Group Lesson Plan

Facilitator(s) Name Juliet Duralde

Group Title: Anxiety/Transition Management Group - Small Group Counseling

Target Group (Grade, # of 2 male students (2nd and 3rd grade)

students, ability level):

Length of time: 30 minutes

Overall Group Students will develop strategies to cope with the difficulty of
Objective: transitioning from a hybrid to a full-time school schedule.

ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors

B-SMS 6 Demonstrate ability to overcome barriers to learning
B-SMS 8 Demonstrate the ability to balance school, home,
and community activities
B-SMS 10 Demonstrate ability to manage transitions and
ability to adapt to changing situations and responsibilities

Lesson 1 Of 5

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Learn the definition of confidentiality and its limitations.

Students will also help the facilitator develop group norms
and rules.

Group will: Learn how to name and address their identified feeling(s) and
emotion(s).

Group will: Learn and practice one new coping strategy (belly breathing)
to calm down somatic symptoms of anxiety.

Lesson Procedure
: Describe each in detail.
Overview of Plan
(provide a brief summary of
overall lesson for session)
Students will create a “STOP” signal with a key phrase of
their choosing in the middle (i.e. “Freeze” or “Chill Out”). They
will use this as a tool during and after group counseling to
help them remember the importance of identifying and
naming their emotions so they can choose an appropriate
coping strategy for handling them. Next students will practice
their first coping strategy: belly breathing. Using a
psychoeducational approach, the facilitator will demonstrate
how deep breathing can calm down the parts of our body that
physically react to strong emotions, like anxiety or fear.
Introduction/ Icebreaker:: The Doodle Dance
Ice Breaker Activity
(Include instructions, ● Materials: individual cards with images of an orange
materials, procedures)
star, a red bug, a blue tree, a yellow squiggle, a
green clover, and purple drops
● Procedure:
1. Students will be asked to stand up.
2. The facilitator will explain that sometimes getting our
wiggles out before sitting down helps us get ready to
show the teacher/counselor that we are ready to
learn.
3. Students will learn the dance move associated with
each card:
● Orange star —> play guitar
● Red bug —> shoulder shrug
● Blue tree —> lift your knees
● Yellow squiggle —> hip swivel
● Green clover —> shake all over
● Purple drops —> one big hop

4. After learning the moves together, the facilitator will ask

students to do each move associated with the card that they
see. The facilitator will show each card at random two times
through.
5. After the activity, the group leader will transition to the
lesson by saying “now that we have moved our bodies and
practiced using our brains, let’s learn about confidentiality”
Procedure and 1. The facilitator (counselor intern) will first help the
Lesson: students feel welcome and connected by performing
the “doodle dance” movement and memorization
game.
2. After this icebreaker, the facilitator will help students
brainstorm ways they can tell other students why
they go to the counselor’s office so they have the
tools/script necessary to maintain group
confidentiality.
3. Next, students will listen to the “Calm Down” song
from the Second Step social-emotional learning
curriculum. The counselor will use this as a segue
for introducing the idea of identifying strong
emotions.
4. Students will create a “STOP” signal by filling in an
outline of a traditional Stop Sign with a keyword or
phrase that reminds them to identify the strong
feeling they are having in a moment of fear or
anxiety. Students will think about the examples given
in the “Calm Down” song, but also have the chance
to brainstorm their own.
5. After coming up with their stop signal, students will
have the chance to practice belly breathing. Using a
psychoeducational approach, the facilitator will
demonstrate how deep breathing can calm down the
parts of our body that physically react to strong
emotions, like anxiety or fear.
6. Lastly, students will reflect on the parts of their body
(heart, face, body heat, etc.) that changed after
completing two rounds of deep belly breathing (30
seconds each). Students will circle the body parts
using the template pictured below:
Closing: Students will receive their homework “assignment” (Second
Step Homelink) to continue practicing the strategies they
learned in the group at home with their parents/guardians.

Data Collection Plan – For multiple lessons in a unit, this section only need be
completed once

Participation Data:

Anticipated number 2
of students:

Planned length of 30 minutes

lesson(s):

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you
collect?

Second Step Home-Link

By completing the home link (pictured below) students will demonstrate that they
know how to apply skills related to identifying, naming, and calming down strong
emotions.