Unit Plan 6 (Grade 2 Counselor): Taking Turns, Sharing, and Cooperating
Teach Grade 2 students cooperation, sharing, turn-taking, fair planning, and problem-size skills through group challenges and partner activities.
Focus: Give students practice with cooperation during classroom games, partner activities, and group work. The counselor uses a simple cooperative challenge where students must share materials, wait, and make a fair plan. Students discuss what cooperation sounds like and practice language such as “Let’s take turns,” “What is your idea?” and “We can both help.”
Grade Level: 2
Subject Area: School Counseling (Cooperation • Sharing • Problem Size)
Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This Grade 2 counseling lesson helps students practice the skills needed to work and play cooperatively with others. Students learn that cooperation means sharing materials, waiting, taking turns, listening to ideas, using fair words, and helping the group succeed. The counselor emphasizes that cooperation is important during classroom games, partner work, centers, recess, group projects, and everyday routines.
Students participate in a simple cooperative challenge where they must share limited materials, decide on roles, wait for turns, and make a fair plan. They also learn to notice whether a cooperation problem is small enough to try solving with words or big enough to need adult help. The goal is for students to practice cooperation language and understand that fair, respectful choices help groups work better together.
Essential Questions
- What does cooperation look and sound like?
- How can students share, wait, and take turns during group activities?
- What words help students make a fair plan?
- How can students tell whether a problem is small or needs adult help?
- How does cooperation help the group succeed?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain that cooperation means sharing, waiting, taking turns, listening, and helping the group succeed.
- Practice using fair cooperation language during partner or group activities.
- Identify choices that help or hurt cooperation.
- Use phrases such as “Let’s take turns,” “What is your idea?” and “We can both help.”
- Recognize common cooperation problems and decide whether they are small problems students can try to solve or bigger problems that need adult help.
- (Optional Session) Apply cooperation and problem-size skills through a group challenge, scenario sort, or role-play.
Standards Alignment — Grade 2 (ASCA-based Custom)
- C:S3.2b — Cooperate, Share, and Take Turns
- Work and play cooperatively by sharing materials, waiting, taking turns, and helping the group succeed.
- Example: A student says, “Let’s both have a turn,” during a partner activity.
- C:S4.2a — Identify Problems and Their Size
- Recognize common school problems and tell whether they are small problems students can try to solve or bigger problems that require adult help.
- Example: A student explains that losing a pencil is a small problem, but someone getting hurt is a big problem.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can share materials and wait for my turn.
- I can use fair words during partner or group work.
- I can listen to another person’s idea.
- I can help my group succeed.
- I can tell whether a problem is small or needs adult help.