of pumpkin embracing
their one-of-a-kind unique qualities!
their one-of-a-kind unique qualities!
Classroom Guidance Topics 2016-17
Classroom Guidance schedule 2015-16
Get to Know Your School Counselor
K-5 students were able to learn about me and also I was able to learn about all the students. Please check out the video for more detail.
Students and I had a lot of fun!
Students and I had a lot of fun!
How do you want to be remembered?
For this lesson, 5th grade students were asked to write words that describe "meanness." Students had to remain silent while a small group of students came up to the board to write their word. After the board was filled with "meanness" words, students were asked to write words that described the type of person they would like to be remembered by others. Through this activity, students were challenged to think of how their actions influence their reputation and they have power to build their own reputation.
How do you want to be remembered? |
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How To Do Homework Without Throwing Up
Doing homework can be challenging especially after having 6-7 hours at school working hard on every subject. Often times students want to simply rush through homework missing the important point of getting a good quality of practice and having an opportunity to review their learned skills. How To Do Homework Without Throwing Up is a fun video that addresses various aspects of homework and how students can successfully complete their homework every night. With an increasing load of homework, 3rd and 4th graders were able to make some personal connections as they watched the video. Here are some tips.
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Anger Management
K-2nd grade students have been learning about how to manage their anger instead of popping like a balloon. I used a balloon to demonstrate that if we fail to manage our anger, we may explode or pop which can be harmful to both ourselves and others. Students had a chance to discuss about some things that they can become angry about such as not getting their way and someone physically hurting them, and interestingly many shared that they often feel angry toward their siblings at home. Most importantly, students discussed about calming strategies (take deep breaths, walk away from the person, cry, sit alone etc.), and I also did relaxation exercise with some of the classes. |
Responsibility-3rd grade
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