Confidentiality and Diversity Guidance Lesson

As a counselor, I want students to trust me and feel comfortable telling me ANYTHING! After all, that is part of my job! One thing that I always do before a counseling session (as I am sure all of us do) is refer to the rules of confidentiality. I have a set of posters near the table I use and I always make sure I ask kiddos if they understand or have any questions. I love this because I feel that it helps build the trust we have in each other and also it helps them know that there are instances that I have to repeat what they tell me...so it's all on the table. Today, I made some super cute chevron signs that are similar to the ones I already have...just more color to match my office! I was having difficulty uploading this FREEBIE to Teachers Pay Teachers but will work on it and post the link on The Stylish School Counselor's facebook page. Which you can like here"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stylish-School-Counselor/123144351184854?ref=ts&fref=ts

Here is a peek at what it looks like!

With MLK, Jr. day coming up, I have been looking for ideas for great guidance lessons on diversity but I wanted something easy to understand and hands on. I combined two ideas and it ended up working out great and the students LOVED it!

For K-2, I read the book What I Like About Me! by Allia Zobel Nolan.

This ideas came from the fabulous School Counselor's Chronicle! You can find her lesson here: http://www.schcounselorschronicle.com/2012/02/what-i-like-about-me.html
For 3rd-5th grades, I read Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport. This is an amazing book and the kids absolutely loved it!

After we read the stories, we discussed the book. For K-2, we focused more on how they are special and unique and had them brainstorm things they liked about them and their classmates. For 3-5, we talked about what it means to celebrate diversity and how being different is a good thing. The students had some wonderful conversations.

After our books and discussions, each student received a puzzle piece like this:

The kids then wrote their first and last name, drew a picture of themselves and decorated! I told the kids that we were doing puzzle pieces because when you put a real puzzle together all the pieces are different but when they are together they make something amazing! The older ones thought this was quite clever. They really enjoyed the chance to color! : )

I hope to get the bulletin board together soon! I hope you all have a great week and stay warm in this cold weather. It is in the 40's in Texas, so that means FREEZING to us!