Lesson: Size of the Problem 

  
School Counselor:​ Rebecca Seymour 
Activity​: Classroom Guidance Lesson 
Grade(s)​: K 
  
SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM GOALS ADDRESSED: 
Understand what a problem is and what makes a problem  
Identify common problems  
Appropriately respond and react to problems in the environment 
Identify ways to solve/fix/reduce the size of the problems 
  
ASCA MINDSETS AND BEHAVIORS: 
M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, 
social/emotional and physical well-being  
M 2. Self-confidence in ability to succeed  
B-LS 9. Gather evidence and consider multiple perspectives to make informed 
decisions 
B-SMS 1. Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility 
B-SMS 7. Demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem 
B-SMS 9. Demonstrate personal safety skills 
B-SS 1. Use effective oral and written communication skills and listening skills 
B-SS 2. Create positive and supportive relationships with other students 
B-SS 4. Demonstrate empathy 
B-SS 9. Demonstrate social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the 
situation and environment  
  
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 
1. S
​ tudents will participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners 
in larger groups in order to learn about their similarities and differences with 
peers to increase sense of school belonging. 
2. Students will correctly identify what the problem is and be able to 
communicate the size of the problem based on the following standards: How 
many people are needed to fix the problem? How long will the problem take to 
fix?  
3. Students will be able to identify the feelings caused by problems in the 
environment  
4. Students will learn to match the size of their response to the size of the 
problem. 
  
MATERIALS: 
Community Circle Materials (Talking piece, prompts, etc.)  
Red (Big Problem), yellow (Medium Problem), green (Small Problem) size of 
the problem cards with picture visuals (clock and # of people)  
Blank red, yellow, and green cards for each student  
Problem Solving Wheel  
 
  
PROCEDURE: 
Counselor will begin lesson with deep breathing exercise.  
 
Class will participate in a community circle exercise (example prompts: I am 
afraid of…, My favorite ice cream flavor is…)  
 
Counselor will pass out one red, yellow, and green card to each student in the 
circle. Counselor will lay out example cards that have picture visuals in the 
center of the circle. Then, counselor will read out loud common scenarios that 
students may run into at school and home. With each scenario, students will 
hold up the color card that they think matches the size of the problem. 
Continue discussion of why we would consider that scenario a ___ problem 
(How many people are involved? How much time would it take to fix?). Then, 
talk about how big our reaction should be and some appropriate ways of 
responding using Problem Solving Wheel.  
 
Example:  
Prompt: “You get cut in line going to recess”  
What is the size of our problem? *Holds up green (Small Problem) card*  
Why is it a small problem? Because it only takes one or two people to fix, and it 
only takes a little time.  
How big should our reaction be to a small problem? Small!  
What are some things that you could do in this situation? Ignore it, tell the 
student politely that you did not like that they cut in front of you, make a deal.  
 
DATA 
Process Data:  
All Kindergarten classrooms participated in this 30 minutes lesson.  
  
Perception Data:  
Students learned about what the problem is, and how to define small, medium, 
and big problems.  
Students know at least one strategy to solve a problem.  
  
Outcome Data: 
Most students can correctly identify the problem and the size of the problem. 
Some students can provide solutions to problems, depending on their size. 
 
Follow Up: 
Counselor and teachers will reinforce ideas and concepts in everyday 
interactions with students.