6th grade
- Lesson 1, Counselor Introduction: During the months of August and September I visit each child's classroom to introduce myself to new students and review my role as the school counselor. Students learn the process for seeking my assistance when they have a concern to discuss or a problem they need help solving. In grades 2-6 students complete a needs assessment to help me gather data to determine how to best structure to my counseling program for the school year.
- Lesson 2, Bullying Prevention: During this lesson we review the difference between bullying and unkind behavior and discuss the different types of bullying that exist: verbal, physical, relational and cyber/electronic. We then focus on the definition of cyberbullying (the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature). As a class, we read the excerpt titled "Username Hater" from the book Vicious: True Stories by Teens About Bullying and discuss important questions about cyberbullying. Students participate in a toothpaste activity to demonstrate that once we do something unkind or post something online we cannot take it back. We end the lesson by reviewing important safety information related to electronics and bullying.
- Lesson 3, Study Skills: Sixth grade students learn about a variety of different study skills they can use to help them succeed academically. They take a quiz to determine which learning styles they are strongest in and learn specific techniques they can use to help them when completing homework and studying for tests.
- Lesson 4, Multicultural Awareness, Character Trait Development: During this lesson students discuss the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and watch a video about his life. Students then talk about the different character traits and virtues that Martin Luther Kind Jr. demonstrated in his own life. Character traits include compassion, perseverance, self-discipline, honesty and more. Students then have the opportunity to complete their own character trait goal page, where they set a personal goal related to a character trait they would like to show more of in their own lives.
- Lesson 5, Managing Emotions: Students discuss how everyone feels sad, angry, worried, and upset at times. When we have these feelings there are certain activities we can do to help us cope with our feelings. Students learn that "coping" with feelings is a fancy way of saying that we deal with our feelings and do things to help us feel better. Students identify situations that might make them feel upset, sad, angry and worried. Students then learn about a variety of coping skills appropriate for their age group and have the opportunity to practice certain coping skills. We also take some time to talk about inappropriate ways people may chose to deal with their feelings. In 6th grade students use the website Smiling Mind to practice mindfulness activities and calming breathing. Students then create their very own coping toolkit full of ideas they feel will help them when they are upset.
- Lesson 6, Review & Assessment: The last few weeks of the school year are spent with students in grade K-6, reviewing their learning by creating posters as a class to show others concepts they covered through school counseling classroom lessons throughout the school year. Students also engage in age appropriate games and/or interactive assessments to determine how well they have learned concepts taught to them over the past year.