Fifth Grade: Being Assertive

For our final lesson in this rotation, we talked about what it means to be assertive. We began our lesson by watching the "Walk, Walk, Walk" video and listening for the phrase "recognize those feelings." Students counted how many times they were able to listen with attention and hear the phrase in the song. Next, we did an activity called Sculptor and Clay, where students took turns being the sculptor or the clay, and the sculptor "molded" the clay into whichever pose I asked for. I first asked for sculptors to mold their class into an aggressive pose. We asked how students would feel if someone talked to them while using that body language (scared, uncomfortable, sad). We also talked about whether this pose was a good way to ask for help (no!). Next, I asked students to switch, and this time the sculptor should make their clay into a passive pose (the opposite of aggressive). Many students struggled to capture what passive looks like, so I modeled for the class and we talked about whether this was a good way to ask for help.

Next, we talked about what it means to be assertive: calm, firm, and respectful. I modeled what assertive would look like, and we talked about why it was the right way to ask for help.

You can find the link to this lesson's prezi here.

Third Grade: Making a Plan

For our final lesson in our Skills for Learning unit, we talked about what makes a good plan. We briefly reviewed our four Skills for Learning:

1. Focus Attention
2. Listen
3. Use Self-Talk
4. Be Assertive

Next, we listened to the Skills for Learning song and pointed to the different Skills for Learning posters when we heard each one. We played Sentence Switcheroo, a brain builder where I read the same sentence twice and students have to use their bodies to show whether it was the same or different (standing for the same, sitting for one change, reaching up high for two changes). 

We talked about a boy named Cheng who had forgotten to take his homework home -- again! We talked about how he was feeling (sad, frustrated, angry, disappointed, nervous, embarrassed). We talked about what a plan is, and why we can use plans to help us be successful. We talked about what makes a good plan:

• The order makes sense
• It's simple
• You can do it

When a plan has meets these three criteria, we can consider it a good plan. We brainstormed what Cheng could do, and students used Think, Turn, Tell to share their ideas with their partners. Cheng decides to write himself a note that says "REMEMBER HOMEWORK," and students brainstormed where to put the note where he would see it. Cheng decides to put the note on his desk, but he still forgets his homework at school once he puts his homework on his desk. Students brainstormed a final step for Cheng's plan to help him remember to get it home. Cheng decided to put his homework in his backpack as soon as he saw the note, and he is now able to take his homework home and uses a similar plan to get his homework back to school. We used the Good Plan Checklist to make sure our plan met the criteria for a good plan, and it did!

First Grade: Be Assertive

For our final lesson in this unit, we focused on our fourth Skill for Learning: being assertive, or asking for help in a calm, firm, respectful way. We began the lesson with a quick review of what skills we had already learned: focus attention, listen, and use self-talk. Next, we learned a new way to share our ideas called Think, Turn, Tell. In this activity, students think of an answer, then show me a silent signal when they are ready to share (thumbs up). Next, I tell students to turn and tell their partner their ideas. When both partners have shared, they give me the silent signal (thumbs up) and I know they are ready to move on. Puppy and Snail came to visit, and Snail told students about how he had forgotten his lunch on the school bus. He was afraid to tell the teacher, but Puppy reminded him that the teacher is here to help.

Next, we talked about a girl named Tiffany, who was working on a writing assignment but was stuck. The teacher was busy helping another student across the room. We used Think, Turn, Tell to share our ideas about what Tiffany could do (try one more time, ask a friend, raise her hand and wait for the teacher). We talked about what we should do when we have a problem in a very specific order.

1. Try one more time
2. Ask a friend
3. Raise your hand and wait for the teacher

We talked about why we should try one more time and ask a friend before asking the teacher, and what would happen if we all asked the teacher for help every time. Next, we talked about three different ways to ask for help: passive, aggressive, and assertive. Snail modeled each one:

• Passive -- whiny, not making eye contact
• Aggressive -- bossy, mean, yelling
• Assertive -- calm, firm, respectful

We talked about what was wrong with asking for help in a passive or aggressive way, and what was right about asking for help in an assertive way. We ended the lesson by having students practice asking for help assertively.

How to Ask for Help Assertively

1. Say Excuse Me
2. Say the Problem
3. Ask for Help

Fifth Grade: Listening with Attention

For our listen this week, we focused on what it means to listen with attention. We started the lesson by having students listen to a song and see how many times they had the word "empathy." Then, we played "I'm Going on a Picnic," where students say an item in alphabetical order and must remember and repeat what those before him or her said. We talked about whether it was hard to focus with all of the groups playing at the same time (yes), and what they did to pay attention to just their group. Next, we watched a video about a boy named Kaden who wasn't listening to his friend. We talked about how we could tell he wasn't listening (he wasn't making eye contact, he was thinking about other things, he talked to someone else). We also talked about how his friend felt when he realized Kaden wasn't listening: frustrated, disappointed, disrespected.

We finished the lesson by talking about what Kaden could do differently: make eye contact, ask questions, repeat what he hears, and not interrupt.

You can view this week's prezi here.

Third Grade: Being Assertive

This week, we learn our fourth and final Skill for Learning: being assertive. We started out the lesson with a quick review of the Skills for Learning we had learned in previous weeks: listen, focus attention, and use self-talk. Students shared examples of how they had used self-talk in the last week to help them be successful. Next, we did a Brain Builder called the Doodle Dance, where I show students different doodles that have corresponding dance moves. The biggest rule in the doodle dance is that all dance moves must be done in reverse order, and the game is a silent game. Students must focus on me to know when to switch dance moves and also to know the order in which they were held up. Many students use self-talk to remind themselves which dance move goes with each doodle.

We spent the rest of the time discussing a girl named Naomi, who arrived to school late. Her teacher had already divided up the class to start working on a project, and when she arrives she doesn't have a group to join. We talked about what Naomi wants or needs (to join a group), and how she is feeling (sad, confused, nervous, disappointed). Next, I modeled three different ways to ask for help and had students describe how my voice sounded, my word choice, and my body language for each way I asked for help.

1. Passive -- not making eye contact, speaking quietly, lack of confidence
2. Aggressive -- too confident, making eye contact but not using respectful words
3. Assertive -- calm, firm, respectful, making eye contact and standing tall

We talked about the problems you can have when asking for help passively (people may not know what you need to help you) and aggressively (people will not want to help you). We ended the lesson by having students practice asking their partners for help assertively.

First Grade: Self-Talk

We  continued our unit with Skills for Learning this week by introducing our third skill: self-talk, or talking to yourself in a quiet voice to help you ignore distractions. We started the lesson with another Brain Builder. In this Brain Builder, Snail and Puppy came to help students practice their skills for learning from last week (listening and focusing attention). Students were told to only listen to snail, and not puppy, who might try to trick them. After the Brain Builder, we talked about who we had to listen to, and what we were focusing on. Next, we did a quick review with the Listening Rules from last week, where we added in some motions.

• Eyes watching -- point to eyes
• Ears listening -- cup ears
• Voices quiet -- finger over mouth
• Body still -- hug yourself

We listened to the Be A Learner song, where students did motions each time they heard a Skill for Learning in the song. Next, we talked about a picture of four students in a first grade classroom. In the picture, one student was working, two were talking, and the fourth student was being distracted. We talked about who was distracted and how we could tell that he was distracted (he was looking away, he wasn't working). Next, we talked about what he could do to help him ignore distractions (use his attent-o-scope, tell himself to work). The student decides to use his attent-o-scope and then repeats the directions to himself inside his head, also known as self-talk. The student is able to focus on his work and complete his assignment once he uses self-talk. We spent the remainder of the lesson brainstorming what we would tell ourselves using self-talk in different situations.

Fifth Grade: Empathy & Respect

For our first unit in fifth grade, we talk about empathy, or feeling or understanding how other people are feeling. Our first lesson focused on the overview of what we will learn in fifth grade and talked a little bit about empathy and respect. Students listened to the song "Home" by Phillip Phillips, and we talked about why I play this song in our first lesson (it talks about making this place our home, including others, gives examples of empathy, etc.). Next, we watched a quick video that discusses the different topics we will explore in fifth grade. We talked about what empathy means, and who you can have empathy for (teachers, friends, parents, anyone!). We talked about how having empathy helps us to treat others with respect, and we also talked about what it means to be respectful. We concluded the lesson by writing rules for how we want to treat others during counselor lessons this year.

You can view the prezi for this lesson here.

Third Grade: Using Self-Talk

We started out our lesson with a quick review of the Skills for Learning we had previously discussed:
Focus Attention and Listen. Next, we did a Brain Builder called "Who is Talking?," where students had to lay their heads down and close their eyes. I would pick one student to move to a different spot in the classroom and read aloud. Students had to point to where they thought the noise was coming from, then give a thumbs-up when they knew who was reading. After the first round, I added in some distractions to make this game more difficult. Once the Brain Builder was over, we talked about what Skills for Learning they used in the game (focus attention and listen). We also talked about whether it was harder for them to focus when I was making noises (they said yes). We talked about why I made noises: to make it harder, to make them use their skills for learning more.

We spent the rest of the lesson talking about a boy named Omar, who was trying to work on a book report but was having a hard time due to distractions in his classroom. Students took turns using Think, Turn, Tell to share what distractions they saw. We talked about how Omar may feel like they felt during the game when I was causing distractions. Next, they used Think, Turn, Tell to share anything they told themselves during my distractions to help them stay focused. After we shared the answers with the class, we talked about self-talk, a skill for learning where students talk to themselves in their heads or in a quiet (whisper) voice to help them stay focused. For our final Think, Turn, Tell students shared what Omar could tell himself using self-talk to help him be successful.

First Grade: Focusing Attention & Listening

For our first unit this year, we are focusing on Skills for Learning. There are four Skills for Learning that I teach:

1. Focus Attention
2. Listen
3. Use Self-Talk
4. Be Assertive

We started out our lesson by talking about my expectations for when I am in the classroom.

We played the Brain Builder My Turn, Your Turn, where students listen to my instructions then wait until their turn to repeat back to me what I said. I typically say two body parts for them to point to, then give some wait time before their turn begins. Students often find it difficult to wait, so this is good practice for them. We talk about why we do Brain Builders -- because they help us have strong brains and be better learners.

Next, Snail came to visit the class and taught students the Listening Rules:

• Eyes Watching (point to eyes)
• Ears Listening (point to ears)
• Voices Quiet (finger over mouth)
• Body Still (give self a hug)

The students practiced repeating the rules back to Snail, and then we moved on to the discussion part of our lesson. We spoke about a boy named Abraham who was learning a new game in P.E. that he really wanted to learn. We talked about what he could do to make sure he understood how to plan and remembered the rules (look at the teacher, listen to instructions, pay attention). We also talked about a tool that Abraham uses called an attent-o-scope. He makes each hand into a circle and places them over each eye to create his attent-o-scope, which helps him focus and block out distractions. We talked about how once our attention is focused, we can put our attent-o-scopes down and continue to focus. We also talked about how to activate our attent-o-scopes: by telling ourselves in our minds to "focus," "pay attention," or "activate attent-o-scope."

We finished our lesson with a quick review of the skills we had learned.