We
have been having a great time in Classroom Guidance lessons so far this
year! Grades K-2 have biweekly classroom
guidance lessons that focus on a variety of topics to supplement the Second
Step Curriculum. Classroom teachers and
paraprofessionals do a wonderful job working on these skills every day! Lesson topics include: respecting differences,
conversation skills, self-esteem, managing feelings, handling mistakes, career
awareness, community helpers, and more.
This year, lessons in Grade 1 and 2 have focused on
helping students recognize, refuse, and report bullying. During Bullying
Prevention lessons, students have been learning how to recognize bullying
behavior and what to do if it happens to them or if they see it happen to a
classmate. The definition of bullying
from Second Step is “Bullying is unfair and one-sided, it happens when someone
keeps being mean to, hurting, or scaring another person or leaving someone out
on purpose.” Bullying can be an abstract
topic for younger students so we often use our school bucket filling theme to
help guide their understanding. It can be difficult for students to
differentiate between a one-time incident and continued mean behavior that can
lead to bullying. Students learned there
are different ways kids can be bullied and some forms can be harder to
recognize. Bullying is not something we can always spot across the playground. It is often difficult to see and others may
not even know it is happening. We read
several books that showed examples of different types of bullying and how the
characters were supported by their families, friends, teachers, and classmates. Students learned how, with support, the
characters were able to refuse or stand up to the bullying behavior. Students learned about the important role of
bystanders or those that see bullying behavior happen. Bystanders are the group with the most power
to do something about bullying. They can
offer support, include others, encourage their friends to be kind, and report
to an adult if they see bullying behavior happen. 
All
that being said, it can still be confusing for students to know when they need
to let an adult know or when a situation is not bullying (but may still be hard
to handle). We read A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue by Julia
Cook. This is a great book that helps
students recognize the difference between tattling on a classmate to get them
in trouble and reporting to a teacher when someone’s body or feelings are being
hurt. Students explored how to try and
solve a problem first before asking an adult to intervene and when to let a
grown up know right away. Even when
students are able to figure out that it would be tattling to tell the teacher
about a classmate not following directions, the need to share this information
can still be strong. That is where the
Tattle Monster comes in! This is a great
idea I came across on Pinterest. Students can quietly go up to the Tattle
Monster to share these thoughts without interrupting the teacher and avoid
tattling. Each first grade classroom now
has their very own Tattle Monster. Grade
2 classrooms each have a copy of “The Tattle Rules” from A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue to help them decide whether they can
handle a problem themselves or if they need to let an adult know. Students are always encouraged to ask an
adult for help if they are unsure whether they need to report. Together we can figure out what the problem
is and how to solve it. I look forward
to the second half of the school year and our upcoming lessons!
Looking
ahead: Kindness
and Appreciation Week is March 18th through March 22nd
and Career Day is Tuesday April 23rd. More information coming soon! Thanks for reading!
Mrs. Sarah Pond is the School
Guidance Counselor for both Donaghue and Sweetsir Schools.