High School Schedule of Classroom Guidance Activities

Schedule of 5^th Grade Girls Group Activities
Week 1	Introductions Group Rules Crystal Ball: Future: Discussion
Week 2	Individual Differences: Discussion
Week 3	Snowflake: Values/Uniqueness: Discussion
Week 4	News Print: Feelings: Discussion
Week 5	Passive – Aggressive - Assertive: Discussion
Week 6	Notes of Appreciation: Wrap-up
Lesson Plans: Week 1: Crystal Ball COMPETENCY Acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. OBJECTIVE: Communicate the goal setting process. GRADE: 5 OUTLINE: Provide an opportunity for students to express their dreams, goals, and aspirations for the future. RESOURCES: Construction paper circles 12 inches in diameter, markers, and crayons. ACTIVITIES/STRATEGIES: COUNSELOR: Discuss crystal balls and their use; that future tellers might use one to predict the future. Ask the children to think about their futures. What might you be doing 5 years from now, 10 years from now? 20 years from now? Provide a large paper circle for each student and instruct them to divide with lines the circle into three parts. Label one section 5 years, one section 10 years, and one section 20 years. Have students draw a picture or write words to tell what he/she might be doing during each time period in his/her life. Remind students to think of current interests and strengths and how they might be predictors of their futures. Have students make a construction paper base for their crystal ball and place it on the bulletin board under a caption such as “What is in your future?” PARENTS: Talk to your child about current interests. Discuss plans for the future such as "when you are a little older…" . Display confidence in your child’s abilities and futures. COMMUNITY: Promote positive adult role models through mentoring programs, career shadowing. EVALUATION: Students will be able to choose one of the three sections and talk briefly about it.
Week 2: Individual Differences COMPETENCY Acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. OBJECTIVE: Consider individual differences. GRADE: 5 OUTLINE: Students will participate in observation and acceptance that all persons have likeness and difference. TEACHER: Point out daily the differences that make all your pupils unique. Establish a positive, accepting tone. COUNSELOR: Ask each group member to stand up in front of the group. Instruct the others to observe each person carefully for one minute without speaking. During this observation, ask them to jot down on a piece of paper any differences they observe. Next give them another minute to observe likenesses. Discuss each of these observations with the entire group. Chart them on chart paper. Discuss these in terms of the ways they affect our acceptance of each other and our getting along. 1) How important are these differences? 2) Do these differences change our relationships? 3) Is it necessary to have likenesses to form relationships? COMMUNITY: Celebrate and advocate for multi-cultural events. EVALUATION: Students can verbalize likeness and difference in people. Students can verbalize how it feels to be rejected because of difference.
Week 3: Snowflakes COMPETENCY: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and interpersonal skills to help understand and respect self and others. OBJECTIVE: Develop a positive attitude toward self as a unique and worthy person. GRADE: 5 OUTLINE: Students will participate in a discussion about what makes something valuable. They will discuss how being valuable applies to human beings. Students will make a snowflake to represent how each person is unique. They will write their name on one side of the snowflake and on the other side, write one thing that makes them unique as a person. ACTIVITIES/STRATEGIES: COUNSELOR WITH FULL GROUP: Lead a discussion about the following key terms and phrases: value and worth, valuing oneself, self-worth, and uniqueness. Explain to students that they will have an opportunity to do an art activity which demonstrates the quality of uniqueness. Distribute paper and scissors to each student. Give instructions for making snowflakes. (See attachment) Point out that each snowflake is unique each is different, but equally beautiful. Have students write their name on one side of the snowflake and on the other side, write one thing that makes them unique as a person. Have students share the snowflakes and what they have written with the class. Collect snowflakes and make a collage or bulletin board out of them. COUNSELOR WITH INDIVIDUALS: Share self-esteem resources with teacher and class. Counsel students who have issues and concerns with their self-worth. PARENT: Provide opportunities for child to learn new skills. Point out areas where child excels. Model healthy self-esteem COMMUNITY: Offer recreational activities for school children. EVALUATION: Students participate in discussion Students make snowflakes Students write what makes them unique and share this, and their snowflake, with the class. HOW TO MAKE A SNOWFLAKE 1. Distribute one sheet of paper and a pair of scissors to each student. 2. Have each student fold the sheet of paper in half and cut one large circle out of it. 3. Next, have students fold the circle in half and then fold the semi-circle into three equal parts to create a wedge. 4. Have students fold the wedge in half. 5. Instruct each student to make sure that his or her paper is folded properly before cutting snow flake patterns. 6. Have the students use scissors to cut out small sections of the folded paper making designs in both sides of the folded circle, any way they prefer. 7. Have students open up their snowflakes.
Week 4: News Print Feelings COMPETENCY: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and interpersonal skills to help understand and respect self and others. OBJECTIVE: Classify and appropriately express feelings. GRADE: 5 OUTLINE: Students will participate in a discussion about how different events- and our thoughts about those events- cause us to have various feelings. They will think about the feelings they have experienced since awakening today. Students will then view a listing of various feelings which have been printed on newsprint and posted in the classroom. They will write events/situations under the appropriate feelings. Students will then work in groups to explore appropriate ways to handle more difficult feelings such as anger and sadness. ACTIVITIES/STRATEGIES: COUNSELOR: Write various feelings on newsprint (one feeling per sheet) and post around the classroom. Initiate a discussion about how different events- and our thoughts about those events- cause us to have various feelings. Point out that our lives are like roller coaster rides in that we are lifted up by our good feelings and pulled down by our bad feelings. And there are many stops in between with the other feelings we experience as a result of life events. Instruct students to think of situations/events which could cause the feelings posted. Have students take turns writing those situations on the appropriate sheet of newsprint. Discuss the fact that some of the feelings are more difficult to handle than others, eg. sadness and anger. Discuss a difficult feeling and instruct them to explore appropriate ways to handle the difficult feeling. COUNSELOR TO SHARE: Share appropriate resources about feelings with teacher and class. Offer additional group counseling for students who have difficulty controlling anger and for students who are experiencing loss. PARENT: Listen to child. Be supportive when your child is experiencing a difficult situation. Share information about a time in your life when you experienced difficult situations. Provide opportunities for your child to engage in pleasant family activities EVALUATION: Students will discuss how events affect our feelings. Students will list situations/events which cause us to feel a certain way. Students will explore ways to handle difficult feelings and share with class
Week 5: Passive – Aggressive - Assertive COMPETENCY: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and interpersonal skills to help understand and respect self and others. OBJECTIVE: Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. GRADE: 5 OUTLINE: Students will listen to definitions of passive, aggressive and assertive behaviors. They will be presented with information about the characteristics of these behaviors. Students will complete a worksheet on which they indicate whether responses to certain situations are passive, aggressive, or assertive. Students will then practice responding to various situations in an assertive manner. ACTIVITIES/STRATEGIES: COUNSELOR: Explain the characteristics of passive, aggressive and assertive behaviors. Explain to students the importance of being assertive. Point out that being assertive reinforces feelings of self-worth, and that assertive behavior is necessary for successfully settling conflicts and for having comfortable conversations. Share with students that much of the time we are passive and aggressive rather than assertive; and that assertive skills need to be practiced. Distribute worksheets (attachment) to students and instruct them to mark whether the responses to given situations are passive, aggressive or assertive. Review the correct answers with students. Allow students an opportunity to practice using assertive skills by stating a situation and calling on students to respond to the situation assertively. Share resources about behaviors with teacher and class. Offer additional group and individual counseling for aggressive students. PARENT: Model assertive behavior. When child behaves inappropriately, ask him/her how he/she could behave in an appropriate manner. Discipline child who continues to be aggressive in a consistent and firm, but loving manner. EVALUATION: Students will listen during discussion of behaviors. Student will complete behavior worksheet. Student will practice using assertive behaviors. PASSIVE,AGGRESSIVE, OR ASSERTIVE? For each situation listed below, write whether the response is passive, aggressive or assertive. Situation # 1: Your teacher made a mistake averaging your grade. Response: _____________"My grade is different from what I think it should be. Would you mind averaging it again?" _____________Do nothing about the mistake. ____________"You didn't average my grade right!" Situation # 2: Your best friend asks you to do something that you think is wrong. Response: _____________"I don't feel comfortable doing that. I'd rather not." _____________"Maybe. I'll think about it." _____________"No way! You are crazy and you're going to get in trouble!" Situation # 3: The cashier in the cafeteria gives you the wrong change. Response: _____________"You're trying to cheat me!" _____________"Excuse me, I don't believe you gave me back the right amount of money." _____________Say nothing about the mistake. Situation # 4: A friend asks you to copy your homework assignment. Response: _____________"I don't feel comfortable doing that because I spent a lot of time on this, and I don't want to get into trouble for cheating." _____________"No way! You shouldn't be so lazy. Do your own work." _____________"I guess it will be all right for you to copy it."
Week 6: Note of Appreciation and Closure Group members will each write a ‘fuzzy’ about each of the other group members without signing the notes. Some lessons adapted from: North Carolina Guidance Curriculum