Top20 Lessons

Top20 Lessons are team taught by Forestview Middle School Licensed School Counselors. Some lessons are taught by teachers.

Top20 Lessons align with the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) National Standards for students. The ASCA National Standards are divided into three domains: Academic Development, Career Development, and Personal/Social Development. Top20 lessons focus on all three of these domains.

Top20 lessons help students learn and develop skills and tools to Think, Learn, and Communicate (TLC) most effectively.

For more information about Top20, please visit their website at Top20 Training.


Top20 Lessons Taught in 5th Grade

Lesson Title and Objectives/ Students will be able to:

Lesson One: Above and Below the Line

  • Understand the Line, a critical thinking part of TLC (Thinking, Learning, and Communicating)
  • Learn to identify their moods, attititudes and states of mind as being Above the line or Below the line

Lesson Two: Invitations, Indicators, and Trampolines

  • Learn to control their moods, attitudes, and state of mind by knowing their indicators, invitations, and trampolines

Lesson Three: Top20 Pictionary and Trampolines

  • Identify their own trampolines to use when BTL (Below the Line)

Lesson Four: Bullying/ Conflict Resolution

  • Understand the difference between conflict, mean moment and bullying

Lesson Five: Bullying/ Conflict Resolution

  • Understand the difference between conflict, mean moment and bullying
  • Understand tattling vs. reporting
  • Understand procedures for reporting bullying
  • Identify best ways to respond if someone else is being bullied
  • Identify best ways to respond if you are being bullied

Lesson Six: Submarines and Top20 Tool Box

  • Know how to use a submarine when they go below the line
  • Identify their own personal Top20 tool box

Lesson Seven: The Frame

  • Understand how the frame works and how it affects their experiences in life
  • Apply the frame to real life situation in order to get what is important to them
  • Understand that SEE is the most important corner of the frame
  • Understand how SEE affects how we FEEL, how we FEEL affects what weDO, what we DO affects what we GET

Lesson Eight: Levels of Listening

  • Understand why listening is so important
  • Identify the differences between ATL (Above the Line) and BTL listening
  • Understand the five levels of the Listening Line
  • Become more aware of the level at which they are listening

Lesson Nine: "But I didn't Say Anything!"

  • Understand the three types of communication
  • Realize the impact of verbal, extra-verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Become aware of the extra-verbal and non-verbal messages they are sending to others

Lesson Ten: Inside Job

  • Understand the difference between their Inside World and their Outside World
  • Know they can improve their outside by first improving the inside.
  • Be aware of their power to determine their experience in situations where they cannot change conditions
  • Understand most (90%) of our happiness or success is tied to the inside world and very little (10%) is tied to the outside conditions

Lesson Eleven: Conflict Resolution

  • Understand the difference between heart-to-heart and toe-to-toe conflict resolution
  • Become aware of effective (Top20) and ineffective (Bottom 80) ways to resolve conflicts
  • Learn how to manage conflict by using "I" statements

Lesson Twelve: Top20 Tic Tac Toe

  • Recall concepts and tools taught throughout the school year


Top20 Lessons Taught in 6th Grade


Lesson Title and Objectives/ Students will be able to:

Lesson One: Top20 Jeopardy

  • Review concepts and tools taught in 5th grade

Lesson Two: Bullying and Trust Fund

  • Review the difference between conflict vs. bullying
  • Understand procedures for reporting bullying
  • Identify the Five Most Powerful Deposits
  • Understand that deposits build trust in relationships and withdrawalsweaken trust in relationships
  • Understand Honor the Absent

Lesson Three: Social Tornadoes

  • Recognize social tornadoes and the negative impact
  • Understand stages of social tornadoes: watch, warning, touchdown
  • Choose appropriate responses when faced with social tornadoes
  • Recognize the impact words can have on others

Lesson Four: Comfort Zone: Growing Through Risk

  • Identify what is inside and outside of their comfort zone
  • Identify reasons they stay in their comfort zone
  • Recognize the benefits of moving outside their comfort zone