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🙂 We kicked off Guidance during the 2nd week of school!
🎯 Our first week focused on learning each other’s names, understanding the role of the school counselor, and exploring the different ways and reasons students might visit the counselor.
🥳 I’m excited for a fun and meaningful year ahead!
September 1-5: Social Awareness - Our Own Feelings
🧠Activity: Students wrote down triggers to a variety of feelings we discussed as a group.
💡Key concept: "Understanding the things that make us feel a certain way "
🎯This week's objectives:
Recognize and name a variety of feelings.
Understand that it is normal to experience many different emotions.
Begin building self-awareness by identifying how different feelings show up in ourselves.
September 8-12: Social Awareness - Empathy
🧠Activity: Students responded to different subjects by writing down the feelings they experienced when hearing each one. Then, in small groups, they shared and compared their answers—discovering that while we may have similar experiences, we can still feel differently.
💡Key Concept: Even if we go through the same situation, our feelings might not be the same—and that’s okay. Understanding this helps us build empathy
🎯This weeks' objectives:
Recognize that people may respond to the same event with different feelings.
Practice listening and respecting others’ perspectives.
Begin developing empathy by seeing situations through another person’s lens.
September 15-19: Social Awareness - Pre-Test
📝Activity: Students completed a Social Awareness pre-test to show what they already know about recognizing and understanding feelings.
💻Guidance Hub: I introduced students to the Guidance Hub and helped them practice navigating it, since we’ll be using this resource throughout the year.
💡Key Concept: We are all starting from different places, and that’s okay. This year we’ll keep learning and growing together.
🎯This week's objectives:
Reflect on current knowledge of social awareness skills.
Gain familiarity with the Guidance Hub as a resource.
Build comfort and confidence in using tools that support learning throughout the year.
September 22-26: Social Awareness - Wrap-up
📝Activity: 1. Students will fill out a "Self-Assessment" on their Social Awareness skills. I will hold onto these to use as a resource throughout their school year. 2. (If time allows): Students split into small groups and practiced navigating the Guidance Hub. Each group was given a “social dilemma” prompt to discuss, and they shared their answers as exit tickets.
💡Key Concept: 1. Students gain insight into their own social awareness strengths and areas for growth, which helps guide their learning and allows educators to tailor support to foster positive social-emotional development throughout the year. 2. When faced with a social dilemma, it’s important to consider our own feelings, the feelings of others, and how our choices can impact everyone involved.
🎯This week's objectives:
Strengthen skills in navigating the Guidance Hub as a resource.
Practice problem-solving through real-world social dilemmas.
Apply empathy and perspective-taking to group discussions.
Reflect on learning by sharing solutions as exit tickets.
✅Review Social Awareness Objectives:
Reinforce key concepts of social awareness.
Recognize that everyone experiences a wide range of feelings.
Celebrate diversity and belonging in the classroom community.
Reflect on how understanding ourselves and others builds healthy relationships.
September 29-October 3: Courage - Pre-Test
📝Activity: Students completed a 'Courage' pre-test to show what they already know about recognizing and and understanding courageous actions and what it means to be brave.
💻Guidance Hub: Utilizing the 'Guidance Hub' students were in groups to discuss a "Social Scenario" as their Exit Ticket.
💡Key Concept: Courage means noticing your feelings and choosing to try something brave.
🎯This week's objectives:
Assess students’ current understanding of courage and what it means to be brave.
Identify students’ self-perceptions about times they have shown courage.
Begin building self-awareness by reflecting on personal feelings related to courageous actions.
Gather baseline information to guide future lessons on courage and bravery.
October 6-10: Courage - Managing Fear
✍️Journal Prompt: "A time I was scared but tried anyway..."
🧠 Activity: Students created their own Fear Maps to identify a specific fear and what they think could happen because of it. As a group, we discussed how naming our fears helps us understand them and begin to choose courage in the face of them.
💡 Key Concept: We can face our fears by first understanding them. Recognizing what we fear and why helps us choose courage over avoidance.
🎯 This Week’s Objectives:
Identify personal fears and what contributes to them.
Develop self-awareness by exploring thoughts and feelings connected to fear.
Practice empathy by learning that everyone experiences fear differently.
Begin identifying coping strategies and brave responses to fearful situations.
October 13-17: Courage to Support Ourselves & Others
📊 Self-Assessment: Students reflect on their personal courage and ways they support others using a Google Form self-assessment.
💡 Key concept: Courage means being brave enough to be yourself and to respect and support others, even when you are different. Courage helps us celebrate who we are you, trying new things, and respecting differences even when it feels challenging. Courage helps us grow, build confidence, and support others in a positive way.
🧠 Activity: Courage Chart & Partner Reflection.
Students fill out a 3x3 chart with prompts that help them identify different ways they are brave enough to be themselves. After completing their charts, students pair up with a partner to share their responses. They identify similarities and differences between themselves and their partner while discussing how courage helps them stand up for themselves, even when they are different from others.
🎯This week's objectives:
Recognize personal qualities and actions that show courage.
Identify ways to be brave in expressing themselves while respecting differences.
Build self-awareness by reflecting on individual strengths and unique qualities.
Encourage empathy, respect, and confidence when interacting with peers who are similar or different.
October 20-24: Courage - Standing Up to Bullying
👀Review: We will begin by reviewing what courage means, connecting it to our previous lessons. Students will share examples of how they’ve shown courage and discuss how courage ties into bullying—having the bravery to stand up for themselves or others, speak up, or get help when someone is being treated unfairly.
🧠 Activity: Students will play a “What Is Bullying?” Blooket game to review key ideas, including:
What bullying is and what it is not
The difference between bullying and conflict
The roles in bullying (bully, target, bystander)
Strategies for what to do if you are being bullied
Actions to take when you see bullying happen
🗣️Group Discussion: Reflect on their responses and connect what they learned to real-life examples. Students will receive a Bullying Tips handout with reminders and strategies for standing up safely and courageously.
💡Key concept: Courage means taking action when something isn’t right. Understanding what bullying looks like and how to respond helps us create a safe and supportive school environment.
🎯This week's objectives:
Review the meaning of courage and apply it to bullying situations.
Define and recognize bullying and distinguish it from conflict.
Identify the roles involved in bullying (bully, target, bystander).
Learn and practice safe, courageous strategies to respond and report.
Strengthen empathy and awareness through discussion and reflection.
October 28 – 31: Courage – Wrap-Up
📋Review: Revisited October’s Courage objectives: understanding what courage looks like, recognizing different types of courage, and identifying ways to be brave in everyday situations.
🥳 Wrap-Up: Students reflected on their learning this month by completing a Courage Self-Assessment exploring the four types of courage — social, moral, emotional, and physical. Students completed a Courage Assessment, responding yes or no to a series of scenarios representing the four types of courage. This activity helped them recognize their personal strengths and areas for growth in demonstrating courage.
✅ Courage Objectives:
Recognize and describe the four types of courage: social, moral, emotional, and physical.
Reflect on personal strengths and areas for growth in showing courage.
Identify real-life situations where courage is needed at school and at home.
Celebrate the courage it takes to be yourself and make kind, brave choices.
November 3-7: Gratitude - Pre-Test
📝Activity: Students completed a 'Gratitude' pre-test to show what they already know about recognizing and expressing appreciation for the people, things, and moments in their lives.
✍️Journal Prompt: "Things I Am Grateful For"
💻Guidance Hub: Utilizing the 'Guidance Hub' to review the "Talk to Mrs. Tammen" form.
💡Key Concept: Gratitude means noticing and appreciating the good things in your life and expressing thanks for them.
🎯This week's objectives:
Assess students’ current understanding of gratitude and what it means to be thankful.
Identify students’ self-perceptions about how they show gratitude in daily life.
Begin building awareness of how expressing appreciation can strengthen relationships and positive feelings.
Gather baseline information to guide future lessons on gratitude and thankfulness.
November 10-14: Gratitude - Expressing Thanks to Others
📝Activity: Reviewed students’ Gratitude pre-tests together to reflect on their current understanding and growth.
💻Guidance Hub: Utilizing the 'Guidance Hub' to review the "Talk to Mrs. Tammen" form.
🧩Expressing Gratitude to Staff: Students were introduced to a Google Form on the Guidance Hub where they can write a thank-you message to a staff member. Time was provided in class to fill out the form and express their appreciation meaningfully.
💡Key Concept: Gratitude can be shown through words and actions that recognize the kindness and effort of others. Expressing thanks helps build stronger, more positive connections.
🎯This week's objectives:
Reflect on and discuss pre-test responses to deepen understanding of gratitude.
Identify school staff members who have positively impacted students’ experiences.
Practice expressing appreciation in a meaningful and specific way.
Strengthen a sense of community through acts of gratitude.
November 17-21 : American Education Week & Gratitude
📚 Book: by theme for AEW. The one in BOLD indicates the story your child was read.
Monday: No guidance class
Tuesday: Reading makes for a bright future: "Who You Were Made to Be"
Wednesday: Teamwork makes the dreamwork: "How to Catch a Turkey"
Thursday: Books bring out our WILD side: "Taylor the Tooting Turkey"
Friday: No guidance classes
🧠Activities:
Read Who You Were Made to Be with the class. The students connected the stories to social-emotional learning (SEL) concepts such as gratitude, cooperation, and appreciation for others. Students received a "positive affirmation" to remind us to talk kindly to ourselves & that we are made exactly how we were supposed to be.
Students reflected on their learning this month by completing a Gratitude Self-Assessment, exploring their ability to notice and express gratitude.
Practiced gratitude by writing thank-you notes to staff using the google form.
💡Key concept: Gratitude can be found ANYWHERE. Gratitude involves noticing and appreciating the positive people, experiences, and opportunities in our lives. By expressing gratitude, we strengthen relationships, contribute to a positive school community, and increase our own sense of happiness and well-being.
✅ Gratitude Objectives:
Recognize and describe different ways to notice and express gratitude.
Reflect on personal strengths and areas for growth in showing gratitude.
Identify real-life situations at school and at home where gratitude can be expressed.
Celebrate the positive impact gratitude has on yourself and others.
November 24-28: Gratitude Wrap-up
Played a Would You Rather game with Fall Themed activities.
💡Key concept: HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU. ❤️
December : Self-Regulation - Understanding Our Brain + Feelings
📚 Book: My Brain Is My Home
🧠Activity: Each class explored activities from a self-regulation packet based on the book. Students practiced noticing how their brain helps them make decisions, manage feelings, and learn new skills. Activities were hands-on and designed to show how the different parts of the brain work together as a team.
💡Key concept: Our brain is like a home—each part has a job that keeps us learning, feeling, and growing. Understanding how the brain works helps us recognize our emotions and make choices that support our well-being.
🎯This month's objectives:
Help students understand the metaphor of the brain as a “home” with different parts and purposes.
Build awareness of how the brain influences emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
Support students in identifying strategies to take care of their “brain home.”
Encourage reflection on what makes them feel safe, calm, and ready to learn.
Happy Holidays! Students were sent home with a "busy" packet of fun activities to do if they wish. :)
January 5-9: Growth Mindset- What is Growth Mindset?
💻 Resource : Growth Mindset PowerPoint (found on the 'January' Page of this website)
🧠Activity: Through the PowerPoint, we explored how thoughts, effort, & self-talk influence learning & success.
6th grade students DID NOT complete the Growth Mindset Pre-Test, as they just finished learning this concept through SEL in their classroom.
Instead, students participated in a brief reflective writing activity. They were given one minute to write down any thoughts that came to mind, then worked to sort those thoughts into positive and negative categories. Students practiced changing negative thoughts into positive, growth-minded statements to reinforce growth mindset skills.
💡Key concept: A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, practice, & learning from challenges.
🎯This week's objectives:
Reinforce understanding of growth mindset concepts.
Practice identifying positive and negative self-talk .
Develop strategies for reframing negative thoughts into growth-minded statements .
Encourage self-reflection and awareness of personal thinking patterns.
January 12-16: Growth Mindset : Updates coming soon!
January 19-23: Growth Mindset : Updates coming soon!
January 26-30: Growth Mindset : Updates coming soon!
February 2-6: National School Counseling Week
📚 Focus: Getting to Know Your School Counselor
This week, students celebrated National School Counseling Week by learning more about the role of the school counselor and how counseling supports students academically, socially, and emotionally. Lessons emphasized that school counselors are here to support growth, problem-solving, goal-setting, and overall student success.
🧠Activity: Students participated in counselor trivia and a “Get to Know Your School Counselor” game. Through these activities, students learned about my role, my intentions in this work, and how counseling helps students at different ages and stages. I also shared a few achievements and experiences from my own elementary years to help students understand that growth takes time and that effort, attitude, and character matter.
💡Key concepts:
School counselors support students in many ways—not just when there is a problem
Everyone grows at their own pace
Effort, positive choices, and perseverance help shape success over time
Asking for help and building relationships are important life skills
🎯This week's objectives:
Help students understand the role of the school counselor.
Build connection and trust between students and counselor.
Encourage a growth mindset through real-life examples.
Reinforce the importance of effort, character, and positive choices.
February 9-13: Understanding Love & Empathy
📚 Book: A Little Spot of Love
🗣️Group Discussion: Students learned that people give and receive love in different ways, and recognizing those differences helps us build stronger, kinder relationships.
💡Key concept: People show and feel love in different ways, and understanding that helps us treat each other with kindness and empathy.
🧠 Activity: Students utilized the remainder of our time working and collaborating with classmates through a Valentine’s Day activity packet. I gifted this to students as a Valentine from me — and we talked about how my gift was less about candy or treats and more about giving them opportunities to connect with others, stay off screens, and have something meaningful to enjoy over the long four-day weekend.
🎯This week's objectives:
Help students recognize different expressions of love.
Develop empathy through listening and discussion.
Encourage students to reflect on how they show care and kindness.
Strengthen peer connections through respectful conversation.
February 16-20: Understanding The 5 Love Languages
🧩Connection to Love Languages: Words of Affirmation practice
🗣️Group Discussion: We talked about Words of Affirmation, one of the five love languages, and how kind, encouraging words can make others feel valued, supported, and appreciated. Students discussed examples of positive words they like to hear and why respectful language matters in friendships and classroom communities.
🧠 Activity: Students participated in a relationship-building activity centered on kindness and empathy. Each student wrote their name on a paper heart and taped it to their back. Classmates then rotated around the room writing kind and encouraging messages on one another’s hearts.
Check out the "SEL-ebrations" page for photos of this activity!
This activity helped students experience the impact of positive words, recognize how powerful their language can be, and reflect on how their words affect others. We also discussed empathy, appropriate boundaries, and the importance of choosing words that uplift and respect their peers.
💡Key concept: Kind and encouraging words have the power to build others up and strengthen relationships.
🎯This week's objectives:
Help students recognize different expressions of love.
Develop empathy through listening and discussion.
Encourage students to reflect on how they show care and kindness.
Strengthen peer connections through respectful conversation.
February 23-27: Discovering My Love Language
🧠 Activity: Students jumped right into a Love Languages Quiz to help them discover which of the five love languages they may connect with most: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch.
🗣️Group Discussion: After completing the quiz, students discussed their results and reflected on how they both give and receive care. We talked about how people may feel loved in different ways and how understanding those differences can help us build stronger friendships and relationships.
💡Key concept: Everyone experiences and expresses care differently. Recognizing those differences helps us better understand others and show kindness in ways that are meaningful to them.
🎯This week's objectives:
Help students identify their own love language preferences.
Increase awareness that people may feel loved in different ways.
Encourage empathy and understanding within friendships.
Strengthen communication and reflection skills.
March 2-6: Introducing Assertiveness & Self-Esteem
🗣️ Group Discussion: Students received their Love Language Quiz results and discussed how their results compared with classmates. This conversation helped reinforce the idea that people can feel valued and supported in different ways. We used this discussion as a bridge into our new March topic of assertiveness and self-esteem, focusing on how understanding ourselves helps us communicate with confidence and respect.
We also introduced the different communication styles of passive, aggressive, and assertive language and discussed how confident, respectful communication helps us stand up for ourselves while still showing respect for others.
🧠 Activity: Students worked through guided notes to introduce the concepts of assertiveness and self-esteem. We began discussing the differences between passive, aggressive, and assertive communication, and how being assertive means expressing thoughts, feelings, and needs in a respectful and confident way. These notes will serve as a reference as we continue practicing these skills throughout the month.
💡Key concept: Recognizing our own strengths, preferences, and differences helps build self-esteem and supports healthy, respectful communication with others.
🎯This week's objectives:
Help students connect self-awareness to confidence and communication.
Introduce the concepts of assertiveness and self-esteem.
Teach the differences between passive, aggressive, and assertive communication.
Encourage students to reflect on how communication choices affect relationships.
March 9-13: