Monthly Archives: May 2012

May 17 2012

Creating A Plan for Student Success

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iconOrganization plays a vital role in having good study skills .  I incorporate study skills through various ways in my school counseling program.  I was glad when I came across the book Annie’s Plan.  This book helps students take charge of their schoolwork and homework by giving strategies to use at school and home.  Annie is a smart girl, but she sometimes is distracted by all the things going on around her at school.  I love the examples the author, Jeanne Kraus, uses to show different ways Annie gets off task.  I’m sure we’ve all seen students drawing when they should be listening or completing an assignment.  How about the student who can’t focus on his or her own work because they are too busy watching what someone else is doing?  Of course when Annie gets home, she can’t remember what the homework assignment is.  Both her teacher and parents know she is smart enough to do so much better.  Therefore, Annie’s plan was born!

Her teacher created a ten step schoolwork plan and a ten step homework plan.  The school plan included cleaning her desk, the use of a daily planner and setting daily goals. During my lessons, I discussed with students why each of the items on the lists were important.  The students were open to sharing items in which they could improve upon as well.  The homework plan included having a scheduled homework time, taking homework breaks when necessary, and preparing for tomorrow.  Many students affirmed that they learned at least one new strategy and that they would begin to implement those strategies in order to take charge of their schoolwork and homework.

Complete Schoolwork Plan

 

Complete Homework Plan

I gave each student a handout titled “What’s Your System?” from the book Spectacular Guidance Activities for Kids by Diane Senn.  This activity tied right in with three of the strategies from the book.  The students wrote about their plan for their desk, book bag, and home study area.  On the back, they could also write any other strategies from the book they would like to improve upon.

This is a great book!  I have used it during a fourth grade lunch bunch as well as classroom guidance with my third grade friends. It can be used for individualized counseling as well for students who, like Annie, are capable but just need a plan in place to keep them on track.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  Connect with me!

May 14 2012

National Boards: Connecting Entries to Standards

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There are 11 school counseling standards.  Each entry you complete will list the standards which should be represented in your writing.  I mentioned in my post National Boards: Start Planning Now that I printed all of the standards so I could manipulate them in order to highlight and jot notes.  Once I copied them, I stapled them separately so I could pull the ones I needed at any given time.  Entry 1 uses all but one of the standards while Entry 4 only uses four of them.  Additionally, stapling separately  helped me to break down all of the information into small chunks which is how I learn best.

You’ll need to know what each entry is about in order to understand how the standards connect to them.  Therefore, I have given a brief explanation of each.

Entry 1- Addressing Personal/Social Needs: This entry involves a small group session that focuses on a critical need at your school.  You’ll need to collect data to support the need for this group and use your analysis of the data to create the lesson.  You will also be required to submit student work samples.

Entry 2-  Exploring Career Development:  This entry involves a whole class career lesson.  You will be required to submit a video segment that is 15 minutes or less and that proves your ability to help students gain more knowledge about the development of careers.

Entry 3-  Maximizing Academic Learning:  This entry involves an individual academic counseling session.  You will also submit a video segment for this entry.  Again, it should be 15 minutes or less.  You will need to demonstrate your ability to assist a student with a plan for academic progress.  The academic intervention plan documents will be required for review as well.

Entry 4- Documented Accomplishments: Contributions to Student Learning:  This entry highlights your involvement with the families of students as well as the community.  You will need to show how you are a learner as well as a leader/collaborator.  With this entry, you can showcase things you do that go beyond what’s expected.  You will be allowed to submit a maximum of 16 pages of documentation to support your accomplishments.

The National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards includes the following standards for school counseling candidates:

I.  School Counseling Program (Entries 1, 2, 3, 4)

II. School Counseling and Student Competencies (Entries 1, 2, 3)

III.  Human Growth and Development (Entries 1, 2, 3)

IV. Counseling Theories and Techniques (Entries 1, 2, 3)

V.  Equity, Fairness, and Diversity (Entries 1, 2, 3)

VI.  School Climate (Entry 1)

VII.  Collaboration with Family and Community (Entries 1, 2, 3, 4)

VIII.  Informational Resources and Technology (Entry 2)

IX.  Student Assessment (Entries 1, 2, 3)

X. Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Identity (Entries 1, 4)

XI.  Reflective Practice (Entries 1, 2, 3, 4)

It’s good to know ahead of time which entries and standards match up.  This will make your highlighting and note writing more meaningful and exact.

Although you will receive a CD with all of the forms and information you need in “The Box” after applying for candidacy, you can always go to the NBPTS website to download and print everything you need to get started and to begin planning out your school year.  I say, why wait? Also, remember to look into any sessions being offered by your school district.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  I will continue to add more posts to the National Boards page.  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  Connect with me!

May 12 2012

Look Who’s Been Spotted!- ESC .org

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When it comes to finding exciting and creative ideas for my school counseling program, I always check out Marissa Rex at ElementarySchoolCounseling.org.  I truly want to try new things after viewing her videos and reading about the creative ways she presents different topics to the students at her school.  I could name several things from her site that I love, but I will try to limit myself to three! :)

  • When I saw her series of videos for “Adventures with Tim,” I just had to find my own puppet, or “Whatnot,” for my school.  Tim catches students being good and makes video clips highlighting positive behaviors.  I went to the website she mentioned and played around a little with the whatnot maker.  My whatnot wasn’t anywhere as cute as Tim, and I was dismayed. Then I remembered… I already have a great puppet in my office that would work.  All I need to do is name her and maybe get a new outfit for her. Okay… DEFINITELY get a new outfit for her since she looks like she could guest star on Little House on the Prairie.  Anyway, this is a great idea to add to my school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) initiative.
  • Marissa also has a video podcast on her YouTube channel.  She showcases ideas she uses in her school counseling program like using food to show feelings and using the game Whoonu in small groups. Additionally, she has several playlists categorized by topic and ready to use. Some of the playlist topics include bullying, self-esteem, and feelings.  With this new inspiration, I hope to one day get over being camera shy so I can add a few videos to my YouTube channel. (Fingers crossed!)
  • ESC.org gives several lesson ideas for a long list of topics from individual counseling all the way to school-wide programs.  Marissa graciously provides her powerpoints and PDF documents for your use. Awesome!
As the author of a new blog, the first thing I noticed about Marissa when I launched was her immediate support.  I’m sure she’s just being her usual self, but for me it really meant a lot when she tweeted me and congratulated me on launching my blog.  She also added my blog to her list of resources that same day which has added several new visitors here at Savvy School Counselor. Thank you, Marissa!
I decided to create Look Who’s Been Spotted to highlight blogs and websites I follow and enjoy.  These sites will gradually create a list on the My Favorites page.
You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates! I’d love to hear from you. Connect with me!
May 11 2012

2 Great Books About Manners

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I have discovered several great books while cruising the boards on Pinterest for school counseling ideas. I ordered several late in the school year and decided to “test drive” a couple of lessons with my first and second grade friends.

One book I discovered and ordered is If Everybody Did by Jo Ann Stover.  I used this book during a second grade lesson and followed it with a drawing activity. This story illustrates what would happen if everybody did certain things like plucked flowers, slammed doors, and squeezed the cat.  The consequences brought laughter throughout the classroom. As we flipped through each page, we discussed why it is important to think about the choices we make.  Would there be flowers to look at and smell if everybody plucked them? Even though the over-the-top illustrations elicited laughter, our discussion helped my friends to really think about what would happen if they made poor choices and what a catastrophe the choices could lead too.  This lesson tied in very well with our discussion about our character trait of the month- good judgment.

After listening to the story, I gave each child a piece of drawing paper and asked them to illustrate some “If Everybody Did” statements. Some questions were- What would happened if everybody ran in the hallway?  What would happen if everybody threw garbage on the ground?  What would happen if everybody left their trays on the table in the cafeteria. The ideas they came up with were really cute.  Here is one student’s interpretation of what would happen if everybody was late to school:

Another great book about manners is the cute and funny Do Unto Otters, by Laurie Keller. This book is about a rabbit who discovers that otters are his new neighbors.  Unsure if they will get along, he talks with owl about it.  Owl tells him to treat otters the way he wants otters to treat him.  Mr. Rabbit then goes on to name several characteristics he would want the otters to have including being kind and considerate.  They should also know when to say please, thank you, and when to apologize.  This book reminded me of Simon’s Hook because of the extra dialogue and commentary throughout the book which were created to give examples and to evoke a few giggles!

I printed and copied writing paper from Do2Learn.com and asked the students to write a sentence or two about how they show good manners.  After writing, they illustrated the sentence(s).  I gave them a list with several options to choose from just in case they couldn’t come up with an idea.  Here are a few samples of their work:

 

 

 

 

Those students who finished before the lesson concluded flipped the paper over to a Do Unto Otters coloring page on the back.  I found the picture online at the author’s website.  You can find a Do Unto Otters  multiple choice, word search, and quiz there as well.

I plan to use these books at the beginning of the next school year and would love to hear of other ideas to try! Connect with me!

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May 7 2012

Pass the Mic: Singing About Good Character

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One of the first purchases I made before starting my school counseling job was two sets of books and CDs.  I remember going to my neighborhood teacher supply store to find resources for my new job, only to find out the terrible truth.  You won’t find any school counseling resources at your regular teacher supply stores.  You can, however, find a few things supporting character education.  So after grabbing some character ed. resources, I stumbled upon these character education readers published by Creative Teaching Press.  Each set contains six books and one CD.  I can tell you, I haven’t skipped a year without using them!I really enjoy singing songs with my Kindergarten friends.  They have come to expect a new song each time I visit.

Our school system focuses on eight specific character traits, and I have a song to go with each one.

  • Responsibility- You Can Count on Me!
  • Respect- Following the Rules
  • Courage- Dare to Have Courage
  • Kindness- Everyone is Special and Unique or Show You Understand
  • Self-Discipline- Think Before You Act
  • Integrity- Telling the Truth
  • Perseverance- Never Give Up!
  • Good Judgment- Would It Be Right?

It doesn’t hurt that I enjoy singing. The words in the books are the lyrics to the songs.  The chorus is usually easy enough for the kids to pick up.  By the second play, they are singing right along with me.  I love it!  It is a great way to help the smaller ones understand what those BIG character  words really mean.  Once they are in first grade, I’ll sing a line or two to remind them of the meaning of the character trait we are discussing.  Many of them will still remember the choruses.

There is a resource book that goes along with the character readers.  You can make individual student readers for small groups and use the additional activities to go along with each of the books.  Most companies sell these books individually or as a complete set.  You can still find them in six packs as well.  You can also purchase the CD separately.  There are four additional books about various topics including sharing, friendship, compassion, and cooperation.  These books are great for lower elementary age groups.

Stick around! You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you. Connect with me!