 First Grade Guidance at Lunt Classroom Guidance Lessons Mrs. LaBossiere and Miss Bush begin teaching classroom guidance lessons in September. We teach one guidance lesson per month to each first grade classroom throughout the school year. Guidance Lesson #1 (September): Introductions/Getting to know you We present our first guidance lesson to first grade classrooms during the first two weeks of September. During this lesson we introduce ourselves to students, discuss first grade guidance, and we meet the first grade students. We also read the book Ish by Peter H. Reynolds, which is trying your best and not worrying about being "perfect." Students then make an "ish-ful" drawing of something they like to do, and they have to then find a classmate who likes to do the same thing. We make it clear that it's ok if they can't find someone else who likes to do the same thing - having different interests is a great way to learn from each other. This activity is a fun way for students to get to know each other, and a fun way for them to get to know us. Guidance Lesson #2 (October): Conflict Resolution Strategies During our second first grade guidance lesson, we teach students some conflict resolution strategies, including "I feel" messages. All kindergarten students at Lunt learn about feeling words and "I feel" messages. During this first grade lesson, we review what an "I feel" message is, why it's helpful to use "I feel" messages, and when to use them. Click here for a review of how to build and "I" message. Guidance Lesson #3 (November): Anger Management - How to handle "Anger" feelings in a healthy and safe way We all get angry once in a while, but what we do when we're angry can be very different from person to person. During our third guidance lesson with first graders, we review what "feelings" are, and then focus on the feeling of "anger." We read the book "When Sophie Gets Angry... Really, Really Angry" by Molly Bang.. We then talk about the different things that make us feel angry, and how people react when they are angry. We explain how some things we do when we are angry can make our anger get bigger and bigger, and some things we do make the anger get smaller and smaller. We discuss the book and what Sophie did when she got angry, as well as made her anger smaller. We also talk about why it's important to NOT keep our feelings bottled up inside... and why need to be able to let our anger out, expressing it in a helpful, healthy way that will cause our anger to get smaller, rather than letting it build up. During the second part of this lesson, students thinkt about helps them when they are angry to make their anger get "smaller." Students often share that they go to a special place to calm down, others say they talk to someone about their feelings, and others say they ask their parents for a hug. We then ask students to complete the sentence starter: "It's okay to be angry. My plan to make my anger smaller is: _______________." Students then illustrate their anger plan above the completed sentence. At the end of the lesson we share the four "Anger Rules" with students: It's Okay to get angry, but...
Guidance Lesson #4 (December): Friendship
After watching the video, we talk it and then brainstorm what makes each of us a good friend. Each student is then given a sheet of paper with a sentence starter at the bottom: "I am a good friend because I ________________________________."
Guidance Lesson #5 (January): Everyone is Different, and That's Okay! Our sixth classroom guidance lesson with the 1st grade students is in February. The theme is "diversity" and appreciating individual differences. We talk about how everyone is different, and that's okay! During this lesson, we show a video called, "Everyone is Different." The video teaches students some of the ways that people are different, and most importantly it teaches students that EVERYONE is different, and that's okay!
By creating puppets
of themselves, students notice that no two puppets are the same...
and that we all have differences that make us each a unique, one-of-a-kind
person. We also talk about how, just as they control their own puppet,
they are also responsible for their own actions, choices and behaviors...
and they are responsible for how they treat each other. Our students
love making their very own stick puppet, which they take home to share
with their parents.
Guidance Lesson #5 (February): Bully Prevention During this lesson, we read the book "No One Knew What to Do," about bullying, and what students should do when they are bulllied, or they see someone else being bullied. The primary message to students is to tell an adult if they experience bullying. We also want students to understand that anyone is capable of using bullying behaviors (i.e. teasing, pressuring, taunting, etc), so we all have to be thoughtful and responsible for our own actions, and be sure to never bully anyone. Guidance Lesson #6 (March): Tattling vs Telling During this lesson we discuss the difference between "tattling" and "telling." Students learn when it is important to "tell," and when to try problem solving, rather than "tattling." We read the book Don't Squeal Unless it's a Big Deal. We discuss and role-play strategies that students could use to try and solve their own problems instead of "tattling", such as giving "I feel" messages, or reminding the peer of the class rules, as well as times when they need to tell. Click here for a review of how to build and "I" message. Guidance Lesson #7 (April): Personal Body Safety For the first part this lesson we read a great children's book called The Right Touch. The purpose of this lesson is to create awareness and understanding among students of "personal body safety." Specifically, students learn that their body belongs to them, and that no one has a right to touch their body in any way that is not comfortable to them - and that NO one should ever touch the "private" areas of their body. Students learn that "private" areas or parts of their body are those areas "under their bathing suits". Students learn three specific steps to take if anyone ever tries to give them a "bad touch":
Students also learn that if the first adult they tell doesn't listen or doesn't believe them, then tell another trusted adult until someone does listen and helps. We then brainstorm trusted adults at home and in school who they could talk to if someone ever gave them a bad touch. We review these three steps many times, in many different ways, until students were very familiar and comfortable with them. Students are given plenty of opportunity to ask any questions about this lesson. Guidance Lesson #8 (May): Cooperation The topic for our fifth first grade classroom guidance lesson is cooperation. Students learn what cooperation is, and how cooperation helps them be better friends and learners. During this lesson we read the book, The Enormous Potato, by Aubrey Davis. Students then work in pairs to cooperatively create a "pet" out of plastic, Lego-like “Flexiblocks”.
 Artwork by Peter Reynolds, Copyright © 2000-2008. All rights reserved.
|
'Friendship'
is the theme for our fourth first grade guidance lesson. To start this
lesson, students watch a short video called Let's Be Friends.
The video is in three sections - the first is about 'how to make
friends,' the second is about 'how to keep the friends you have'
(the problems with being bossy and not sharing), and the third part
is about 'sharing friends' (having more than one friend).
Students finish the sentence, telling what makes them a good friend...
and then they illustrat the sentence in the space above. When the
pages are finished, we collect them and bind them into classroom
"books of friendship" - which we present back to each classroom to
keep!
During
the second part of the lesson, each student creates his or her own personal
stick puppet of themselves.