Harwood Counseling Corner
February 2016
Classroom Counseling Lessons
The topic of Empathy was the main focus for classroom lessons during December and January. Students participated in various activities to help them understand their feelings and the feelings of others. The Second Step classroom counseling curriculum that all West Fargo Elementary Counselors implement includes interactive Brain Builder games, class discussion, opportunities for students to practice skills, and songs.
How can families reinforce these concepts at home?
To utilize the home-links, go to www.secondstep.org and use the appropriate activation key.
Grade K: SSPK FAMI LY 70
Grade 1: SSP1 FAMI LY71
Grade 2: SSP2 FAMI LY72
Grade 3: SSP3 FAMI LY73
Grade 4: SSP4 FAMI LY74
Grade 5: SSP5 FAMI LY75
Kindergarten
We listened to the song My Own Two Hands and discussed the ways we can use our hands for helping others. The students practiced these different ways to show compassion for others.
First Grade
Feelings are a normal part of life for children as well as adults. We read The Way I Feel by Janan Cain, and created a class book, The Way We Feel, to help students to understand the concept of emotions and to be able to express their feelings with words.
Feelings are neither good nor bad, they simply are. Children need words to name their feelings, just as they need words to name foood, clothes, toys, people, etc.
2nd Grade
We read the story Hey Little Ant by Phillip & Hannah Hoose, and talked about what would you do if an ant you were about to step on looked up and started talking? Would you stop and listen? What if your friends saw you hesitate? We attempted to answer the question: To squish or not to squish?
Learning about how to show compassion for others helps children take action on their feelings of empathy.
3rd Grade
We read the book Zen Ties by Jon Muth.
Summer has arrived, and so has Koo, Stillwater's haiku-speaking young nephew. And when Stillwater encourages Koo, and his friends Addy, Michael, and Karl to help a grouchy old neighbor in need, their efforts are rewarded in unexpected ways.
Zen Ties is a disarming story of compassion and friendship that reaffirms the importance of our ties to one another.
Combo Class (grades 3/4)
When you have empathy for others, you can say or do many things to show your care and concern. Showing care and concern for others is called compassion.
We read The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister and discussed how this beautiful fish learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions with others. Students also made a friendship chain by listing important qualities of a good friend.
4th Grade
The fourth grade students have been focusing on ways to show compassion for others. Whether that is saying a kind word, lending a helping hand, or giving a smile, students can make a huge impact on the lives of others. We read The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss and celebrated our unique qualities!
5th Grade and Perspective Taking
The students started out by discussing different perspectives and how every perception a person has is based upon their own personal experience. People perceive the world differently because no two people have the same experiences. Experience makes us who we are. We tied this into the topic of bullying, discussing how the perspective is different depending on if the student is the bully, the target, or the bystander. The students then blindly picked a "role" - bully, the target, or bystander. Groups then get together to discuss feelings / actions that go along with the role they have. They then complete an "I am" poem from the point of view of the role they have. Once the poem was complete, the students typed and printed their poems. Students also designed an anti-bullying T-shirt on the opposite side of their poem.
Harwood Kindness Week
February 22-26, 2016
Lyndsey Simonson
Email: lsimonson@west-fargo.k12.nd.us
Website: https://www.west-fargo.k12.nd.us/schools/harwood/
Phone: (701) 499-1420