Fourth Grade
The Fourth Grade classes use the guidance curriculum Steps to Respect. Throughout this curriculum students learn about making and keeping friendships, treating others with respect, and bullying.
LESSON 1: Respect and Friendships
In October the fourth graders began their curriculum. I am in the classrooms every other week for 30 minutes. During this time we have lots of fun and put our learning to work. In the first lesson I introduce myself to the fourth graders and we learn what a school counselor is and does. We began the first lesson in our Steps to Respect curriculum called: Making friends. Student learned respectful behaviors and brainstorm a list of respectful behaviors they do daily. We put our learning to action by creating mini role plays given various situations. Students love these and always do a fun and great job!
LESSON 2: Making Conversation
In our second guidance lesson we learn about making conversation and finding things in common. Students practice the skill of posing questions as a way of getting to know others. Because many people find it easy to talk about themselves, asking friendly questions of others can be an effective way to start conversation. Students discuss active-listening skills, role play using active listening skills and evaluate possible conversation topics.
LESSON 3: Joining In
Joining a group is a difficult social skill to master. It combines the skills of showing respect and initiating conversation. Success is more likely if children show interest in the group's activity by watching, listening, and asking questions. Children must learn respectful strategies for coping with exclusion, and group members need to recognize the responsibility they have to create a respectful school. In this lesson student will evaluate strategies for joining a group, practice joining in, empathize with someone who has been left out and discuss their own responsibility to help create a respectful, caring school environment.
LESSON 4: What is Bullying?
Students will learn that bullying is about behavior, not a person. Our Steps to Respect defines bullying as unfair and one-sided. It happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose. Throughout our bullying lesson students begin to identify bullying behaviors, learn the 3 R's of Responding to Bullying, and discuss how the use of unequal power can hurt others.
LESSON 5: Standing Up for Yourself by Being Assertive
By using assertive behavior students learn to cope with a bullying situation Assertive behaviors differ from aggressive behaviors. Assertiveness is a way of expressing one's feelings, thoughts, and beliefs in a strong, clear, respectful way. In today's lesson I show students a variety of posters displaying behaviors. Students identify the behavior ad tell me how they would respond assertively. We practice resisting negative peer pressure. At the end of the lesson students demonstrate their knowledge of correct assertive behaviors through role playing.
 | | | |  | | About the Steps to Respect Curriculum | Steps to Respect: A Bullying Prevention Program is the classroom
guidance curriculum being used in grades 4, 5, and 6. The primary goal
of this schoolwide program is to help create a safe, caring,
respectful, learning environment in which bullying is not tolerated.
As
part of the Steps to Respect, students in your child's class will learn
new skills to help them build friendships and deal with bullying. For
example they will learn how to:
- make friends
- join group activities
- manage conflicts
- recognize, refuse, and report bullying
Parent
involvement is an important element in the program. Throughout the
program please check the monthly school newsletter for informative
handouts. Try the suggested ideas to help your child practice Steps to
Respect skills and help join us in creating and maintaining a safe,
positive school environment. |
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