Unit Plan 24 (Grade K Counselor): Saying Sorry and Making It Better
Teach Kindergarten apology and repair with sorry words, feelings, helpful actions, puppet practice, and respectful problem-solving.
Focus: Teach students that an apology is more than saying “sorry”; it also includes trying to fix, repair, or improve the situation. The counselor uses puppets to show a hurtful choice, a rushed apology, and a more helpful apology with repair. Students practice language such as “I’m sorry I knocked it down. Can I help rebuild it?”
Grade Level: K
Subject Area: School Counseling (Kindness • Apology and Repair • Respectful Problem-Solving)
Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This Kindergarten counseling lesson helps students understand that saying sorry is an important step, but a helpful apology also includes caring about the other person’s feelings and trying to make the situation better. Students learn that mistakes happen, but they can use kind words and helpful actions to repair a problem.
The counselor uses puppets, picture cards, feelings visuals, and simple peer scenarios to show the difference between a rushed apology and an apology that includes repair. Students practice noticing how someone may feel, saying what happened, apologizing, and offering a helpful action such as rebuilding, returning, cleaning up, helping, or asking an adult for support. The goal is for students to learn that repair helps rebuild trust, kindness, and friendship.
Essential Questions
- What does it mean to say sorry?
- Why is an apology more than just words?
- How can students notice how someone else might feel?
- What can students do to help make a problem better?
- How can students solve peer problems respectfully after a mistake or hurtful choice?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify basic feelings and experiences connected to mistakes, hurt feelings, or peer problems.
- Explain that an apology can include words and a helpful repair action.
- Practice kind apology language such as “I’m sorry I ___” and “Can I help ___?”
- Identify repair actions such as helping rebuild, returning an item, cleaning up, using kind words, giving space, or asking an adult for help.
- Use kind words and helpful actions to improve a peer problem.
- Choose respectful problem-solving strategies instead of ignoring the problem, blaming, laughing, or repeating the hurtful choice.
- (Optional Session) Apply apology and repair skills through puppet practice, picture sorting, role-play scripts, feelings matching, repair-choice matching, or a reflection page.
Standards Alignment — Grade K (ASCA-based Custom)
- C:S3.Ka — Practice Kind Words and Actions
- Use kind words, friendly actions, and helpful behavior with classmates.
- Example: A student says, “Do you want to play?” or helps a classmate pick up materials.
- C:S4.Kc — Solve Peer Problems Respectfully
- Use words, adult help, or agreed classroom strategies to solve conflicts without hurting others.
- Example: A student chooses to ask a teacher for help instead of grabbing a toy back.
- C:S1.Ka — Recognize Feelings and Personal Experiences
- Identify basic feelings, needs, and experiences using words, pictures, or actions.
- Example: A student points to a feelings chart and says, “I feel sad because I miss my mom.”
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can notice how someone might feel.
- I can say, “I’m sorry I ___.”
- I can use kind words after a mistake.
- I can help make it better.
- I can ask, “Can I help?”
- I can solve problems respectfully.
- I can ask an adult for help if I need it.