Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

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Grade 3 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 3 Counselor): Personal Boundaries and Respectful Communication

Teach Grade 3 students personal space, privacy, belongings, and respectful “stop” phrases through scenarios that build safe, responsible choices.

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Grade 3 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 3 Counselor): Kindness and Empathy in Action

Teach Grade 3 empathy with scenarios that help students notice feelings, name needs, choose kind actions, and build classroom belonging.

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Grade 3 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 3 Counselor): Ready to Learn Behaviors

Grade 3 counseling lesson on attention, organization, listening, participation, and responsible choices that help students stay ready to learn.

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Grade 3 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 3 Counselor): Feelings, Triggers, and Body Clues

Grade 3 counseling lesson on naming emotions, triggers, body clues, and needs so students build self-awareness and choose helpful next steps.

Grade 3 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 1 (Grade 3 Counselor): Meet the School Counselor

Grade 3 counseling lesson introducing the school counselor, trusted adults, help-seeking, problem-solving, safety, friendship, and school success skills.

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3-5 Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan (Grades 3-5): Build a Theme Park - Area, Perimeter, Budgeting, and Big Design Decisions

Bring area, perimeter, and budgeting to life with a Grades 3–5 theme park design challenge using grids, costs, and math reasoning.

The Admin Angle

The Admin Angle: From Initiative Lists to Strategy Maps — How Districts Can Finally Stop Doing Too Much at Once

Move from district initiative lists to strategy maps that align priorities, protect focus, sequence implementation, and reduce overload.

Blog

Mistake Museums: Turning Student Errors into Exhibits for Growth

Create a Mistake Museum to help students analyze errors, reduce shame, and turn math, writing, science, and reading mistakes into growth.

Parent Tips

Parent Tips: Helping Kids Recover After Conflict With a Teacher—Respect, Repair, and Reset

Help your child recover after teacher conflict with calm questions, respectful repair scripts, parent boundaries, and trust-building school communication.

Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 36 (Grade 4 Counselor): Grade 4 Counselor Celebration

Celebrate Grade 4 counseling growth with coping tools, empathy, problem-solving, goals, trusted adults, and responsible choices.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 35 (Grade 4 Counselor): Look How I Have Grown

Grade 4 counseling lesson helping students reflect on growth in coping, friendships, responsibility, goals, and skills to carry forward.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 34 (Grade 4 Counselor): Classroom Helpers and Positive Leaders

Grade 4 counseling lesson on leadership, empathy, responsibility, and positive influence with activities that build trust and classroom community.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 33 (Grade 4 Counselor): Safe, Respectful, and Responsible Choices

Review Grade 4 safety, boundaries, digital respect, and responsible choices with scenarios that build empathy, trust, and mature decision-making.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 32 (Grade 4 Counselor): Friendship and Empathy Review

Review Grade 4 friendship skills with empathy, cooperation, inclusion, respectful communication, and repair activities for stronger classroom belonging.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 31 (Grade 4 Counselor): Feelings and Coping Review

Review Grade 4 emotions, triggers, body clues, coping tools, and help-seeking through a counseling toolbox challenge and scenario match.

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6-8 Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan (Grades 6-8): Escape Room History - Unlocking the Causes and Consequences of a Major Turning Point

Turn history into an escape room where Grades 6–8 students analyze sources, sequence events, and explain causes, effects, and turning points.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 30 (Grade 4 Counselor): Conflict Resolution Practice Stations

Help Grade 4 students practice conflict-resolution skills with problem sizing, assertive language, consequences, repair, and adult help.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 29 (Grade 4 Counselor): Trusted Adults and Reporting Concerns

Teach Grade 4 students when to report concerns, name trusted adults, and use clear help-seeking language for unsafe or repeated problems.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 28 (Grade 4 Counselor): Choices Affect the Whole Community

Help Grade 4 students connect personal choices to community impact, responsibility, leadership, safety, learning, trust, and belonging.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 27 (Grade 4 Counselor): Perseverance and Strategy Switching

Teach Grade 4 perseverance with growth mindset, strategy switching, feedback, coping tools, goal reflection, and support.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 26 (Grade 4 Counselor): Boundaries, Privacy, and Digital Respect

Teach Grade 4 students digital respect by protecting boundaries, privacy, belongings, pictures, accounts, and seeking trusted adult help.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 4 Counselor): Empathy, Inclusion, and Group Belonging

Teach Grade 4 students to notice exclusion, build belonging, offer roles, include classmates, and strengthen empathy in group settings.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 4 Counselor): Apologies, Repair, and Rebuilding Trust

Teach Grade 4 students meaningful apologies with responsibility, empathy, repair actions, and trust-building choices after conflict.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 4 Counselor): Assertive Communication for Peer Conflict

Teach Grade 4 students assertive communication skills to handle peer conflict with calm words, boundaries, problem-solving, and adult help.

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Grade 4 Counselor Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 4 Counselor): Handling Anger without Making It Worse

Teach Grade 4 students to manage anger with triggers, body clues, coping tools, assertive words, and safe conflict-resolution strategies.