Counselor Personal Middle School TTS

Grades 5-10 Personal/Social

Classroom Guidance Lesson Plans

Open-Ended Questions

Short open-ended questions are great to use at the end of each activity or classroom guidance lesson to elicit feedback and help bring closure.

Open-Ended Questions ^[1]

Decision-making/problem-solving

Teach students to identify problems, brainstorm options, and choose positive solutions.

Positive attitude and self-esteem

Help students develop an internal locus of control and help them understand that positive thinking helps you cope with all kinds of problems.

Relationships with peers

Help students develop healthy relationships, recognize true friends, and develop refusal skills.

Relationships with adults

Teach students how to build a personal support system, how to adjust to different teaching styles, and how to negotiate with parents.

Managing grief and depression

Teach depressed students how to bounce back by helping them identify personal strengths and build perseverance. Help children express feelings and cope with chronic illness and the death of a loved one.

Anger management

Teach students how to recognize their anger signs and to talk about their anger instead of acting it out

Conflict resolution

Teach students when to walk away from a conflict, how and when to compromise, and how to solve problems peacefully.

Bullying

Teach students how to cope with gossiping, taunting, and bullying. Teach students what a bystander can do in a bullying situation.

Respecting differences

Teach students to understand and respect ethnic and gender differences.

Notes:


1.		Wellness Activities for Youth Volume 1 by Sandy Queen Kids won’t listen to lectures about exercise or cholesterol—but they will get involved and learn by participating in fun exercises that help them focus on leading healthy, happy lives.

2.		Raising Student Aspirations Grades 9-12 Dr. Russell J. Quaglia and Kristine M. Fox Provides teachers with 72 classroom activities designed to empower and motivate their students' hopes and dreams.

3.		Wellness Activities for Youth Volume 2 by Sandy Queen These whole-person, “no-put-down” activities help young people make healthy choices about physical and emotional health, relationships, stress management, substance abuse, and more.

4.		Girls in Real-Life Situations: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development—Grades 6-12 by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black

5.		Cultivating Kindness in School Ric Stuecker Activities That Promote Integrity, Respect, and Compassion in Elementary and Middle School Students

6.		Group Interventions & Exercises for Enhancing Children's Communication, Cooperation, & Confidence By: MELISSA E. DeROSIER, PhD Empirically-based therapeutic interventions for children ages 6 to 12 who are experiencing peer problems such as bullying, rejection, and social isolation.

7.		The Communication Skills Workbook by John J Liptak, EdD and Ester A Leutenberg Self-Assessments, Exercises and Educational Handouts Each section of the book uses self-assessments, activities, journaling and educational handouts.

8.		Group Exercises for Enhancing Social Skills & Self-Esteem by SiriNam Khalsa A uniquely creative collection of exercises for enhancing self-esteem utilizing proven social, emotional, and cognitive skill-building techniques. Useful in therapeutic, psychoeducational, and recreational settings with children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds with a wide variety of problems, concerns, interests, and abilities.

9.		The PASSPORT Program by Dr. Ann Vernon A Journey through Emotional, Social, Cognitive, and Self-Development An effective prevention curriculum that helps students in grades 1-5 learn positive mental health concepts.

10.		The Children in Change curriculum was developed for a program designed to reduce the stress associated with separation, divorce or other family changes resulting from death, incarceration or drug treatment. The preventive, educational program is provided in the student's own school through eight weekly one-hour small group meetings.

11.		Anger and Aggression Workbook by Dr. John J. Liptak and Ester A. Leutenberg Help participants make constructive changes to better manage their anger and aggression

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