Author Archives: Vanessa

Apr 10 2013

Leo the Lightening Bug-Perseverance

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Leo the Lightening Bug- A great book about perseverance!When teaching about perseverance in my school counseling program, I always reach for one of my favorite books by Eric Drachman.  Leo the Lightening Bug is an adorable story of perseverance.

Little Leo is the “littlest” lightening bug of all his friends.  When you look at the cover of the book, can you guess what Leo’s problem might be?  You probably guessed it:  Leo can’t make his light.  All of his lightening bug friends are able to make their lights.  Leo’s mom lets him know he simply needs a little time and practice.

Leo decided to practice making his light, but as much as he tried- he still couldn’t light up.  It didn’t help things when his friends laughed at him when they saw him.  At this point, Leo is so frustrated that he flies away to a cave and cries.  After some time, he remembers his mother telling him he needed to practice.  Before long, in the midst of a thunder storm, Leo is finally able to light up!  He’s so proud of himself that he declares he could be “King of the lightening bugs!”

You’ll enjoy reading this story, but you will especially love hearing the story narrated on the CD which is included with the book.  The little voice of Leo will warm your heart, and the sound effects are just great!  You can hear a few excerpts from the book HERE on the Kidwick Books website.

If you don’t already have this wonderful book, add it to your list of future purchases!  It’s a winner!

Over the past couple of years, I’ve used this book with my Kindergarten friends.  I always include the song “Never Give Up” from my character song collection.  Initially, I always used it each year with second grade. After reading the story, we would talk about how Leo showed perseverance in the story. The students were given the opportunity to share how they have shown perseverance.  Next, each child was given a sheet with six boxes to create a short comic strip illustrating perseverance.  This idea came from my former intern Rachel.  Here is the sample comic strip Rachel created to help the students understand what to do.  It shows a little girl learning to ride her bicycle.  She falls off, but she gets back on and tries again- showing perseverance.

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Through the years, I have always enjoyed seeing the comic strips created by the students.   I created comic strip tables for the eight character traits my school district uses.  Click HERE to download this FREEBIE from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  You can also follow my TpT Store to keep up with my latest products and freebies.  Also, don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for the Social Skill Builder iPad App!  It ends Friday night at 11:59 PM, and three will win!

 

Apr 8 2013

Giveaway: Social Skill Builder App

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Savvy School Counselor App Giveaway! Enter to win today! 3 will win!!

Yesterday, I posted a review about the full version of the Social Skill Builder App.  This app sells for $12.99.

I’m excited to announce my latest Blog Giveaway!  Social Skill Builder, Inc. has graciously donated THREE FULL Social Skill Builder Apps for me to give to three of my blog readers!  So what are you waiting for?  Enter now!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apr 7 2013

Social Skill Builder App Review

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SSBuilderAppToday, I would like to take some time to share my experience with the Social Skill Builder iPad App.  First, I would like to thank Amanda from Social Skill Builder, Inc. for  inviting me to complete the review and for sending me the free promo code in order to review the app.

Social Skill Builder is a company that sells software programs created to teach children problem solving, friendship and life skills, critical thinking, emotions, and consequences through the use of interactive video clips.

There are two versions of the app:  Social Skill Builder Lite ($2.99) and Social Skill Builder Full ($12.99).  The difference between the two apps is the number of modules included.  The lite version contains four modules while the full version contains ten.  The complete program on CD is $530.95.   The app is a snapshot of what the complete program offers.

I was given the promo code for the full version, and was able to preview ten modules.  I was also able to use this app with three of my social skills groups.  The students I used the app with were first, second, and fourth graders.  I also plan to share this app with my school’s Speech Language Pathologist as it was created by SLP’s.

There are four categories on the app:  My School Day, Preschool Playtime, School Rules, and My Community.

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My School Day contains four modules:  Classroom, Table Talk, Jungle Gym, and Laughing.  I used this portion of the app with all three groups as the issues addressed tied in well with what my students needed.  The video clips are short enough to keep the students engaged while still getting the point across.  Each video has actors demonstrating behaviors that are expected and unexpected.

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Students are required to select the best answer for a question or a series of questions following each clip.  Students are encouraged when they make correct answer selections as they hear, “Keep looking.  There’s more.”  If all answer choices are correct, students receive positive feedback such as,  ”Wow!  You’ve really got it now!” or “Wow!  You got them all!  Great job!”  My students seemed to really like the animated pictures that would pop up on the screen.

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Preschool Playtime includes two modules: Playground and Preschool.  This category says preschool but is still great for the early primary grades.  It is geared toward children age 3-7.  I used a few videos from the playground module with my first grade group.

School Rules includes two modules:  Classroom Assignments and Hanging Out.  This category is geared toward students ranging from age 8-18.   The students in the videos appear to be in middle or high school.  I can see how most of the scenarios can be used with elementary students, but I would most likely use them with students in grades 4 and 5.

My Community includes two modules:  Friend’s House and Restaurant.  I like that this category deals with social behaviors outside of school.  The students are able to review basic social skills involved when visiting a friend or eating out.  It is appropriate for students ages 5-15.

It is very evident as to how this app can be used with a variety of ages. I like that the videos are of real children.  I also like the positive feedback given when correct answers are chosen.  The app is excellent for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.  All of the students in my small groups are regular education students with the exception of one with an IEP who is on the autism spectrum.  There were a few with attention difficulties.   I never had a student who wasn’t fully engaged while using the app.  The questions were straight forward and to the point.  Having a variety of answer choices made the students take time to think through their selections.

Of course, I would love to have more modules available on the app.  However, there are several videos included within each module.  I was able to easily spend the entire group period (30 minutes) just focusing on and discussing two of the modules.

Would you like to have this app for your iPad?  Enter my Social Skill Builder App Giveaway!  This giveaway will end at 11:59PM on Friday, April 12.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  You can also follow my TpT Store to keep up with my latest products and freebies.  As always, I’d love to hear from you!  Have you had the opportunity to use the Social Skill Builder App?  What are your thoughts?

 

Mar 24 2013

Character Trait Paper Folding

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Courage Paper Folding- Freebie

I recently began creating more character trait paper folding activities to use with my students.  I first shared one in this blog post about respect.  Since then, I’ve tried to find a simple way for my blog readers to make these activities with their students too.  This courage activity simply needs to be copied onto your preferred paper (front to back) and given to your students to cut and create.

Where to Cut

 

Once they fold the paper in half and cut the two lines on the inside, they are ready to illustrate and write about how they show courage.

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To copy front to back, I fed my sheets into the copier’s feeder one on top of the other this way:

Character Paper Folding 001I won’t promise that it will work for your particular copier, but I do believe with 95% certainty it will copy correctly.

To print your own copies for this activity, simply click the pictures below.

Courage Paper Folding- Freebie

Courage Paper Folding- Freebie

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have created a character pack for my Teachers Pay Teachers store which includes Courage, Kindness, Respect, and Responsibility.  All four sell for $2.50.  I will be adding more character packs soon.  I’d love for you to visit if you’re interested, but I am happy to give away the courage freebie here.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates!  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  How would you use this activity?

4/8/13 ETA:  Two new character packs have been added to my store.  More Character Trait Paper Folding Activities includes Self-Discipline, Integrity, Perseverance, and Good Judgement for $2.50.  The Character Trait Paper Folding COMBO PACK includes all eight for $4.00.

Mar 6 2013

Tough!- A Bully’s Perspective

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Weird Series- Tough!- Activity Sheet included- savvyschoolcounselor.comI have thoroughly enjoyed presenting The Weird Series by Erin Frankel during my school counseling lessons with my fourth grade friends.  I wrote previously about the book Weird! which tells the story from the perspective of a victim and Dare! which told the story from the perspective of a bystander.  Last, but not least, is Tough!  Of course, this book comes from the bully’s point of view. My students were hooked after the first book.  They were all ears during the second lesson and were very excited to hear the last book of the series.  The students have enjoyed discovering similarities between the books.  Each had a signature symbol- from polka dots, to stars, and now hearts- which helped drive home a similar message:  Know Yourself. Be Yourself. Sam is the main character in Tough!  Readers get a peek into Sam’s world at the beginning of the book as the author reminds us of situations and comments she’s made to Luisa and Jayla from the previous two books.  As Sam tells the story, we see her brother calling her names and taking her guitar away from her.  It appears Sam has had her share of being picked on, and it turns out she stays “tough” in order to keep others from bothering her.  Her teacher, Mr. C, reaches out to her, and she soon decides to accept his help.  Just as we’ve hoped, Sam begins to listen to her heart and takes a turn for the better by the conclusion of the book. All three girls have a club at the end of each book.  Sam has the Kindness Club.  Her activities include a great reflection activity suggested to her by her teacher Mr. C called “Picture This.”  This activity allows her to write her thoughts on paper in order to help her see how her actions affect those around her.  After dividing a piece of paper into four equal sections, she labels the sections with four questions:

  • What did I do?
  • What did I hope to get by doing it?
  • What happened when I did it?
  • How can I get what I want without hurting others?

She then draws pictures to go along with each of the questions. Using this idea, I created an activity sheet called “Picture This” with four equal sections.  Each section has a question at the top and space underneath for students to either draw and/or write their answers.  During the lesson, the students can complete the sheet using Sam’s story OR they may refer to one of their own situations.  It’s also a good idea to give a blank copy to the classroom teacher to use as he or she sees fit in the future. Click the picture below to print a copy of the activity sheet.

"Picture This"- Activity Sheet to support the book Tough! by Erin Frankel- savvyschoolcounselor.com

  The Weird Series is one worth having on your counseling book shelf!  Thanks to Roxanne, from Books That Heal Kids, for bringing this series to my attention on her blog last summer. Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you. Be sure to let me know how your lessons go along with any new ideas you decide to add.