Co-Teaching Lessons with Counselor and Teachers

Time is very valuable to teachers, and it's often difficult to find time for guidance lessons when you have to adhere to a rigorous schedule to teach your kids everything they need to know for the "Big Tests". What if school counselors were able to collaborate with teachers and integrate the counseling curriculum into daily academic lessons? It would save time for the teachers, allow the counselor to get into the classroom more, and help students learn how to apply the academic content to their daily lives. Below is a chart outlining some ideas of how a school counselor can co-teach lessons that integrate academic and counseling standards:

Academic topic	Counseling topic	Lesson
Guided Reading/ Book Clubs	Various issues	Select books for guided reading/book clubs that students can relate to. Especially for learning text connections (text-to-self, text-to-world, etc). How can you relate to this story? What would you do if you were this character?
Fact Versus Opinion	Teasing and Name Calling	Help kids learn how to react to teasing without getting upset. Have sample scenarios of kids being picked on. Is what they said a "fact?" or was it just their "opinion?" If it was an opinion, what does it matter? If it's a fact, is it worth getting upset over?
Writing	Self-reflection	During writing workshops, have students write personal memoirs or autobiographies on a topic such as: "Write about a time when you showed courage" or "Write about your favorite memory".  Counselor can introduce topic and lead discussion about the chosen topic.
General	Study Skills	Class lesson on study skills, co-taught with counselor. How will studying help you in the future? What type of learner are you?
Reading	Impulse Control	Lessons on book "Hunter and His Amazing Remote Control". Students read book and learn how to control their thoughts using a remote control. "Pause" before talking! "Fast Forward" and see how your behavior might affect you.
Test	Calming testing anxiety	Before taking a practice test, counselor can introduce strategies for handling test anxiety. Afterwards, how did you use the strategies?
Math: Pie Graphs	Time Management	If students are stressed, they may need to look closely at how they are spending their time during the day. Teacher will introduce graphs and pie charts, counselor introduces time management skills. Students create pie chart to show how they spend the time in their day. Counselor will assess to see if there are certain areas that they could spend less time or more time.
Social Studies	Career	Counselor and teacher will talk about different careers in the community, and how people choose their careers. Older students can learn about financial literacy and applying it to real life.
Social Studies	Diversity	Learn about people from different cultures and discover how everyone is unique.