A Peak At Nov's Lessons

Here's what I am doing in Nov. What are you doing?

K- Problem and Solving

We did this FREEBIE color sheet of different situations together to discuss tattle vs. telling. Heads up this is a tough sheet for them so we went slowly. You could also do a big/small problem sort.

Next, we discussed how we can solve small problems by watching Kelso.  I also found this great Big Deal/Little Deal Prezi online.
After that we went back to our color sheet and spun a Kelso wheel I created online to figure out solutions would work. We acted out our problems and solutions. If time allowed we colored our own solution wheels.

I'm clearly no artist. 

In first grade, we are talking about anger management.
First, we read Grumpy Gloria. After reading, we folded long construction paper over to make a book. On the first page we did a "Grumpy Me" cover.

Then on the first page we drew something that makes you grumpy.  

After that we read How To Dinosaur's Say I'm Mad and practiced the two strategies in the book. First we counted to 10 and then we did Belly Breathing on GoNoodle.
After that we added another page to our book by drawing us belly breathing and the back cover was us happy.


3rd Grade- We are talking about coping skills.
First, we read and discussed Silly Billy.  Before reading we made predictions and observations about the book and then checked in as we read to see if they were coming true. We took a brain break to practice our own ways of relaxing by doing Chillax on GoNoodle.
Then we made guesses as to what coping skills were and then I introduce coping skill's using Counselor Keri's Interactive Notebook. Next, we identified the coping skills seen in the story and then used the notebook to pick out and color 4 of our own coping skills.  45 minutes flew by!

5th Grade- We are problem solvers.
First we read and discussed one of my new favorite books What Do You Do With A Problem?  After reading we discussed ways we could solve your own problem using a problem solving tip chart I created with our school mascot. We also discussed what a silver lining is.

Afterwards I gave each student a small sheet of paper and asked them to write down or a real problem they had had this year at school. If they couldn't think of one they could make one up. I gave them a heads up that someone else was reading it, so if it was too personal they could write that down and give it to me and make up another problem. After they were written we threw all our problems into a snowball and everyone grabbed a new paper. Next, they had to find the silver lining in that problem and then if possible come up with one solution.
You can also use this silver lining FREEBIE.

Here is a great silver lining activity to go along with the lesson. I also highly recommend the book It's Tough To Lose Your Balloon.
Also, here is a "silver lining" idiom study.

Grrr...growls and snarls and anger resources

One thing I love about my county is that once a month we all get together and share our resources! This month we talked about anger! Here are some highlights and our counselors favorite resources:

Books

When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry

The Grouchies

Angry Arthur-  https://vimeo.com/76617063


Workbooks
Conflict Resolution Activities that Work- Lots of great role play activities on conflict resolution.

Potter Pig In Control- great for K-3.

How To Stop Before You Pop- great for grades 3-5.

Groups To Go- a great Marco product for small groups.

Websites

KidsHealth.org- this is a great tool for parents, teachers and students.  The articles  have re aloud options and even re aloud in Spanish option.

Missouri Career Education- a good resource for lesson plans especially for small groups.

Brain Pop- great videos, activities, and surveys (for your data) on anger.

Kelly Bear- tips for students and teachers.

The Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Children Anger- great article by Huffington Post

Scholastic

Videos

When we are angry we must "PAWS":

I get a great deal of referrals for students who "can't control" their anger. We spend a lot of time talking about what do to, so I decided to make some fun "paws" with these tips that will go with my dog theme.

I like the idea of having these paws up on the wall, mini paws on the students desk, or making a mini paw for their backpack, etc.

Download some free signs on my TPT store!

Grrr and Brrrr

Well today we got a few unexpected flurries.....brrr. It also means it's 6pm and I am already in bed.
I really dislike being cold, which brings me to today's post.

Two weeks ago during my anger group we started with a classic: draw how you feel when you are angry. While it started it ok, it morphed into so much more and I ended up making up a new lesson and adding on to the lesson on the spot (some of the best lessons are done that way I think.) Anyway here's what we ended up doing:

The blank is where they drew themselves getting angry. 

After we drew how we felt when we were getting mad, we added what words we say and/or thoughts we have. Then I asked them to do a "Mad Libs" type fill in the blank at the bottom, stating in one adjective how the different parts of their body felt.

Then last week we started talking about cool down strategies (taken from Julia Cook's "Soda Pop Head"- although I always leave out parts about hitting the pillow) so we went back and added in our favorite strategies for calming down.

It was simple, yet fun and effective. You could easily make your own or if you want to save some time I added very simple and free version to my TPT store.

Growls and Grrr's

The other day my foster pup Seven tried to take away a ball from Brooklyn. They ended up growling at each other in an endless game of tug of war. Seven won, but only because Brooklyn fell asleep mid growl. This happens often and it always make me giggle to myself, because it's like watching two angry people yell at each other, get louder and louder without listening to the other person, and both ending up exhausted and defeated. I see this happen every day with my non furry friends. We get angry at kids for getting angry and not controlling it, we get angry at co-workers and instead of talking we avoid  or vent to another, we get angry at the people we love the most and we growl.

This lesson was for my first graders, and it was on what to do when you get angry.

First, we discussed what makes us angry and how we feel when we get angry.

Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think

csefel.vanderbilt.edu/scriptedstories/tuckerturtle.ppt

Then, we discussed the Tucker Turtle Method, and how to tuck like a turtle when we get made. This program is from Vanderbilt and although it is very basic and simple (perfect for student with Autism) I love it for 1st grade for that reason.  We talk about places you can tuck at school and home. Sometimes they kids like to tuck in their shirts, but we also discuss how your shell can be your room, a special cool down spot in the room, etc.

Next, we practice the deep breathing. If you haven't seen this video yet you have to share it with your students. My kids watched it many times, the second time singing along and practicing the breath.

Don't Be An Angry Bird Prt. 2

Here is a lesson I did last year on anger. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again.

                                                        Angry Bird Ball Toss

I downloaded this game on the SmartBoard Exchange. Students took turns throwing a stuffed angry bird at the game and depending on what color they hit they had to answer the question. If they got a question someone had already answered they had to make an additional comment or come up with a different answer.

Ball Toss Game

Sample Situation Question

Don't Be An Angry Bird!

Last night my foster pup, Seven, and my pup Brooklyn were playing when things got a little rough. There was a little too much growling and nipping my for comfort and I could see their friendly play going from joking to anger. Swiftly they were in their crates for a time out. Seven was snoring moments later.




How ironic that hours later I would be at school hosting my final "Cool Beans" small group, a group for students with anger. Today we finished up our group by creating "cool down goodie bags." Here's a peak:

I laugh too much to be mad.

A reminder to listen to calming music.

• The Bag: To start the group I had them docorate one side of the bag with words and images that helped them calm down. One student drew a chair with the words "push, pull, dangle," a method we learned about when reading Julia Cook's "Soda Pop Head." Another drew the beach, a claming image, and surrounded it with cool down methods. My example bag had three pictures glued to it, each that make me giggle. 

This picture not only makes me laugh, but reminds me that a bath always calms me down.

 

On the other side of the bag I had the kids write their final "warm fuzzy." One nice compliment to each other or a finally good-bye wish. I wrote one as well.

• The contents: