COUNSELOR LESSON PLAN

Topic:  “Get to know your Counselor”.
Duration: 45- 50 minutes
Grade Level: 9th
				
ASCA COUNSELING STANDARDS 				

Mindset Standards:  
# 3 -Sense of belonging in the school environment.
Behavior Standards:
●	Learning Strategies (#1, 4, 9)
●	Self-Management Skills (#1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
●	Social Skills:  (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)				
OBJECTIVES/ESSENTIAL QUESTION		TERMINOLOGY		

1.  Students will be able to (SWBAT) identify who their counselor is, where they are located, how to make an appointment.

2.  SWBAT understand what school counselors can do to assist students in a time of need.

3.  SWBAT to work collaboratively to support one another during this freshman year of major transition from middle school and how to effectively communicate with one another.
		
School Counselor:  A counselor and an educator who works in elementary, middle, and/or high schools to provide academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social competencies to all K-12 students through a school counseling program.
Limits of Confidentiality:  Confidentiality kept at all times in the school counselors office except when there is disclosure of:
A:  Abuse (All forms)
B:  Suicide
C:  Homicide
Communicate:  Sharing or exchanging information, news, or ideas.  
Collaborate: Working  jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something. 
Support:  give assistance to, enable to function or act.		

INTRODUCTION TO LESSON				
As students start their freshman year of high school, they are often unsure or completely unaware of what a school counselor does to support them through high and the services they provide.  This lesson allows students to meet and see who their counselor is, what things a school counselor does, and the power to come together as the freshman class and support, encourage, communicate with each other to ensure all students are successful.				
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE | INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN               				
TEACHER ACTIONS		STUDENT ACTIONS		
Bell work:  Write down counselors contact name, email, phone number and office location for students to copy down.		Students will copy down counselor name, email, phone number and office location in a safe place in case they need to get a hold of their school counselor.		
1.	 Counselor will introduce themself and share some personal information with the students in order for students to “get to know their counselor”.  Such items may be educational background, marriage, children, pets, etc…  Allow student to ask questions if it is appropriate.		1.	 Students will actively listen about their counselor and ask questions if they want to know more (must be appropriate).		
    2.  Share with students what a school counselor does and doesn’t do and how we can support students.  *Use colored index cards as cue to items to be discussed with students.		   2.  Students will actively listen.
		
    3.  Break students into two teams. (Number off or use playing cards reds vs. blacks).  Teams will assign a leader to speak on behalf of the team.		   3.  Students will group together in their assigned team.  Students will pick team leader.
		
4.  
A:  Flip Coin to determine which team will go first in answering trivia questions (based off of the information given from the index cards).  
B:  1st team will be asked a trivia question.  If they get it right, they can throw a ball into the basketball hoop (hung up in room).  Team will receive 2 pts possible (One for answering the question correctly and the other for making a basket).  Failure to not answer question correctly, will result in the question going to the team.  
C:  Teams will then take turns answering trivia questions and making baskets.  
D:  Counselor will  have to keep score.  
		4.  Teams will listen to trivia question, collaborate, and team leader will announce the answer.  If answer is correct, team can select a person to throw ball into basket for another point.  Teams will take turns.  		
5.  ACTIVITY #2:  
A:  Have students make a large circle (shoulder to shoulder) around the classroom.
B:  Hand students 1 playing card.  Have students memorize what card they are currently holding.
C:  Explain that you will be reading a story, “The Wright Family”.  Every time the students hear the word  “right”, they must send their playing card to the person to the right of them.  Every time the students hear the word “left”.  They must pass their playing card to the person on the left of them.		5.  Students will make a circle and memorize their card.  
Students will listen to story and participate by passing their card either right or left.		
6.  
A:  After story is ready, ask students if they have their original playing card?  How many have zero card?  How many have more than 1 card?  Then ask questions that pertained to “The Wright Family” story.  
B:  Make a point that often times students get caught up in their daily lives and forget the little things that are important, friends, supporting each other, helping one another.  Slow down…
C:  Collect cards and re-group students.		6.  Students will attempt to answer questions the counselor has asked.		

CLOSURE|CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING				

Counselor will ask students to share out things they learned in today’s lesson. 				
AVID WICOR STRATEGIES UTILIZED				

Inquiry: Learning about their school counselor, our role at school, working together to support one another in high school.
Collaboration: Working together to answer questions about school counselor and trying to get extra points by making a basket with the mini basketball hoop.
				
RESOURCES				

●	Index cards that cover information about what school counselors role is in school, confidentiality, types of abuse that requires a breech of confidentiality,  how counselors can help, etc…
●	Mini basketball and hoop.
●	Deck of cards
●	1 coin
●	The Wright Family story & questions that pertain to the The Wright Family				
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION			

●	Auditory (listening with in group as well as review/closure)
●	Verbal  (speaker)
●	Visual (Review/Closure)
●	Kinetic:  (Basketball and deck of cards)

SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON AND RESOURCES			

The Wright Family Story and Questions			

STORY:	“Life with the Wright Family”
One day the Wright family decided to take a vacation.  The first thing they had to
decide was who would be left at home since there was not enough room in the Wright
family car for all of them Mr. Wright decided the Aunt Linda Wright would be the one
left at home.  Of course this made Aunt Linda Wright so mad that she left the house
immediately yelling “It will be a right cold day before I return”

The Wright family now bundled up the children, Tommy Wright, Susan Wright, Timmy
Wright and Shelly Wright and got in the car and left.  Unfortunately, as they turned 
out of the driveway someone had left a trash can in the street so they had to turn right
around and stop the car.  They told Tommy Wright to get out of the car and move the
trash can so they could get going.  Tommy took so long that they almost left him in the
street.  Once the Wright family got on the road, Mother Wright wondered if she had
left the stove on.  Father Wright told her not to worry he had checked the stove and
she had not left it on.  As they turned right at the corner, everyone started to think 
about other things that they might have left undone.

No need to worry now, they were off  a right fine vacation.  When they arrive at the
gas station, Father Wright put gas in the car and then discovered that he had left his
wallet at home.  So Timmy Wright ran home to get the money that was left behind.
After Timmy had left, Susan Wright started to feel sick.  She left the car saying that
she had to throw up.  This of course got Mother Wright’s attention and she left the
car in a hurry.  Shelly Wright wanted to watch Susan get sick, so she left the car too.
Father Wright was left with Tommy Wright who was playing a game in the backseat.

With all of this going on Father Wright decided that this was not the right time to take
a vacation, so he gathered up all of the family and left the gas station as quickly as he
could.  When he arrived home, he turned left into the driveway and said “I wish the
Wright family had never left the house today! Right?”

After reading the story ask the following questions:
●	How much of the story can you remember?
●	What does this activity tell us about communication?
●	What does this activity tell us about teamwork?
●	What does this activity tell us about listening skills?
					Or
●	Who was left at home?
●	What was forgotten at home
●	What happened to Susan Wright?
●	What did Shelly Wright do?
●	What did Timmy do?