Academic Success Group

(With Career and Social/Emotional Twist)

Meagan McEachron

Grade Level: 6th Grade

Length: 6 weeks
Length of Sessions: 40 minutes
Number of Members: 2-5
Gender of Members: Mixed

Group Rationale: Raising the academic achievement level of all students is the primary goal
for K-12 schools. Student-centered activities...provide a continuum of strategies designed to
help every student master guidance standards that promote learning. The activities of
professional school counselors are beneficial to all students and staff as the education
community seeks to achieve higher levels of performance (Erford, 2010, p. 127).

Goals: Students will develop an increased understanding of different strategies used to raise
grade point averages.

ASCA Model New Standards (Mindsets and Behaviors) to be Addressed:

-Mindset Standard 5: Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and
outcomes.
-Behavior Standard; Learning Strategies 7: Identify long- and short-term academic, career and
social/emotional goals.

Target Population: 6th grade students who failed two or more core classes (Math, English,
Science, or Social Studies) for first quarter report cards.

Pre-Screening: Students were chosen for the group based on grade point averages for first
quarter. Phone calls were made to parents/caregivers to obtain permission for their child to
participate in the group.

Leadership Style The counselor will lead in a Modified Democratic style throughout the
small group discussions. The counselor will keep the group on task, and will be firm but fair
when it comes to discipline. It is important to protect the group members and encourage
participation from members, as the group is lead.

Evaluation The group will be evaluated with a pre and post survey regarding their knowledge
of strategies to raise their grades. The effectiveness of the group lessons can be seen based on
the answers on the posttest; have students moved up on the Likert Scale based on what was
taught in the lessons? Final grades following the groups will also be used to evaluate

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effectiveness. Have scores increased since the lessons had been given? Student attendance will
be taken into consideration with the group evaluation as well; 90% of the students will have
attended 5/6 of the group lessons.

Week One Time Management

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Pre-survey

Students will be able to complete the Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
Pre-survey. complete the Pre-survey

Objective 2 Assessment= Worksheet

Students will be able to write how they Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
manage their time. write how they manage their time.
Materials:
Pre Survey, Worksheet, Pencil/Pen

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Greet the students and explain role as a school counselor.
2. Discuss the overall goal of the group and create the group agreements with students, such as
respecting others in the group, only one person speaks at a time, allow everyone the opportunity
to speak, and do not share with others what is said in the group-leading to a discussion about
confidentiality and its limits. Ask the group if there are any other agreements they would like to
add before moving on.
3. Pass out the Pre-survey and explain that it is only seen by you, the school counselor, and
allow for a few minutes to fill it out. Collect them when they are finished.*
4. Icebreaker: Skittles Game: Give each student a small handful of skittles. Based on the color
of the skittle, ask the student a specific question about themselves. Continue asking questions
about the students until their skittles are gone.
5. Time Management Activity: Pass out time management worksheet. Ask students to fill in
sections based on how they spend their time after school. Let the students know that the clock is
split unevenly on purpose. Not everything takes the same amount of time. Then ask them to put
each task in a section on the clock that is most appropriate. The larger sections represent what
they spend the most time doing, and the smaller sections represent what they do the least. Give
students a few minutes to fill out and then ask for volunteers to share what they wrote. **
6. Lead a discussion after everyone has shared. Why did they choose the section they chose?
Talk with the students about how they pick the amount of time they spend on different tasks.
Discuss that while we sometimes want to play video games for three hours, we have to get
homework done so we can only play for one hour. Also discuss that making the right choice on
how to spend time is important. When homework is done and if they do that first, then they
have more time to spend playing video games!
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(*See Pre/Post Survey)

Closing:
Ask students to share one thing they learned from the lesson and ask if they have any
questions.
Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in
the lesson.

**See Appendix A
(Adapted from Time Management Activities for Kids, 2017)

Week Two - Procrastination

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Monitored Recitations

Students will be able to recite steps for
overcoming procrastination.
Objective 2
Students will be able to write at least two
strategies for overcoming
procrastination.
Materials:
Worksheet, pen/pencil
Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
recite steps for overcoming procrastination.
Assessment= Worksheet
Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
write at least two strategies for overcoming
procrastination.

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Welcome students back to group.
2. Go over group agreements and review lesson from previous week.
3. Discuss [Quarter 2] Grades with the students.
4. Explain Pie Chart to students, in terms of how grades are calculated. 60% of their grade is
tests and quizzes, 20% is classwork, and 20% is homework. Discuss the importance of doing all
of their classwork and homework, in order to build points toward overall grade. This way, if
they perform poorly on a test, the points from their classwork and homework will compensate
for that.
5. Discuss what it means to procrastinate. Explain connection with procrastinating and
completing homework and classwork. (I.e. not waiting until end of quarter to complete
assignments).

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6. Introduce activity. Hand out worksheet and ask students to complete as much as they can.
After a few minutes, review each question with the students, discussing ways of recognizing
and overcoming procrastination. **

Closing:
Ask students to share one thing they learned from the lesson and ask if they have any
questions.
Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in
the lesson.

**See Appendix B
(Adapted from Overcoming Procrastination, 2017)

Week Three Lifetime Goals/ Career Interests

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Worksheet

Students will be able to write goals set Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
for their future. write goals set for their future.
Objective 2 Assessment=Worksheet
Students will be able to write an example Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
of a monthly budget plan. write an example of a monthly budget plan.
Objective 3 Assessment= Monitored Recitations
Students will be able to recite which Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
Career Cluster contains their aspiring recite which Career Cluster contains their
career field. aspiring career field.
Materials:
Worksheets: Lifetime Goals, Example Budget Plan, Career Clusters & Pen/pencil

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Welcome students back to group.
2. Go over group agreements and review lesson from previous week.
3. Hand out Lifetime Goals worksheet. Ask students to fill out and then ask for volunteers to
share. Discuss as a group some steps to take to accomplish student goals. Talk about how
important it is to begin thinking about where they are going in their lives. It is important for
students to have some direction in order to accomplish their goals. **
4. Pass out monthly budget worksheet. Fill in example monthly income and expenses with
students. Explain to students the importance of priorities in life as an adult, which compare to
their priorities as a student in school. **

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5. Explain Career Clusters and pass out Career Cluster handout. Remind students about their
goals in life and the priorities we discussed on the previous worksheet. Ask them which career
field they would be interested in pursuing, and which cluster that field would fall into. **

Closing:
1. Ask students to share one thing they learned from the lesson and ask if they have any
questions.
2. Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in
the lesson.

**See Appendix C
(Adapted from Evan Osbornes Career Lesson Plans)

Week Four Test Preparation/ Study Skills

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Monitored Recitations

Students will be able to recite at least two Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
new strategies they can use to prepare for recite at least two new strategies they can use
tests. to prepare for tests.

Materials:
Pen/pencil, test prep handout

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Welcome students back to group.
2. Go over group agreements and review lesson from previous week.
3. Ask students what strategies they use to prepare for tests.
4. Pass out Test Prep handout. Ask for volunteers to read through different strategies. Lead
discussion about each strategy and ask if there are any questions as you go over them.
5. After going over handout, ask students what else they do to prepare for tests. Offer
suggestions on other options if need be (ex: get enough sleep the night before, eat a good
breakfast, positive self-talk, etc.). Encourage students to write down additional
suggestions on their handouts. **
6. Ask students to take turns sharing two new things they have learned on how to prepare
for a test.

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Closing:
Ask students to share one thing they learned from the lesson and ask if they have any
questions.
Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in
the lesson.

**See Appendix D
(Adapted from Test Prep Plan, 2017)

Week Five - Positive Self-Image/ Confidence in Ability to Succeed

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Worksheet

Students will be able to write at least 3 Evaluation=100% of students will be able to
positive thoughts about themselves. write at least 3 positive thoughts about
themselves.
Objective 2 Assessment= Monitored Recitations
Students will be able to recite at least Evaluation= 100% of students will be able to
two positive ways of re-framing negative recite at least two positive ways of re-framing
thoughts. negative thoughts.
Materials:
Pen/pencil, positive self-image worksheet, Re-framing handout

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Welcome students back to group.
2. Go over group agreements and review lesson from previous week
3. Hand out Positive self-image worksheet. Ask students to fill out 3-5 positive thoughts
about themselves. Allow a few minutes for students to fill out. Ask for volunteers to share. What
they wrote. *
4. After sharing, ask students to turn worksheets over and write their name on the top. Ask
students to pass worksheets to their friend on the right side of them. Then ask students to write
two positive thoughts about the person who's name is at the top of the paper. Ask students to
continue passing their papers to the right and writing positive thoughts about each person until
they receive their own paper back.
5. Lead discussion about the positive feedback from their peers.
a. How do you feel about what was written?
b. Is there anything you learned about yourself based on what they wrote?
6. Pass out self-confidence handout. Go over with students and ask for volunteers to read each
statement aloud. **
7. Remind students how important it is to stay positive and confident in their abilities to
succeed. Discuss the first step in achieving anything in life-believing that you can!

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Closing:
Ask students to share one thing they learned from the lesson and ask if they have any
questions.
Remind students that next week will be the last lesson.
Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in
the lesson.

*See Appendix E
**See Appendix F

Week Six - Student Academic Reflection/ High School Goals

Objective/Outcome Assessment/ Evaluation

Objective 1 Assessment= Monitored Recitations

Students will be able to recite at least one Evaluation=100% of students will be able to
goal to achieve by high school. recite at least one goal to achieve by high
school.

Materials:
Student report cards and assignment sheets, snacks for last lesson.

Strategy/Activities Procedure:
1. Welcome students to last week of the lesson.
2. Go over group agreements and review lesson from previous week
3. Meet with each student and discuss current grade point average. Calculate the individual
grade each student needs for each class in order to pass for the year. Discuss what has
changed since the beginning of the group and their plan for the remainder of the school
year.
4. Ask each student to recite one goal that they want to accomplish by the time they get to
high school. Ask them to write their goal in their agenda- as a reminder for the rest of the
year.
5. Pass out snacks and thank students for attending and participating in each group. Ask
students to share some feedback and discuss which lessons were their favorite.

Closing:
1. Recap all lessons and ask students to share one thing they learned from the whole 6 weeks of
group. Ask if they have any questions.
2. Pass out the pretest/posttest again and allow a few minutes for the students to fill it out a
second time. Collect them when they are finished.
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3. Remind the students about the rule of confidentiality and thank them for participating in the
lesson.

Academic Success Group

Pre/Post Survey

Name: ____________________________ Date: ____________

Please circle the number that best describes each situation (1= Never; 2= A few times; 3= Sometimes; 4=
Most times; 5= Always).

3. I write my assignments down in my agenda.

1 2 3 4 5

4. I organize my binders and take out old papers.

1 2 3 4 5

5. I use my time wisely when planning my day.

1 2 3 4 5

6. I get my assignments done ahead of time, instead of waiting until last minute.

1 2 3 4 5

7. I set aside time to study before tests.

1 2 3 4 5

8. I try different strategies when studying for tests.

1 2 3 4 5

9. I am confident in my ability to succeed.

1 2 3 4 5
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 10. I have a positive attitude toward school and learning.

1 2 3 4 5

11. I look forward to my next couple of years in middle school.

1 2 3 4 5

12. I think about what my goals are for high school.

1 2 3 4 5

What is the highest level of education completed in your family? (Please circle)

a. Middle school
b. High school
c. College
d. Other (Military, Trade school, etc.)

How far do YOU want to go in school?

Do you know the Career Clusters? Which cluster are you most interested in?

Natural Resources & Agriculture

Human Services
Industrial & Engineering Technology
Health Services
Arts & Communication
Business, Management, & Technology

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 AppendixA
Icebreaker: Skittles Game
Red- What is your favorite color?
Orange- What is your favorite sport/ video game?
Yellow- What is your favorite subject in school?
Green- What is your favorite movie?

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Purple- What is your favorite food?

AppendixB

Overcoming Procrastination

Important steps:
Step 1: Recognize that you're procrastinating.
Step 2: Work out WHY you're procrastinating
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 Step 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies

What does procrastinate mean?

How can you tell that you are procrastinating? What are some things that you do?

WHY are you procrastinating?

What are some strategies you can use to stop procrastinating?

When can you start using these strategies?

AppendixC

Lifetime Goals
Imagine 20 years from now

Where will you be living?

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 What will your lifestyle be like?

What will your job be like?

What field will your job be in?

What type of money will you be making?

What will your family be like?

What will be the best thing about your life?

Steps to take to accomplish these goals:

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TotalMonthlyIncome:

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 Career Clusters
Our Career Pathways Program has organized the numerous career pathways available to individuals into the
following six career clusters:

Agriculture & Natural Resources

The production, processing, marketing, distribution, financing, and development of agricultural
commodities and resources including food, fiber, wood products, natural resources, horticulture, and
other plant and animal products/resources.
Business & Administration
Planning, organizing, directing and evaluating business functions essential to efficient and productive
business operations.
Communications & Information Systems
Designing, producing, exhibiting, performing, writing and publishing multimedia content including
visual and performing arts and design, journalism and entertainment services and the creation of
efficient systems to organize data.
Health Science
Planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostic services, health informatics, support
services and biotechnology research and development.
Engineering & Industrial Technology
Planning, managing and providing scientific research and professional and technical services including
testing services and research and development services.
Human Services
Employment that relates to families and human needs such as counseling and mental health services,
family and community services, personal care and consumer services.
(https://www.irsc.edu/programs/careerpathways/careerpathways.aspx?id=4294971782)

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 AppendixD
PreparingforaTest

Anorganizedpreparationplanisvitalforperformingwellonexamday.Herearesomestepstohelpstudents
feelconfidentandpreparedforatest.

1.Outlineastudyplan.
Highlightthematerialthattheteacherdeemedmostimportantforexample,ifthetestisfocusingonthe
charactersinTuckEverlasting,spendmoretimestudyingthatarearatherthan,say,thesettingofthestory.
HelpfulHint:Divideinformationintodigestiblechunks,suchaschaptersforsocialstudies,groupsof10word
problemsatatimeformath,5vocabularywordsforlanguagearts,etc.
2.Memoryrefreshers.
Reviewthematerialthattheylearnedfirst.Gobacktothebeginningofthenotesortextbook,andreview
carefully.Thenextnight,reviewthematerialfromthenightbefore,thenmoveontothenextchapter,setof
problems,orgroupofvocabularywords.Thistechniqueallowsthemtoslowlybuilduponthefoundationofthe
information,makingiteasierforthebraintoprocessfacts,formulas,andfeaturesthatwillappearontestday.
3.Flashcards.
Notonlydoflashcardsmakequizzingoneselfeasy,buttheprocessofmakingtheflashcardsisalsoavaluable
studysession.Itensuresthattheywilllookatallofthetestinformationatleastonetime.Plus,writingitdown
helpstovisualizethematerialcometestday.Makeflashcardsoruseapackof3x5indexcardsanddecidehow
youwanttotestyourknowledge.Herearesomeideastogetstarted:
Vocabularywordonthefrontside;definitionontheback
Nameofmathformulaonthefront;exampleofhowtousetheformulaontheback
Majorhistoricaleventonthefront;dateitoccurredontheback
Nameofcharacterfrombookonthefront;significanceofcharactertothestoryontheback
Thestudentcancarrythestackofflashcardsarounduntiltestdayanyfreemomentisanopportunitytoquiz
oneself.
4.Rewritenotes.
Thestudentcanadddetailsfromthetextbooktotheirnotesthisguaranteesthattheyllbereadingthetext
whilewritingdowninformationinnotes.Thismethodcanbeusedupuntilthefinalfewdaysbeforethetest.It
willdefinitelyhelpthematerialstickintheirbrain!
5.Partnerup!
Eveniftheyswearthattheyworkbestalone,encouragestudentstotrytostudywithaclassmateforatleastone
session.Whetherit'sagoodfriendorsomeoneheknowscasually,theirpeerscanofferdifferentperspectivesor
interpretationsoftheteacher'slessonandhavedifferentnotes.Peersmayalsostudydifferentlyandcangive
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tipsonwhatworksandwhatdoesn't.Byreviewingwithclassmates,thestudentwillgatherevenmore
information,increasingthechancesofdoingbetteronthetest.
HelpfulHint:Recommendthatthestudenttradenotebookswithaclassmateandlookforanythingtheymissed
intheirownnotes.

6.Reread.
Thestudentshouldn'trushthroughthislastphaseofstudyingrecommendthattheystudyinstages,working
onsmallstagesduringministudysessions.Theycandividethetestmaterialintothreecategories:stufftheyare
confidentwith,stufftheythinkneedsmorereview,andstuffthattheyrenotcomfortablewithgoingintothe
test.Theyshouldworkonthe"notcomfortable"stufffirst,untiltheyhaveabettergrasponthematerial.Move
ontostufftheyknowbutcouldknowbetter,untilit'sinthe"confident"category.Finally,theycanreviewthe
stufftheyresuresheknows,toconfirmthatthematerialisset.
7.Holdarapidfirestudysessionwithafriend.
Thestudentcanbouncequestionsaroundwithfriendsorfamilyhavethemfocusonareasthataregiving
themtrouble,butalsoreviewmaterialtheyknowwell.
HelpfulHint:Sayinganswersaloudwhilestudyinghelps,becauseitusesanothersensehearingtobuild
aconcretememoryoftheanswer.
8.Glanceovernotesonefinaltime.
Rightbeforeexamday,theycanquizthemselveswithnotesoralastroundofflashcards.

(http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/studyskillstesttaking/testprepplan)

(GoogleImage)

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 AppendixE
Positivity is Key!
Name:____________________________________________________

5Positivethoughtsaboutmyself:

1.________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________

4._________________________________________________________

5._________________________________________________________

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 (GoogleImage)
What Can I Say to Myself?
Instead of
Im not good at this.
I give up.
This is too hard.
I cant make this any
better.
I just cant do math.
I made a mistake.
Shes so smart. I will
never be that smart.
Its good enough.
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AppendixF
Try thinking
What am I missing?
Ill use some of the
strategies weve
learned.
This may take some
time and effort.
I can always improve,
so Ill keep trying.
Im going to train my
brain in math.
Mistakes help me to
learn better.
Im going to figure out
how she does it so I
can try it!
Is it really my best
 work?
Plan A didnt work. Good thing the
alphabet has 25 more
letters!
(Pinterest)

References

Erford, B.T., (Ed.). (2010). Professional School Counseling: A Handbook of Theories,

Programs, and Practices (2nd Ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc.

Overcoming Procrastination. (2017). In Mind Tools Ltd. Retrieved from

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_96.htm

Test Prep Plan. (2017). In Scholastic Inc. Retrieved from

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/study-skills-test-taking/test-prep-

plan

Time Management Activities for Kids. (2017). In Study.com. Retrieved from

http://study.com/academy/lesson/time-management-activities-for-kids.html

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