NEW IDEAS FOR MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS

IDEAS CREATED BY MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS FOR MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL

COUNSELORS

Does My School Need A Program Specifically For Girls?

If you’re addressing some of the following issues in your student body, this program may be right for your school:

• Helping girls learn to form and maintain positive friendships• Addressing negative girl groups that form at lunchtime or at recess• Changing the climate of a grade level with negative girl ringleaders• Bullying, cyber-bullying, or harassment• Addressing rumors and name-calling among female students• Counseling girls who have poor body images or low self-esteem• Teaching such leadership skills as public speaking or career exploration• Helping students respond positively to peer pressure

SKILL 2: DEFINING SELFGoal: Group members participate in discussion to learn aboutpositive character traits and determine their own personalstrengths. ICEBREAKERBegin with this icebreaker, which requires students to think about personal character traits:

Adjective Name Game: Divide students into groups ofapproximately 10 members. Each group sits in a circle.Each group member thinks of an adjective that describesher and begins with the same letter as her first name.One person says her adjective and name, and each subsequentperson says her adjective and name and thoseof all the group members who have gone before her.

SKILL 1: QUALITIES OF A LEADERGoal: Through group discussion, members will explore leadership qualities in order to determine the characteristics of a positive leader.

ICEBREAKER This icebreaker, requires students to work cooperatively:

The Human Knot: Form circles of 5–10 students. Each girl places her right arm into the circle and reaches across and holds another student’s hand. Then each student extends her left arm into the circle and holds a different student’s left hand. At this point, each student should be holding a hand of two different students. Explain that they have formed a human knot and must work together to untangle themselves without anyone letting go. Observe as students discuss how to solve the problem and give directions to one another as they work to untangle their knot. Ask students what they saw, heard, or felt that indicated that someone was demonstrating good leadership skills.

SKILL 1: ESTABLISHING GROUP NORMSGoal: Through group discussion, students and coordinators will review expectations and establish program norms and rules.

ICEBREAKERThis icebreaker, allows each student to share information about herself:

You Think You Know Me: Students sit in a circle. As a personal introduction, each student completes the following sentences:My name is ______________________________________ .You may know that I_______________________________.You probably didn’t know that I_____________________ .

Pre-Group Information

Keeping Yourself On Track

Define the Group’s Purpose

Emotional Competency

Beginnings—Giving the group a chance to know one another

Beginnings—Working together establishes a sense of unity

Middles—Group consensus is common and differences of opinion are more easily solved

Middles—Relationships between the leader and other group members are at their strongest

Endings: Closing the group on a positive note.

The 10-Session ProgramSection 1: Begin the Group/Ready, Set Go!Section 2: Understanding Anger

Anger Triggers & The Origin of AngerSection 3: Communicating Anger

Communication Skills & Working Through AngerSection 4: Expressing Anger/Resolving ConflictSection 6: Thinking About Anger

Toxic Thinking & Needs and WantsSection 7: Skills & Techniques For Coping With Anger

Transforming AngerSection 8: Closing the Group/The Grande Finale

Understanding AngerAnger Triggers The Origin of Anger

Communicating AngerCommunication Skills

Working Through Anger

Expressing AngerResolving Conflict

Thinking About AngerToxic Thinking Needs And Wants

Skills & Techniques For Coping With Anger

Transforming Anger

Other Great Middle School Books