Category Archives: Favorite Resources and Literature

Aug 10 2012

The “Anger” Games

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As I continue to prepare for a new year of school counseling, I’ve been on the look out for games to use with my anger management groups.  I want to share a couple I have found with you.

The m&m® Anger game is a fun and TASTY way for your group members to share their feelings about anger.  I found this game board by Lori Kotarba in an old PIC (Practical Ideas for Counselors) Newsletter. 

You’ll need to create your game boards, color them, and laminate them.  Give each student a fun size pack of m&m’s®.  If you have one large bag, give each child 10-15 of them making sure they have at least one of every color.  The students will then sort their m&m’s® on the game board.  Students will take turns sharing their answers for each color.  If a student has two orange m&m’s®, he or she will share two things that make him or her angry.  (This is according to my sample.  Your color order can be however you choose.)  As the students share they may eat their m&m’s®.

Another popular idea comes from Diane Senn’s latest book called Guidance Mini-Lessons.  She calls it Beach Ball Buzz.  Her book gives suggested statements for an anger management beach ball.  She includes a couple of silly directions to add fun to the game as well.

This beach ball has the following statements from the book:

  • Show us how to take three deep breaths when you are angry.
  • Name one thing that happens to your body when you are getting angry.
  • Share a time when you got angry.
  • Name one thing that helps you calm down when you are angry.
  • Sing the “ABC” song out loud.
  • Pretend you are a bird and fly around the room.
Beach Ball Buzz is only one of many great mini-lessons in this book.

 

Be sure to check out my Teachers pay Teachers store for an Anger Management Activity Pack which includes a foldable, 8 anger management strategy posters, and an I-Messages Activity- all for only $3.00.

AngerFoldable

OT:  The PIC article suggested creating m&m® game boards for whatever topics you choose.  So, I created two others to share with you.  One can be used in a  self-esteem group and the other is for a  getting to know you session with new students.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  What are some anger management games or activities you have used?

 

Jul 9 2012

Teaching Children About Self-Expression

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I recently found an adorable book about self-expression called Unique Monique written by Maria Rousaki.  I’m sure you have an idea of why Monique is unique just by looking at the cover.  However, her large, red glasses are not her only way of expressing herself!

Monique attends a school where everyone wears a uniform.  Everyday she must wear her blue top and brown skirt. She wants to be different, so each day she looks for a way to express her uniqueness from painting her nails to carrying a big fancy bag.  Sadly, all of her ideas are prohibited by the school principal.

Interestingly enough, every idea Monique comes up with is quickly embraced by her school mates.  They always return to school the next day repeating the same actions as Monique had done the day before.

It finally ends with Monique displaying her uniqueness in a way her principal could do nothing about!  You’ll have to read the story to find out how!

This book can be used to lead into a discussion about how we are all special and have unique qualities.  Shy or withdrawn students can benefit from a discussion like this as they work to develop positive attitudes toward themselves as unique and worthy people. Monique expressed herself in a variety of ways.  Like Monique, we all have gifts inside to share with others.

I looked in one of my favorite resources, Turn the Page for Play Therapy Activities, for an activity to tie into this discussion.  In order to assist shy or withdrawn students with “coming out of their shells,” it is important to help them realize the strengths that lie within them.  This great resource, by Dr. Michele Neace Page and Dr. Joy Wilson, has an activity called “What’s the Prize Inside?”   This would be a great small group activity.  Each student is given 5-6 plastic eggs, drawing paper, and a small basket.  You can make paper baskets out of paper bags or find some at the dollar tree.

The students will place “prizes” in each of their eggs.  The “prizes” are examples of their own special qualities.  They can cut pictures from magazines or draw their own pictures to illustrate their special qualities.  Each picture will go inside of an egg.  The students can then decide which “prize” they want to share with the group.

I love that this great resource is aligned with the ASCA standards.  Each activity lists the specific standards that are addressed.  It also comes with a CD which includes all of the reproducible pages from the book.

Of course if you don’t have any plastic eggs on hand, you can always have your students make foldables! (I love a foldable!)

I made this foldable with four flaps.  Since the “prizes inside” are like their special gifts to others, your students can decorate the outside of each flap to look like a gift.  Inside each flap, they can glue pictures from magazines or draw the pictures of each gift.  You can create a school counselor sample to share with students.  Behind one flap, glue a picture of an ear because one of your gifts to your students is to be a good listener.  Another flap can have a bandage because your job is to help children heal.

No matter how you choose to use Unique Monique, it will be a hit with your students.  This book also lends itself to a discussion about being who you are- even within a group.  You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing just to fit in.  Be yourself!

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you!  Tell me about books you use to teach self-expression.

May 17 2012

Creating A Plan for Student Success

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icon
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 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!