Lesson Guide for the Classroom and Advisory
Middle school advisory programs and social and emotional learning in the classroom allow students to discuss and address certain issues that are unique to a middle school student’s life. As the advisory or discussion leader, your role is to listen and respond to students, asking open rather than closed questions and working to create an engaging climate of trust, sharing, participation and self-reflection among your students. This is a suggested guide for middle school classroom and advisory session video and print resources, all of which stream on Connect with Kids websites. Contact Connect with Kids client support at 1.888.598.KIDS (145) or email info@cwknetwork.com with any questions regarding resources or implementation.
1. Establishing Class Norms (Print Only)
Lesson Blueprints
Involve students in setting the expectations for learning and behaviors.
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2. SEL: Why SEL? Day 1 (Print Only)
Lesson Blueprints
Students analyze and create presentations about five the components of social emotional learning.
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3. SEL: Why SEL? Day 2 (Print Only)
Lesson Blueprints
Students present their work.
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4. The Power of Expectations, Part 1, Day 1 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
Competitive runner Ali Traina discusses the people who influence her personal expectations: her parents, her coach and her teammates.
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5. The Power Of Expectations, Part 1, Day 2 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
Project work/presentations.
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6. The Power of Expectations, Part 2 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
Experts discuss the fine line between too much pressure and not enough.
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7. The Power of Expectations, Part 3 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
After a mentor comes to her rescue, Tiffany Harris goes from a student getting F’s in class to someone who sets goals and does what she can to meet the expectations around her. Experts explore the factors to help motivate kids to set goals and live up to them.
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8. The Power of Expectations, Part 4 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
Rigden Road Elementary School teachers and parents stress expectations for students to take advantage of opportunities, not have excuses, and be the best kids they can be. Experts say that kids sense expectations as early as a few months after birth.
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9. The Power of Expectations, Part 5 (Video & Print)
Attendance and Achievement
Meeting expectations and goals require hard work and concentration. Ali Traina’s parents say although she may not reach her goal, she has already lived up to their expectations; as long as she works hard and does her best.
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10. Accountable Talk (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Students use accountable talk sentence stems in a “ridiculous debate” and translate commonly used phrases into accountable talk.
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11. Friendship Values, Day 1 (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Students determine what they value most in a friend and create an artistic expression of those values.
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12. Friendship Values, Day 2 (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Project work/presentation.
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13. Caring and Compassion (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
Brandi Bratton and Marcus Peden act with compassion when they give up their time, space and privacy for the comfort of their live-in great-grandparents. Their caring nature has enabled them to love more and give more, instead of always waiting to receive.
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14. Freedom (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
Ryan Brantley and SQ Sunseri search for the freedom to construct their own identities.
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15. Honor (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
Chioma Oteh tries not to tell lies, but sometimes she does and feels remorse. After going to see a movie that her mother didn’t want her to see, she couldn’t sleep and had to tell the truth. This is called a conscience and it’s the key to ethical and honorable behavior.
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16A. Stories and Lessons: Cyberbullying – Ryan (Video & Print)
Preview and Discussion Questions
Ryan Halligan’s family talks about how bullying over the Internet contributed to Ryan’s suicide.
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16B. Deeper Look and Reflection: Ryan (Video & Print)
Deeper Look Video Page
Ryan Halligan’s family talks about how bullying over the Internet contributed to Ryan’s suicide. Teacher chooses one or more of the Deeper Look videos and reflection questions.
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17. Learning Empathy (Print Only)
Stories and Lessons: Ryan
Students role-play to build empathy.
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18. Telephone (Print Only)
Stories and Lessons: Ryan
Students play a game of telephone and compare to ways they can help break the chain of cyberbullying.
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19. Quotation Driven Compliments, Day 1 (Print Only)
Stories and Lessons: Ryan
Students discuss and create compliments as a way to curb cyberbullying.
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20. Quotation Driven Compliments, Day 2 (Print Only)
Stories and Lessons: Ryan
Project work/presentations.
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21. Post Reactions (Print Only)
Digital Citizenship
Students evaluate online content they see in social media to think about whether everything they see online is true and how they react and respond.
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22. Invisible Weapons, Part 1 (Video & Print)
Bullying and Violence Prevention
Learn about the bullying epidemic with perspectives shared by both victims and bullies.
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23. Invisible Weapons, Part 2 (Video & Print)
Bullying and Violence Prevention
Sarah Nadler was bullied all through middle school and found it hard to open up to her parents about the bullying she was going through.
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24. Invisible Weapons, Part 3, Day 1 (Video & Print)
Bullying and Violence Prevention
See what happens when the bully says she’s sorry and how Doug Archibald stood up for his sister when she was being bullied.
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25. Invisible Weapons, Part 3, Day 2 (Video & Print)
Bullying and Violence Prevention
Survey work and presentations.
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26. Invisible Weapons, Part 4 (Video & Print)
Bullying and Violence Prevention
Experts say that it is important to recognize signs of bullying in victims before they take matters into their own hands and fight back with acts of violence.
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27. OTC and Prescription Drugs, Day 1 (Video & Print)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Emergency rooms across the country are admitting more and more youth who are overdosing on non-prescription and over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. This video explores prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse, and why drugs that seem safe when prescribed by physicians represent such a threat to teens.
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28. OTC and Prescription Drugs, Day 2 (Video & Print)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Project work and share out.
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29A. Stories and Lessons: Ashley (Video & Print)
Previewing and Discussion Questions
Ashley, now a paraplegic, shares her experience with what happened when she decided to drink and drive, and how that one night changed her life forever.
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29B. Deeper Look Video Kristy Kulgrew “Mixed Messages” and Reflection Page (Video & Print)
Stories and Lessons: Ashley
Kristy Kulgrew speaks about the mixed messages kids receive about drinking behaviors.
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30. If You Don’t Get There Straight You Get There Crookedy (Print Only)
Students follow two different paths to get to the same end-point in a maze and then use it as a metaphor for how to navigate obstacles in life.
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31. Ripped Apart, Part 1 (Video & Print)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Kids are turning to sports supplements to keep up with the level of competition in sports today.
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32. Ripped Apart, Part 2, Day 1 (Video & Print)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Taylor Hooton a popular, smart, athletic kid took his life due to steroid use.
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33. Ripped Apart, Part 2, Day 2 (Video & Print)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Project/presentations.
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34. Peace (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
Their parents’ divorces upset Katherine Yarberry and Tony Peaks. Now they rely on writing, meditation and sports to maintain the peace and control in their lives.
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35. Citizenship (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
With a push from his parents, Ben Coppedge volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help others less fortunate than himself. But somewhere along the way, Ben developed his own sense of citizenship and now feels a responsibility to give others a helping hand.
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36. Courtesy (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
A display of bad sportsmanship helped Colt Barron realize how being courteous can have a positive impact on others.
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37. Loyalty (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
A devastating house fire helped Michael Kudelka assess the loyalty of his friends.
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38. Responsibility (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
Seeking a new way to satisfy his urge for an adrenaline rush, Chuck Whiteside got more than he bargained for when his parachute failed during a routine skydive. But his ability to react quickly and responsibly kept him out of harm’s way.
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39. Generosity (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills
A service-learning project teaches ninth -graders how to be generous with their time and talents.
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40. Being Calm (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Students practice exercises to bring them to a state of being calm.
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41. When I Feel…I Need… Part 1 (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Students work in teams to create A-Z charts of vocabulary to express emotions.
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42. When I Feel…I Need… Part 2 (Print Only)
SEL Spotlight
Students practice using “When…I feel…I need” statements to communicate their emotions and desires.
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43. Cooperation (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills: Inside/Out
See kids band together to clean up their city and help the environmental effort to stop littering.
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44. Patience (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills: Inside Out
Heather Bandy uses patience to overcome her disability and persevere in every task she takes on in life.
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45. Civility (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills: Inside Out
Erica Bryant was subject to bullying, even in the safety of her own home.
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46. Diligence (Video & Print)
Character and Life Skills: Inside Out
Jodie Finney uses diligence to overcome her learning disability and is now on her way to getting a Ph.D. in physical therapy.
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47. Closing
End of Year Review
A review of advisory highs and lows: Teacher and student designed session to review the year’s topics, themes, and lessons.
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