Meet the Counselor Activities

It’s that “Meet the Counselor” time of year! Starting a new school year can be both exciting and overwhelming. There is so much to do leading up to the first day of school. The next thing you know, it’s time to begin seeing classes and teaching them all about your role as school counselor. So, today, I want to talk about the lessons I’ve had on repeat.

One thing I believe is just as important as a fun Meet the Counselor Lesson is a session where you share about yourself, learn about your students, and set your expectations. This is especially important if you are a counselor who is on the specials rotation and seeing students regularly each week. Classroom management will be even more important in a rotation situation, so you will want to have a consistent set of expectations to share with your class. In my past Meet the Counselor lessons, I’ve used a circle map to share about myself. After sharing a circle map that tells all about you, you can give your students a circle map to complete and share as well. It could be a blank circle map for them to write what they choose or a guided circle map that tells them the exact information you’d like for them to share. I’ve also created a simple Google slide with “all about me” pictures to display on the screen as I tell classes about myself. Getting to know you time with students can be as simple as using a talking stick or tossing a ball and having a question or statement that every student answers or shares once it is his or her turn.

A lesson I have put on repeat is one where I use the book Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives by Erainna Winnett. I love using this book with my 2nd grade friends each year. After sharing the book with them, I use one of my own activities from my Meet the Counselor Activity Pack. In this activity, I share posters with the class that reiterate some of the key roles of the school counselor, and then they each get a cut and paste activity where they match what the school counselor does to a part of the body. Once they catch what the statements say on the cards, they are able to figure out the answers. For example, if it says “A counselor listens to your problems,” it would go in the box that points to the ear.

In the same Meet the Counselor Activity Pack is another lesson I use with my first grade friends. We typically review the Meet the Counselor Introduction Posters which I also use with my Kindergarten friends each year, and then they complete a take home booklet that says “I Met My School Counselor Today.” I usually have them cut and paste the feelings/emotions into the booklet, but there is also an option that can just be copied and sent home without cutting and pasting.

Also in this pack is an activity called The School Counselor Sort. This activity works well for grades 2-4. The students sort a set of cards onto the sorting mat into three categories: Reasons to See the Counselor, What a Counselors Does, and What a Counselor Does NOT Do. You can create several sets for small groups in the class or you can sort them together as a class as you discuss each card.

I love playing SCOOT with my upper elementary students. The Meet the Counselor Activity Pack also includes Meet the Counselor SCOOT. This is a game where students travel around the room from card to card completing their answers for each card on an answer sheet. After everyone has rotated through all of the cards, the class comes back together to discuss each of the answers.

Additionally, this pack includes a Meet the Counselor Flip-a-Flap Booklet where students can write the information they’ve learned about the role of the school counselor during any Meet the Counselor Lesson. It can also be used for new student groups.

Whether you use a ready made lesson or not, it’s always important to make sure your students understand the rules of confidentiality with the school counselor. I always use this Counselor Confidentiality Poster during my Meet the Counselor Lessons and I also put it on the door to my office and hang it inside my office as well. It reminds the students that what they say to the counselor remains private unless someone is being hurt. Click the photo below to download a FREE copy.

What are some of the ways you introduce your role to the students at your school? You may also want to check out the following games: True, True, NOT True – Meet the Counselor Edition and Meet the Counselor Tic-Tac-Toe Chat.

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