On Friday, it is July 1st. So what does that mean? It means my mind is starting to drift towards school! Whether you are one where this thought brings tears to your eyes or it makes you want to jump for joy, there is always the daunting task of planning your curriculum for the school year. Going into my seventh year of counseling, I feel like I finally have a grasp on things and how I want my year to go. I vividly remember my first few years of counseling when I would aimlessly search for lessons, deciding what to work on and how to organize my school year. It created a lot of anxiety for me, on top of dealing with the daily issues that would pop up for any normal school counselor. On top of the fact that your first year in education is exhausting in general, I felt that I was constantly spinning my wheels at the end of the day trying to think of lessons for the next week (or, let's be honest, the next day). I do not want to take away from the sheer newness of being a counselor; I truly feel that this is where I was made professionally. Learning how to bounce back from some terrible lessons,and the re-focusing so that my students were getting the best from me. But I do wish that someone would have provided me with a guideline, outline, or SOMETHING that would have given me a small hint of direction the summer before I started. The first year I was given tons of resources, but as most school counselors know, building your curriculum is something best done in the summer (at least for me). So, I decided to provide you all with a guideline of what I use when I am planning curriculum. I use the Missouri School Counseling GLEs (which can be accessed HERE), but if you are a school counselor in another state, I suggest checking to make sure your state does not have its own set of GLEs. Missouri's GLEs are very well-written, and are a great starting point if your state does not have their own. Over the next few weeks, I will post some different grade levels curriculum maps. Today I will focus on Kindergarten, since that is the grade I usually start with in the summer. I do this because it helps me remember what students have learned the year before, that way my units can build off each other chronologically. Here is my Kindergarten Curriculum map for the 2016-2017 school year: How do I decide what I need to teach? Here are some tips to help you plan your curriculum the best:
1. Look at your GLEs. Your GLEs are going to help you decide what your students need to learn throughout the year. 2. Conduct Needs Assessments. What is a needs assessment? This is a simple survey that you hand out usually at the end of the year to help you decide what topics other feel students may need to learn. This can be a scary thing to do, but you will be surprised on how much insight you gain. I have done needs assessments with parents, students, and teachers. I keep parent and teacher insight in mind when I am creating my curriculum maps the most. It is best to do this at the end of the school year. 3. Remember to consider yearly events. Pay attention to the school calendar when you are planning your lessons. Red Ribbon Week falls in October, so I always plan my peer pressure unit around that time for middle school. Spring is great for test-taking skills, and diversity units fit in well during November and December when lots of holidays are being celebrated. By no means do you have to plan your lessons during these times, this is just how I have worked it the last few year. 4. Be flexible. Some times there may be lessons you NEED to teach a certain class; that is ok! Just like teachers, we have to teach to our students, not just our curriculum schedule. 5. Network, Network, Network! I would have never found the lessons I have right now without networking with other school counselors. I am the only counselor in my building, and we have 4 total in our district, so I have to reach out to other sources to help me learn new things. And I hope that in five years I am not teaching the same lessons I am now; I am always trying to do better! Have your own ideas for curriculum?? Have questions about my lessons? Please respond below and I will be happy to answer any questions!
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