Unit Plan 9 (Grade 5 Counselor): Belonging and Positive School Community

Focus: Help students understand that belonging is shaped by daily choices, words, attitudes, and actions. Students explore scenarios about teasing, exclusion, group work, lunch tables, recess, and digital communication, then identify actions that build trust, respect, inclusion, and a welcoming school community.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: School Counseling (Belonging • Empathy • Respectful Communication)

Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This Grade 5 counseling lesson helps students understand that a positive school community is built through everyday choices. Belonging is not only about having friends; it is also about feeling respected, included, safe, and valued. Students examine how words, body language, online choices, group decisions, and bystander actions can either build trust or damage it.

Students work through realistic scenarios involving teasing, exclusion, lunch tables, recess games, group work, and digital communication. They practice identifying how others may feel, choosing respectful language, and naming actions that make the classroom or school more welcoming. The goal is for each student to identify one specific way they can help others feel included and respected.

Essential Questions

• What does belonging feel like in a classroom or school community?
• How do daily words, choices, and actions affect whether others feel included or excluded?
• How can students show empathy, respect, and maturity when someone is left out, teased, or misunderstood?
• What can Grade 5 students do to help their class or school feel more welcoming?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Define belonging and describe what it looks, sounds, and feels like in a positive school community.
2. Identify words, choices, and actions that build or damage trust, respect, and inclusion.
3. Recognize how classmates may feel in situations involving teasing, exclusion, group work, lunch tables, recess, or digital communication.
4. Practice respectful communication, active listening, assertive language, and connected responses during peer situations.
5. Name one specific action they can take to help their classroom or school feel more respectful and welcoming.
6. (Optional Session) Practice responding to exclusion, teasing, and peer conflict through role-play or scenario-based problem-solving.

Standards Alignment — Grade 5 (ASCA-based Custom)

• C:S1.5c — Contribute to a Respectful and Inclusive School Community
  • Recognize how personal words, choices, attitudes, and actions can support belonging, respect, inclusion, trust, and leadership.
  • Example: A student notices a classmate being left out of a group and helps create a role so the classmate can participate.
• C:S3.5a — Show Empathy and Respect for Others
  • Recognize how others may feel and respond with kindness, respect, care, and maturity.
  • Example: A student notices that a classmate is embarrassed after a mistake and responds with encouragement instead of laughter.
• C:S3.5c — Communicate Respectfully with Peers and Adults
  • Use respectful language, active listening, assertive communication, and connected responses during conversations, disagreements, group work, and peer conflict.
  • Example: A student says, “I understand your idea, but I think we should include everyone before we decide.”

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain what belonging means and why it matters.
• I can identify actions that help others feel included, respected, and welcomed.
• I can recognize how someone might feel when they are teased, excluded, ignored, or embarrassed.
• I can use respectful words to include others, respond to disagreement, or repair a situation.
• I can name one way I can help build a positive school community.