Fifth Grade Lesson: Introductory Lesson
Student come to the counseling room.
We discuss:
Who is the School Counselor?
What does the School Counselor do?
How does the School Counselor know you need to visit? (Sign up, let a teacher know, etc.)
We discuss confidentiality, and the limits of confidentiality.
Students take a survey about their interest in various small group counseling opportunities.
Fifth Grade Lesson: Problem Solving
Objective: Reviewing and implementing strategies to resolve problems and conflicts successfully...by learning a Problem Solving Model and I Messages to talk out issues in a positive method.
Students learned the Problem Solving Model:
S Stop
T Think Think through your choices and consequences of those choices
A Act Pick a choice and try it.
R Review How did it work? If is worked well, do that next time. If it did not work well, pick a new choice.
One choice many students try is talking out an issue, therefore, we learn a positive method of talking out an issue.
Students were taught the important communication skill of using an "I Message" when they are having a conflict with someone else.
Here is an ""I Messages":
I feel_______________________ (state what you are feeling)
When you___________________(State what you are upset about or what happened)
And I want___________________(Do you want the person to apologize? Do you want them to stop doing something?)
Using partners we practice using "I Messages" and responses to them with situations that occur in 5th grade.
Students were also given a bookmark with the "I Messages" on it to refer to for later use. Teachers were encouraged to have their students use an "I Messages" when dealing with conflict.
Fifth Grade Lesson: Anti-Bullying
Objective: Apply personal safety strategies as they relate to violence and harassment. (Anti Bullying lesson)
Students learn the definition of bullying and the terms bully, target and bystander. We discussed the 5 main types of bullying.
Types of Bullying
1. Emotional: Mean faces, eye-rolling, excluding, mean notes/lists, gestures
2. Verbal: Calling names, teasing, cursing, making threats
3. Physical: Pushing, kicking, shoving, etc.
4. Sexual: Unwanted comments or touches.
5. Cyber: Bullying through technology.
We brainstormed and learned strategies for targets and bystanders.
Strategies for Target Strategies for Bystanders
1. Tell an adult 1. Tell an adult
2. Sign up to see the counselor 2. Sign up to see the counselor
3. Say Stop (eye contact is important) or use an assertive statement 3. Use an assertive statement
4. Ask Why? Why? Why? strategy 4. Ask Why? Why? Why? strategy
5. Use humor 5. Change the subject
6. Don't show a reaction 6. I Messages
7. Walk away/avoid 7. Use compliment toward the target
8. Stand by teacher/friend 8. Disagree with the bully
9. Change the subject 9. Be kind to the target
10. I Message 10. Don't laugh at the bully's teasing
11. Use Agreement (You could think so, Could be, Maybe so) 11. Help the target leave
12. Use Compliment 12. Include the target if they are left out
Individual index cards were created for students to place in their binders with strategies for targets and bystanders.
If time classes watched a short DVD about two girls, one was a bully and the other was a target of bullying (DVD was called "Invisible Weapons")
Fifth Grade Lesson: Perspective and Self Talk
Objective: A person's actions and reactions affect relationships with others.
Students were shown a power point to demonstrate how we can see the same picture but view it in a different way. Their perspective is not always the same as others.
Students were taught the word "perspective" and how it relates to their thinking, which affects their feelings and reactions, which in turn affects their relationships with others.
Ex: My friend is hanging out with someone else today. She must be better friends with her or not want to hang out with me anymore OR she can have more than one friend and still like us equally, maybe I should join them.
We then discussed "automatic thought", and if it was a positive thought and helpful to us. Often times, we have to practice changing this automatic thought into a positive thought, which helps our reaction be more helpful to relationships.
Students were put into groups. Each group was given a page with 'situations". They were asked their automatic thought after each situation. (which could be a negative thought). Then, they were asked to change this negative thought into something positive.
Example:
My friend did not hang out with me at recess.
Automatic Thought: "She must be mad at me"
Change it into positive: " Maybe she just has not seen me yet" or "Maybe she wants to play with another friend today"
We ended the lesson with book “Fortunately” by Remy Charlip
Fifth Grade Lesson: Careers
Objective: Applying Career Exploration and Planning Skills in the Achievement of Life Goals
1. Ask students if they know what they want to be when they grow up
2. Begin lesson with giving students the “Where do I Fit” survey –go over with them
3. After they take the survey, ask them who knows about Career Paths.
4. Introduce the 6 Career Paths:
Business Path, Creative Path, Fixing and Building Path, Health Path, Helping Path, and Nature Path
5. Discuss the Career Paths and occupations in each path.
6. Ask students to identify two career paths that they might find interesting.
7. Ask students to identify a couple of jobs within two career paths they would like to research.
8. Students look up careers using the Occupational Outlook Handbook website
OCCUPATIONAL HANDBOOK
9. Closure of lesson, have a few people share something they learned about a job they didn’t know.