Stick-To-It Thoughts

My co-counselor and I have been busy with our Test Success small groups that I wrote about here (on TPT here) and our EOG classroom lessons that I have mentioned before here.  This week is our final session before the BIG TESTS later next week. I am thinking about ending with a special  treat and have been checking out Pinterest for some fun ideas. Below are my favorites from a few different bloggers:

(Tales from Outside the Classroom)                   (Calico and Cupcakes)                                                (Primary Possibilities)

One of our last sessions is focused on test anxiety so after we practice our calm down strategies, we are going to take some time to share our positive thoughts with the rest of the school. I love these high fives from the blog, A Fellow School Counselor. The students can make them for their hallways and write things like "Free High Fives----You've got this!" or "Free High Fives----Go rock this test!".  I'll let them be creative!

I also promoted positive thoughts with this bulletin board, which will be added to as third grade EOG lessons are completed this week. My co-counselor is including an activity where students write down the positive thoughts they will use during the EOG on a post-it note.  We are displaying them for all to see here.

Also, I'm truly looking forward to another awesome EOG assembly this coming Friday. You may remember my past performances here and here. I promise I will not disappoint and have a gem of a performance lined up! Check back next week to see how it turned out.  Any guesses to what type of costume I will have???  Hang in there.....we are getting close!

Happy Counseling ~ Angela

Guest Blogger: Get Ready for Testing!

                          *Check out new vinyl at the Life on the Fly Store

 I'm starting a new series of guest blogging on Life on the Fly.  Collaboration isn't just a "buzz word" for me, it's what I live and breathe each day.   I want to share what counselors all across the state (and nation) are doing at their schools and give different perspectives of how you can implement an effective school counseling program. Maybe you have a great idea but don't have the time or desire to write a regular blog; this is your chance! If you would like to share a great idea and be a guest blogger, let me know.

Rebecca Atkins is a veteran and brilliant school counselor at Cameron Park Elementary School in Hillsborough, NC. She previously worked in Wake County and has been the school counselor of the year for NCSCA and Wake County. She has a blog connected to her great Cameron Park school website found here.

I am so excited to do a guest post here at Life on the Fly.  Angela and I know each other in "real life" so I am stoked to be able to that we can now connect blog-style.

With the increase in pressure related to standardized testing, I have doubled my focus on academic counseling and support.  In the past, elementary counselors didn't do too much with academics and seemed to learn towards the feelings side of things.  Well, my friends, the writing is on the wall and passing the test academic success is the number one things on everyone's minds. 

Over a two weeks span I am going to be starting academic groups for 51 students.  Whew- have I lost my mind?! Maybe! I run groups for 3-5 during lunch and will be having 3rd, 4th, and 5th academic groups every day except for Thursday (Lunch Bunch Day).  I have already talked about how I choose students and how we focus on goal setting over on my blog.  I thought over here on  Life on the Fly, we could talk about some of the fun activities that we do and even include a FREE PRINTABLE!

Adults aren't the only ones feeling a lot of pressure! s The kids are being crushed by the amount of pressure they are under.  This is in elementary school!  As part of our academic achievement group, we talk a lot about handling stress and pressure.  Of my 51 students starting the group, almost half had teachers rate handling stress and pressure as one of their top two areas of concern.  Because of this, we have 2 sessions related to managing stress.

How does stress affect our brain? Bottom line- stress is bad for our memory.  What is learning? A lot of remembering! To make this point we watch a YouTube video about scientific research into stress and memory.  We discuss why stress is bad for memory and how memory is related to learning.  The kids in the group are always really interested in this connection and eager to share their stresses. i ask students to write down things that cause them stress on a post-it.  While they are working, I divide the white board into four quadrants:  home, school, friends, and other.  When students have finished a post-it, they can place it in the appropriate quadrant.

Once our white board is full, we read them aloud -- stacking like items together -- and brainstorm ways to manage that stress.  As the students talk, I write their ideas on the board.  When we're done we have a list of ideas about managing stress.  I take a picture with my phone and print the picture to place in their group folder.

In our next lesson, we pinpoint a big stressor:  test anxiety.  Since this session is towards the end of the group, it usually takes place a few weeks before our big state-mandated test.  Test anxiety is on everyone's minds!  To make it fun -- we play a game! Here is your amazing FREE PRINTABLE! To play -- each person rolls a die and then completes the calming strategy listed.  When you've rolled that number you can cross out the picture.  First person to cross off 6 numbers wins! If you roll the same number twice, you get to practice that strategy again!

I hope you find these stress lessons helpful! For more information, please feel free to contact me at Rebecca.atkins@orange.k12.nc.us  Have a stress-free end of the school year!

     Awesome ideas, Rebecca! Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

16 days......That's how many school days are left until the first End of Grade (EOG) test at my school.  Now if that number quickens your pulse or causes you to feel anxious, you are not alone!  I think most teachers, administrators, and school counselors are feeling a little overwhelmed at this time of year (or a lot!) because there is SO MUCH to do between now and the final day of school.  I, for one, just finished coordinating the final MAP assessments at my school for second through fifth grade students and now am trying to fit in all of my school counseling interventions before the next wave of testing hits.  Luckily, I have a fantastic co-counselor who is able to keep our comprehensive school counseling program on track during the testing times.  One of our ASCA (American School Counselor Association) plans this year is focused on creating small EOG groups for students who did not pass the third or fourth grade EOG the first time but did pass it the second time.  We figure those students are on the cusp of passing and our extra attention and support may be enough to help them pass on the first try.

 I used EOG initial and retest data to create the fourth and fifth grade groups.  My school had 15 fourth graders and 14 fifth graders that fit into our target group. My co-counselor sent parent permission letters home and we planned a 4-5 session group, depending on how quickly we can get through each topic.
My co-counselor made each student a small group book (something I do for every small group I run) so that they would have the information in a handy reference guide and could remember what we talked about after our group was over. The groups are being run during recess time and lunch time, depending on the grade level. The main topics we are focusing on are:

• Routines for the nights before and days of the EOG (foods to eat, how to dress, when to go to bed and wake up)
• Multiple Choice Strategies
• Coping strategies if you get nervous 

These are all basic pieces of information that help students feel more confident and prepared when going into the EOG testing days.  They can also be presented as whole group lessons if you are able to get into third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms for guidance lessons prior to the EOG. My favorite parts of the group are:
 
The Test Plan
Each student has the opportunity to visualize and construct their ideal plan for EOG testing days after we discuss each topic.  By the end of the group, the test plan will be completely filled out and ready for students to review on the days leading up to the EOG.  We also encourage students to share their test plan with their parents so everyone can be on the same page on EOG days.

The EOG Fortune Teller
Even if we don't have enough time to complete AND fold the fortune teller in group, it is a FUN and EASY way to review all the strategies we have brainstormed in group.  The kids LOVE these paper games, and I have used them with everything from EOGs to conflict resolution strategies to friendship skills. The students often will take them to recess and help each other fold them after they have filled out each triangle in group. You can find an editable template here.

"I Have, Who Has?" Vocab Game
Icebreakers, games, and other fun activities keep EOG small groups from being another classroom lesson for kids whose favorite thing is probably NOT talking about tests during their recess or lunch period.   This vocabulary game emphasizes the keywords that students should be paying attention to, underlining, or circling when reading passages or word problems on the EOG.  You can make your own game by picking 25 common EOG vocabulary words.   Decide which word you will start the game with.  For example, you might put "In All" on the front of the card.  On the back you would write "I have In All.  Who has the word that is the answer to an addition or multiplication problem"?  The person with the word PRODUCT would stand up, show their word and read the back of their card.  "I have product.  Who has the word that is a number sentence"?  Then, "I have equation....." and so on until every student has the chance to stand up one or two times (depending on if you are using this game for a guidance lesson or small group).  The last person will say "The End" after they have shown the last word.  Kids get to stand up and down, everyone talks, and they have to pay attention to which word is being defined so it's a really engaging game!

End of Group Encouragers
Leave it to Pinterest to have the best ideas for encouraging and motivating students during the EOGs.  In our last session, my co-counselor and I will give a little treat to our small group students for working so hard to prepare themselves for the EOG.  Here are some of my favorites:

I also found THE BEST website called Keep Calm-O-Matic where you can create your very own "Keep Calm" poster and order other merchandise, too.  How cute will this image be on some postcard-sized cardstock with a positive thought message on the back from the school counselor???? Maybe the EOGs won't be so bad after all!

Happy Counseling!

Angela