Classroom Management Resources

As school counselors we're often sometimes not prepared for dealing with the utter chaos that can arise when dealing with a classroom full of 5, 13, or 18 year olds. One-on-one? We're golden. One on thirty? Not so much. So here are some suggestions for those of us who might be a little apprehensive about the classroom management side of our internships:

1. If you're a GW student, take the one credit course being offered in the spring if you can.
2. As I mentioned before- sign up for the ASCA SCENE Groupsite and share your woes with experienced school counselors! They are ripe with advice and willing to help you out!
3. Check out these awesome resources:

Wonderful Website #1: Lisa Savinon, School Counselor

Found out about this one on the ASCA Scene folks. If you click on "files for everyone" on her website you'll find some great counselor resources, including lesson plans. She includes a bunch of different topics, including bibliotherapy, response services, guidance, gifted, etc. She also includes great links on how to build family connections, links for children with special needs, and more. Give it a look!

Lesson Plans Galore!

So, you've just meant your internship supervisor and she's asked you to create a three week lesson plan on responsibilty for third graders. Now, you could come up with some new lessons all on your lonesome. OR, you could visit these two sites and see some lesson plans already prepared by practicing school counselors! Your choice.

1. Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program: http://missouricareereducation.org/curr/cmd/guidanceplacementG/lessons/index.php
K-12, elementary, middle, and high school lesson plans, totaling 352 in all, PDF downloadable.

2. Florida Dept. of Education Career and Guidance Lesson Plans: http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/programs/cd_lesson.asp
Contains lesson plans for K-12, broken down by age group, focusing on careers, interpersonal communication, self management, and more. Each lesson comes in a PDF or Word Doc for your use.

Do you know about...Counselor's Room?

Counselor's Room is a great resource for lesson plans. Find classroom lesson plans for K-12 focused on the career, academic, and personal/social domains, as well as group curriculums and games. Check out their enhancing social skills group or their coping with family changes group.