Running Head: COUNSELING ACTIVITY PAPER

Counseling Activity Paper

Kierston Beets
Kansas State University

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Finding classroom counseling career activities at each grade level is necessary
to be an effective counselor. Each grade level will require something different and it is
important that each lesson is tailored to each grade. We were shown a lot of really great
activities in class that could be used in different settings, but could also be adjusted to fit
different grades. For Mark and Is classroom lesson, we chose to focus on students
strengths. We discussed that each person brings something to the table and knowing
that with each strength comes different jobs to match those strengths.
The lesson that we put together for class involved a few different activities and a
video, hopefully, to catch all of the diverse learners and keep the students engaged. The
first activity that we did was a Most Like Me/Least Like Me activity. I believe this would
go over better in a 7th grade class versus our class because there will be more varying
personalities. It would be important to stress that there is no right way to handle any of
the examples we provide. For instance, we dont want the students who are never
prepared to feel less than the students who are always prepared. The second activity
included the student listing out some of the strengths they poses. In the lesson plan, it
told us to do the activity first and then watch the video, but I could see the benefit in
doing the video first. I think there would be plenty of 7th graders who would get stuck
and not know what words to put or what options were available. If we wanted to keep
the video second then providing the words in the video along with some other words
would probably benefit the students. Overall, I think this would be a good lesson as part
of a larger unit based on strengths, skills, experiences, etc.
I dont know if Mark taught this as part of a unit, but I would need to ensure that I
would incorporate this lesson in a unit to discuss strengths and skills. 7th graders are

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starting to get to a point where they become very self-conscious and dont believe they
are good at anything and start to really compare themselves to their peers. We need to
emphasize that not everyone is good at the same thing and we dont want everyone to
be good at the same thing. Each student will have different skills, strengths,
experiences, passions, etc. and that should be embraced.
A unit like this could hit pretty heavily on the KSDE (2015) 6-8 career
development standard 1 benchmark 1 standards (p. 8). Most of the knowledge base
indicators could be addressed along with other indicators on different standards or
benchmarks. A unit and activities included in the unit could also cover looking at multiple
perspectives and really have the student become self-aware, but also help them
develop an understanding of other people. When it comes to lessons, I try to kill as
many birds as I can with one stone and this unit would be no different.
Since there are so many changes in activities for the students and for a time the
students will be out of their seats it will be necessary to have a good plan and
procedure. How will you keep the students on task and how will you ensure they go
from one place to the other in an efficient manner? One thing that I like to do when I do
classroom guidance is see what the teacher does for classroom management and use
that similar tool. I think it helps the students tremendously to see the consistency in the
classroom. For this particular lesson there arent many resources needed; some way to
draw the line of Least Like Me/Most Like Me, the My Personal Strengths paper, and
access to show the video.
I think this unit could be applied to many different theories depending on what the
outcome was, but for me and the goals I would like to achieve I think I would operate

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out of Lent, Brown and Hacketts social cognitive career theory. This theory is more
concerned with the specific cognitive mediators through which learning experiences
guide career behavior; with the manner in which variables such as interests, abilities,
and values interrelate (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013, p.96). It is important for me
that students realize each of us have different interest, abilities, and values and
because of that each of us will prefer a different career. If we all had the same abilities
and skills, then there would be a lot of us jobless and the market would be much more
competitive. As I mentioned earlier, students at this age will heavily compare
themselves to their peers and because of that they will believe they are not good at
anything, but this lesson is a great opportunity to stress otherwise.
The question for this particular lesson was basically how can others benefit from
your strengths and there are many different ways we could evaluate that. One option
would be to have the students do a small project and they are placed in a role based on
their strengths and weaknesses. The objective of the activity would be to provide the
students with first hand experience of using their strengths and seeing others use their
strengths. A simple exit ticket would, also, be a means to measure what the students
took away from the activity. Asking a question like What is a strength that you could
bring to a group that your friends could not? could have the student take time to reflect
on the lesson and how they are different, but still strong in different areas. Class
discussion would also be a simple way to gauge what the students are and are not
understanding.

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I believe this lesson/unit could achieve many different goals and could be applied
to many different theories depending on the goals, but no matter what way a counselor
looks at it, this is a necessary and important unit for students to see at this age.

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Kansas State Department of Education. (2015). Kansas curricular standards for school
counseling. Topeka, KS: Retrieved from
http://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/CSAS/
Content%20Area%20(M-Z)/School
%20Counseling/Kansas%20Curricular
%20Standards%20for%20School
%20Counseling%20Final%20Rev111015.pdf
Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2013). Career development interventions in the 21st
century (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.