School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest 2011 Re-Cap
School Counselor Blog hosted a back to school contest with a different giveaway each day from September 1st to September 10th!
Below is a recap of all the giveaway items from the contest. Although the contest is now closed, you can visit the posts and get TONS of ideas of how to use each of these awesome resources!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the contest and congratulations to the contest winners! Your participation in this contest will help other school counselors gain creative ideas to utilize these awesome resources in their work with students!
Also thank you to the sponsors of this contest, Free Spirit, Really Good Stuff, Research Press, and School Counselor Blog for donating the giveaway items!
Good-Bye Bully Machine Book and Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
The giveaway for Day 1 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was the Good-Bye Bully Machine book and the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
by Debbie Fox and Allan L. Beane from Free Spirit Publishing.
Good-Bye Bully Machine is one of my favorite books I use with students. I wrote a post about using Good-Bye Bully Machine for lessons with second, third, and fourth grade and creating an anti-bullying machine bulletin board. I also used messages from Good-Bye Bully Machine to create another bulletin board.
I have used the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game with students in 5th and 6th grade.
Good-Bye Bully Machine
and Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game are great resources to use with students in grades 3-6.
For tons of great ideas on how you can use the Good-Bye Bully Machine book and the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game in your work with students, visit the comment post and comment section.
Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character
The giveaway for Day 2 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set from Really Good Stuff.
There are eight adorable posters in the Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set showcasing positive character traits: Responsibility, Caring, Acceptance, Trustworthiness, Fairness, Honesty, Citizenship, and Respect!
The Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set comes with a corresponding activity guide that you can download for free even if you didn't win the item! The activity guide has ideas for how to use the poster set in your school and includes reproducibles you can use to teach students about positive character traits!
The Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set would be a great addition to your school counseling office or to showcase positive character traits in your school!
P.S. Really Good Stuff has great items that school counselors can utilize. I love their Ready-to-Decorate Journals and use them for groups!
For more great ideas of how to utilize Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set in your work with students, visit the Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set post and comment section.
Girls in Real Life Situations (G.I.R.L.S.) 6-12
The giveaway for Day 3 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development (Book and CD)
by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black from Research Press.
Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development (Book and CD) is one of my most used curricula. I have used activities from G.I.R.L.S. in groups on topics such as self-esteem, grief and loss, children of incarcerated parents and beyond. I have even used activities from G.I.R.L.S with boys (gasp!)!
One of the activities I have facilitated the most from G.I.R.L.S. is the "Wall of Support" activity. During the session students build a wall with blocks and then build a wall together. They then make their own wall using construction paper. We then made a wall as a group of people who support us. If you watched the tour of my office from last year or looked at the pictures of my office you will see the "Wall of Support" under my whiteboard. Students love this activity. I have also had students make their own personal wall in individual sessions with students.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12 in your work with students, visit the Girls in Real Life Situations, 6-12 post and comment section.
Girls in Real Life Situations (G.I.R.L.S.) K-5
The giveaway for Day 4 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Girls in Real Life Situations: Group Counseling for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development: Grades K-5 (Book and CD)
by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black from Research Press.
Girls in Real Life Situations: Group Counseling for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development: Grades K-5 (Book and CD) is great for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The activities from G.I.R.L.S. are great for groups on topics such as self-esteem, grief and loss, children of incarcerated parents and beyond. Some activities from G.I.R.L.S. would work with boys too (gasp!).
One activity my fifth grade students love from G.I.R.L.S. K-5 is the role play activities. There is an activity where students act out different forms of relational aggression. The students love getting up and acting with partners or using puppets. They also come up with positive solutions for the situation. I work with students in fifth through eighth grade and I have both the G.I.R.L.S. K-5 and the G.I.R.L.S. 6-12 curricula.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades K-5 in your work with students, visit the Girls in Real Life Situations, K-5 post and comment section.
When I Grow Up
The giveaway for Day 5 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was When I Grow Up
by Al Yankovic. In honor of Labor Day I wanted to give away a career related book. I was introduced to this book over the summer by Kelly one of my Pennsylvania School Counseling Association (PSCA) colleagues. Among the other great ideas Kelly shared with me this summer she told me about this great book by Al Yankovic. After hearing about it I immediately purchased it. (Yes, I was shocked too that "Weird Al" wrote a children's book!)
When I Grow Up is a fun and engaging way to teach career development standards to students. When I Grow Up is about 8 year old Billy who has many things he wants to be when he grows up. There are some real and some zany jobs that Billy wants to be. The illustrations are great and give incredible detail to Billy's wild imagination.
When I Grow Up opens the door to so many conversations and lessons about career. When I Grow Up could be used for a lesson about how interests influence career choice and success, the changing workplace, lifelong learning, and much more. I plan to use When I Grow Up for a career lesson with 5th grade students. When I Grow Up would be great for students K-5.
For more great ideas of how to utilize When I Grow Up in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the When I Grow Up post and comment section.
Talk to Teens About What Matters to Them
The giveaway for Day 6 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future by Dr. Jean Sunde Peterson from Free Spirit Publishing.
Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future
is a brand new book geared for students in grades 6-12. I just received a review copy of this book from Free Spirit Publishing and I am excited to use it with the students I serve in grades 5-8.
Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them includes 75 guided discussions in six focus areas: stress, identity, feelings, relationships, family, and the future. Each section has background information, objectives, and session outlines.
Some of the activities in Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them I am looking forward to using with students include:
"Pieces of the Pie," an activity where students graph how they spend their time and how they would like to spend their time.
"Stress Boxes," an activity where students record stressors, determine how much stressor produces and determine whether the stressors are short-term stressors or long-term stressors.
"My Story," a sentence completion activity where students pretend to write a story about their life.
Although Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them is geared toward small groups, it could definitely be used for individual sessions and classroom lessons. It is evident that the activities are meant to spark discussion about challenges that are difficult for teens to talk about.
For more information and sample sessions from Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them, check out Free Spirit Publishing's website.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them post and comment section.
The Secret Olivia Told Me
The giveaway for Day 7 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was The Secret Olivia Told Me
by N. Joy and illustrated by Nancy Devard.
The Secret Olivia Told Me is one of my favorite books of all times. It has special place in my office and in my heart. I learned about this book from an AMAZING artist and teacher, Alison Babusci, during one of my long-term substitute school counselor positions.
The Secret Olivia Told Me is about a secret between friends that turns into a rumor. The Secret Olivia Told Me is the whole package. The children in the book are multicultural, the pictures are engaging, it has a strong message, and it rhymes!
I absolute love the artwork in The Secret Olivia Told Me. The children pictured in The Secret Olivia Told Me are silhouettes, which could be a great collaboration between you and the art teacher at your school! Another artistic detail I love is the balloon in the book. The contrast between the silhouettes and white background make the red balloon stand out. The string of the balloon comes out of the child's mouth when they spread the secret. The red balloon keeps growing and growing each time the secret is spread. Students absolutely love The Secret Olivia Told Me and are quick to point out these details.
I have used The Secret Olivia Told Me with 5th and 6th grade for a lesson I call Rumors and Toothpaste. I often use this book during individual sessions and group sessions with students in 5th and 6th grade. 7th and 8th grade students tend to pick up this book too because the cover just draws you in. I would recommend The Secret Olivia Told Me for grades 4-6.
For more great ideas of how to utilize The Secret Olivia Told Me in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit The Secret Olivia Told Me post and comment section.
Just Kidding
The giveaway for Day 8 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Just Kidding
by Trudy Ludwig.
My school counseling intern, Courtney, introduced me to Just Kidding. We facilitated bullying lessons with fifth grade students by gender. We divided all of the 5th graders up and did a three lesson series with boys and a three lesson series with girls. (I plan to repeat this and I will share what we did soon!) We used Just Kidding for one of the lesson with all of the fifth grade boys. They absolutely loved Just Kidding!
Just Kidding is about a boy, DJ, who is bullied by his friend Vince. When Vince is mean to DJ he always says that he is "just kidding." DJ realizes that Vince's "kidding" has gone too far and asks for help from his dad and teacher.
We used Just Kidding to open up a dialogue about the difference between "kidding"and being mean on purpose.
I work in an inner-city school so it was important to use the language that kids use during our lesson. We talked about the difference between "messin'" and "playin.'" Students explained that "playin'" is when both people are having fun. "Messin'" is when one person is doing something to make the other person feel bad or hurt the other person.
The boys liked coming up with examples of "messin'" and "playin.'" We also talked about who they could turn to for help if a situation when from "playin'" to "messin.'"
I would recommend Just Kidding to school counselors working with students in third through sixth grade. It may be a little young for some sixth graders, but Just Kidding was just perfect for fifth grade boys.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Just Kidding in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Just Kidding post and comment section.
No Kidding About Bullying
The giveaway for Day 9 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was No Kidding About Bullying: 125 Ready-to-Use Activities to Help Kids Manage Anger, Resolve Conflicts, Build Empathy, and Get Along by Naomi Drew from Free Spirit Publishing.
No Kidding About Bullying is a wealth of lessons and information. No Kidding About Bullying is comprised of 125 mini lessons that can be completed in about 20 minutes or less. The lessons are engaging and empowering.
Lessons from No Kidding About Bullying is very flexible. You can go through the book chronologically or you can pick and choose lessons you want to facilitate with students on particular topics.
There are so many things I absolutely love about No Kidding About Bullying, but the sessions that stick out to me the most are "Session 8: Peace Tables," Session 15: Win/Win Guidelines for Working Out Conflicts," "Session 62: Basement vs. Balcony" and "Session 72: Using I-Messages and Reflective Listening in Conflicts." No Kidding About Bullying also stands out because the stories and anecdotes are from children and teachers Naomi Drew interviewed to write the book!
You can download the table of contents, introduction and 7 sample lessons from No Kidding About Bullying for FREE on Free Spirit's website.
I had the opportunity last year to interview Naomi Drew, author of No Kidding About Bullying. Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview. After interviewing Naomi Drew got an inflatable globe
to help students think about themselves in the context of a larger world.
I have used No Kidding About Bullying for classroom lessons with 6th grade students. I would recommend using this resource with students in grades 3-6.
For more great ideas of how to utilize No Kidding About Bullying in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the No Kidding About Bullying post and comment section.
The Middle School Confidential Series and Be Confident in Who You Are iPad app
The giveaway for Day 10 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was the Middle School Confidential Series (Be Confident in Who You Are (Bk. 1)
, Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Bk. 2)
, and What's Up with My Family? (Bk. 3)) 
and The Middle School Confidential iPad App: Be Confident in Who You Are by Annie Fox from Free Spirit Publishing.
The Middle School Confidential Series are about tough topics middle school students face. There are three books in the series, Be Confident in Who You Are (Middle School Confidential Series) (Bk. 1), Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Bk. 
2), and What's Up with My Family? (Bk. 3). The Middle School Confidential Series are filled with quotes from real students, tips, quizes, and resources. The Middle School Confidential Series are styled like a graphic novel which makes them fun and engaging.
Students absolutely love the Middle School Confidential Series. I have used the The Middle School Confidential Series with students in 5-8 grade in individual counseling and group counseling. I could see the potential for using the books for classroom lessons.
The Middle School Confidential iPad App: Be Confident in Who You Are is very cool. On the The Middle School Confidential: Be Confident in Who You Are iPad app page you can view screen shots of the app and a demo. The app can be viewed landscape or portrait, can be viewed zoomed in or full page, and has great sounds and effects. I haven't used the app with students yet, but it would be really cool to get a VGA adapter for the iPad and project it during a classroom lesson.
The Free Spirit website has tons of free downloads related to the Middle School Confidential series including A Leaders Guide to the Middle School Confidential Series, a Meet the Students of Milldale Page, and a parenting podcast by Annie Fox Family Confidential: Secrets to Successful Parenting.
For more great ideas of how to utilize the Middle School Confidential Series
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Middle School Confidential Series post and comment section.
Below is a recap of all the giveaway items from the contest. Although the contest is now closed, you can visit the posts and get TONS of ideas of how to use each of these awesome resources!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the contest and congratulations to the contest winners! Your participation in this contest will help other school counselors gain creative ideas to utilize these awesome resources in their work with students!
Also thank you to the sponsors of this contest, Free Spirit, Really Good Stuff, Research Press, and School Counselor Blog for donating the giveaway items!
Good-Bye Bully Machine Book and Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
The giveaway for Day 1 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was the Good-Bye Bully Machine book and the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
by Debbie Fox and Allan L. Beane from Free Spirit Publishing. Good-Bye Bully Machine is one of my favorite books I use with students. I wrote a post about using Good-Bye Bully Machine for lessons with second, third, and fourth grade and creating an anti-bullying machine bulletin board. I also used messages from Good-Bye Bully Machine to create another bulletin board.I have used the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
with students in 5th and 6th grade.Good-Bye Bully Machine
and Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game are great resources to use with students in grades 3-6.For tons of great ideas on how you can use the Good-Bye Bully Machine book and the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game
in your work with students, visit the comment post and comment section.Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character
There are eight adorable posters in the Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set showcasing positive character traits: Responsibility, Caring, Acceptance, Trustworthiness, Fairness, Honesty, Citizenship, and Respect!
The Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set comes with a corresponding activity guide that you can download for free even if you didn't win the item! The activity guide has ideas for how to use the poster set in your school and includes reproducibles you can use to teach students about positive character traits!
The Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set would be a great addition to your school counseling office or to showcase positive character traits in your school!
P.S. Really Good Stuff has great items that school counselors can utilize. I love their Ready-to-Decorate Journals and use them for groups!
For more great ideas of how to utilize Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set in your work with students, visit the Really Good Friends Show Really Good Character Poster Set post and comment section.
Girls in Real Life Situations (G.I.R.L.S.) 6-12
The giveaway for Day 3 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development (Book and CD) by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black from Research Press.Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development (Book and CD) is one of my most used curricula. I have used activities from G.I.R.L.S. in groups on topics such as self-esteem, grief and loss, children of incarcerated parents and beyond. I have even used activities from G.I.R.L.S with boys (gasp!)!
One of the activities I have facilitated the most from G.I.R.L.S. is the "Wall of Support" activity. During the session students build a wall with blocks and then build a wall together. They then make their own wall using construction paper. We then made a wall as a group of people who support us. If you watched the tour of my office from last year or looked at the pictures of my office you will see the "Wall of Support" under my whiteboard. Students love this activity. I have also had students make their own personal wall in individual sessions with students.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Girls in Real Life Situations, Grades 6-12 in your work with students, visit the Girls in Real Life Situations, 6-12 post and comment section.
Girls in Real Life Situations (G.I.R.L.S.) K-5
The giveaway for Day 4 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Girls in Real Life Situations: Group Counseling for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development: Grades K-5 (Book and CD) by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black from Research Press.Girls in Real Life Situations: Group Counseling for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development: Grades K-5 (Book and CD) is great for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The activities from G.I.R.L.S.
are great for groups on topics such as self-esteem, grief and loss, children of incarcerated parents and beyond. Some activities from G.I.R.L.S. would work with boys too (gasp!).One activity my fifth grade students love from G.I.R.L.S. K-5 is the role play activities. There is an activity where students act out different forms of relational aggression. The students love getting up and acting with partners or using puppets. They also come up with positive solutions for the situation. I work with students in fifth through eighth grade and I have both the G.I.R.L.S. K-5 and the G.I.R.L.S. 6-12
curricula. in your work with students, visit the Girls in Real Life Situations, K-5 post and comment section.When I Grow Up
The giveaway for Day 5 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic. In honor of Labor Day I wanted to give away a career related book. I was introduced to this book over the summer by Kelly one of my Pennsylvania School Counseling Association (PSCA) colleagues. Among the other great ideas Kelly shared with me this summer she told me about this great book by Al Yankovic. After hearing about it I immediately purchased it. (Yes, I was shocked too that "Weird Al" wrote a children's book!)When I Grow Up
is a fun and engaging way to teach career development standards to students. When I Grow Up is about 8 year old Billy who has many things he wants to be when he grows up. There are some real and some zany jobs that Billy wants to be. The illustrations are great and give incredible detail to Billy's wild imagination.When I Grow Up
opens the door to so many conversations and lessons about career. When I Grow Up could be used for a lesson about how interests influence career choice and success, the changing workplace, lifelong learning, and much more. I plan to use When I Grow Up for a career lesson with 5th grade students. When I Grow Up would be great for students K-5.For more great ideas of how to utilize When I Grow Up
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the When I Grow Up post and comment section.Talk to Teens About What Matters to Them
The giveaway for Day 6 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future by Dr. Jean Sunde Peterson from Free Spirit Publishing.Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future
is a brand new book geared for students in grades 6-12. I just received a review copy of this book from Free Spirit Publishing and I am excited to use it with the students I serve in grades 5-8.Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them includes 75 guided discussions in six focus areas: stress, identity, feelings, relationships, family, and the future. Each section has background information, objectives, and session outlines.
Some of the activities in Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them I am looking forward to using with students include:
"Pieces of the Pie," an activity where students graph how they spend their time and how they would like to spend their time.
"Stress Boxes," an activity where students record stressors, determine how much stressor produces and determine whether the stressors are short-term stressors or long-term stressors.
"My Story," a sentence completion activity where students pretend to write a story about their life.
Although Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them is geared toward small groups, it could definitely be used for individual sessions and classroom lessons. It is evident that the activities are meant to spark discussion about challenges that are difficult for teens to talk about.
For more information and sample sessions from Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them, check out Free Spirit Publishing's website.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them post and comment section.The Secret Olivia Told Me
The giveaway for Day 7 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy and illustrated by Nancy Devard.The Secret Olivia Told Me
is one of my favorite books of all times. It has special place in my office and in my heart. I learned about this book from an AMAZING artist and teacher, Alison Babusci, during one of my long-term substitute school counselor positions.The Secret Olivia Told Me
is about a secret between friends that turns into a rumor. The Secret Olivia Told Me is the whole package. The children in the book are multicultural, the pictures are engaging, it has a strong message, and it rhymes! I absolute love the artwork in The Secret Olivia Told Me
. The children pictured in The Secret Olivia Told Me are silhouettes, which could be a great collaboration between you and the art teacher at your school! Another artistic detail I love is the balloon in the book. The contrast between the silhouettes and white background make the red balloon stand out. The string of the balloon comes out of the child's mouth when they spread the secret. The red balloon keeps growing and growing each time the secret is spread. Students absolutely love The Secret Olivia Told Me and are quick to point out these details.I have used The Secret Olivia Told Me
with 5th and 6th grade for a lesson I call Rumors and Toothpaste. I often use this book during individual sessions and group sessions with students in 5th and 6th grade. 7th and 8th grade students tend to pick up this book too because the cover just draws you in. I would recommend The Secret Olivia Told Me for grades 4-6.For more great ideas of how to utilize The Secret Olivia Told Me
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit The Secret Olivia Told Me post and comment section.Just Kidding
The giveaway for Day 8 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was Just Kidding by Trudy Ludwig.My school counseling intern, Courtney, introduced me to Just Kidding. We facilitated bullying lessons with fifth grade students by gender. We divided all of the 5th graders up and did a three lesson series with boys and a three lesson series with girls. (I plan to repeat this and I will share what we did soon!) We used Just Kidding for one of the lesson with all of the fifth grade boys. They absolutely loved Just Kidding!
Just Kidding is about a boy, DJ, who is bullied by his friend Vince. When Vince is mean to DJ he always says that he is "just kidding." DJ realizes that Vince's "kidding" has gone too far and asks for help from his dad and teacher.
We used Just Kidding to open up a dialogue about the difference between "kidding"and being mean on purpose.
I work in an inner-city school so it was important to use the language that kids use during our lesson. We talked about the difference between "messin'" and "playin.'" Students explained that "playin'" is when both people are having fun. "Messin'" is when one person is doing something to make the other person feel bad or hurt the other person.
The boys liked coming up with examples of "messin'" and "playin.'" We also talked about who they could turn to for help if a situation when from "playin'" to "messin.'"
I would recommend Just Kidding to school counselors working with students in third through sixth grade. It may be a little young for some sixth graders, but Just Kidding was just perfect for fifth grade boys.
For more great ideas of how to utilize Just Kidding
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Just Kidding post and comment section.No Kidding About Bullying
The giveaway for Day 9 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was No Kidding About Bullying: 125 Ready-to-Use Activities to Help Kids Manage Anger, Resolve Conflicts, Build Empathy, and Get Along by Naomi Drew from Free Spirit Publishing.No Kidding About Bullying is a wealth of lessons and information. No Kidding About Bullying is comprised of 125 mini lessons that can be completed in about 20 minutes or less. The lessons are engaging and empowering.
Lessons from No Kidding About Bullying is very flexible. You can go through the book chronologically or you can pick and choose lessons you want to facilitate with students on particular topics.
There are so many things I absolutely love about No Kidding About Bullying, but the sessions that stick out to me the most are "Session 8: Peace Tables," Session 15: Win/Win Guidelines for Working Out Conflicts," "Session 62: Basement vs. Balcony" and "Session 72: Using I-Messages and Reflective Listening in Conflicts." No Kidding About Bullying also stands out because the stories and anecdotes are from children and teachers Naomi Drew interviewed to write the book!
You can download the table of contents, introduction and 7 sample lessons from No Kidding About Bullying for FREE on Free Spirit's website.
I had the opportunity last year to interview Naomi Drew, author of No Kidding About Bullying. Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview. After interviewing Naomi Drew got an inflatable globe
to help students think about themselves in the context of a larger world.I have used No Kidding About Bullying for classroom lessons with 6th grade students. I would recommend using this resource with students in grades 3-6.
For more great ideas of how to utilize No Kidding About Bullying in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the No Kidding About Bullying post and comment section.
The Middle School Confidential Series and Be Confident in Who You Are iPad app
The giveaway for Day 10 of the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest was the Middle School Confidential Series (Be Confident in Who You Are (Bk. 1), Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Bk. 2), and What's Up with My Family? (Bk. 3)) and The Middle School Confidential iPad App: Be Confident in Who You Are by Annie Fox from Free Spirit Publishing.The Middle School Confidential Series are about tough topics middle school students face. There are three books in the series, Be Confident in Who You Are (Middle School Confidential Series) (Bk. 1), Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Bk. 2), and What's Up with My Family? (Bk. 3). The Middle School Confidential Series are filled with quotes from real students, tips, quizes, and resources. The Middle School Confidential Series are styled like a graphic novel which makes them fun and engaging.Students absolutely love the Middle School Confidential Series. I have used the The Middle School Confidential Series with students in 5-8 grade in individual counseling and group counseling. I could see the potential for using the books for classroom lessons.
The Middle School Confidential iPad App: Be Confident in Who You Are is very cool. On the The Middle School Confidential: Be Confident in Who You Are iPad app page you can view screen shots of the app and a demo. The app can be viewed landscape or portrait, can be viewed zoomed in or full page, and has great sounds and effects. I haven't used the app with students yet, but it would be really cool to get a VGA adapter for the iPad and project it during a classroom lesson.
The Free Spirit website has tons of free downloads related to the Middle School Confidential series including A Leaders Guide to the Middle School Confidential Series, a Meet the Students of Milldale Page, and a parenting podcast by Annie Fox Family Confidential: Secrets to Successful Parenting.
For more great ideas of how to utilize the Middle School Confidential Series
in your work with students and to view the book trailer, visit the Middle School Confidential Series post and comment section.
How will you use these resources in your work with students? Were you inspired by one of the partipants comments? Comment below, tweet, or contact Danielle, share on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page!
Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
