GROUP

COUNSELING
LEVELING- UP

KARLA JUAREZ CORTEZ

------------------------
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

2020
 Table of Contents

Selection of a School Site 3

Needs Assessment 7

Selection of Participants 10

Consent Form 14

Research and Literature Review

15

Evaluation of Intervention Efficacy

Self Reflection

Reference Page

2
Selection of School Site

Woodrow Wilson High School is a school located in Long Beach, CA that serves grades

ninth through twelfth. The total student population at Wilson High School is 3,679 students.

According to the California School Dashboard, 63% of the school population classifies as

socioeconomically disadvantaged. Meanwhile, 9.2% are English Learners, and 0.5% of students

are Foster Youth. Figure 1 shows that 54.7% of the student population identifies as Hispanic

making them the most prominent race/ethnicity group at this school. Students who identify

themselves as White are the second-highest racial population by 18.4%, a total of 678 students.

Then the third-highest ethnic community of students consists of 11.5% who identify as African

American.

In regards to academic performance, Figure 2 shows that Wilson High School is 29.9

points above average for English Language Arts, but in Mathematics and College/Career, they

are below the standard. Even though the CA Dashboard does not provide data on absenteeism,

the following information comes to form Ed-data.org. Figure 3 shows that in the 2017-2018

school year, 14.6% of all students are chronically absent, which was higher than the previous

school year. Figure 4 shows that 3.8% of students are suspended at least once, making Woodrow

Wilson at risk for low performance in suspension rates.

As noted earlier, Wilson’s Graduation rate and English Language Arts performance are

above standards. However, there are also some disparities in certain groups. Students who are

English Language Learners, African American, and Students with Disabilities do not perform

well in most categories. One alarming finding is that all these three groups are among those who

were suspended the most in 2019. Figure 4 also shows the following: 8.1% of ELL students have

been suspended at least once, 9.3% of students with disabilities have been suspended at least

3
once, and 10.7% of African Americans students have been suspended at least once; making them

the most suspended group of students at Wilson High. The rates for EL students and students

with disabilities have increased, but the rates have remained the same for African American

students. All these groups also performed below standards English Language Arts (African

Americans-15 points below standard, English Learners-48.8 points, Students with Disabilities-

47.5 points below) and Mathematics (African Americans-117.3 points below standard, English

Learners-142.7 points below, and Students with Disabilities-135.7 points below).

4
Figure 1: School Demographics from https://www.caschooldashboard.org/

Figure 2: Academic Performance from https://www.caschooldashboard.org/

Figure 3: Chronic Absenteeism Rates from https://www.ed-data.org/school/Los-Angeles/Long-

Beach-Unified/Wilson-High

5
Figure 4: Suspension Rates https://www.caschooldashboard.org/

6
 Needs Assessment
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We appreciate your feedback and will consider
it. Also, all these responses will be kept confidential and read-only by the counseling staff.

Directions: Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of these
statements regarding Woodrow Wilson High School. Place an "X" mark in the box of your
answer.

I. Demographic Data

Name (optional): _________________________________ Grade: _________ Gender: _________________________

II. Questions

Strongly Strongly
Agree Unsure Disagree
Agree Disagree

1. I know how to ask for help when I don’t

understand my homework.

2. My teachers are willing to help when I

need assistance.

3. I need help making friends.

4. I feel comfortable reaching out for help

from an adult when I have a problem.

5. I am doing my homework each night.

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6. I feel confident in my ability to manage my        
time to complete my homework.

7. I believe that I have many good qualities.         

8. I am not confident in my ability to pass my        

classes.

 
9. I need to improve my study skills.      
 

10. I know what to do after I graduate from

       
high school.

11. I need to learn more about jobs and

       
other career opportunities.

12. I am confident that I can get into a

       
college or university.

13. I need help fitting in at school.

       

14. I need help gaining self- confidence.

15. I need to learn how to get along with

others.

8
Write-Up

The group topic was not pre-selected; however, I did not have the opportunity to

implement my group due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The idea for working with this

population originated from my interactions with some of the ELL students that I administered the

ELPAC exam to. While trying to give the test to some students, I was made that some of them

were part of the population that are chronically absent. Because of this discovery, I looked closer

to the chronic absenteeism rate on this population. As shown in Figure 6, 23.3% of English

Language Learners have missed more than ten percent of the school year (chronically absent).

Therefore, I decided that I wanted to facilitate a group with this population.

As for the topic at hand, I always have been drawn to the concept of self-esteem. Also, I am

more comfortable in facilitating self-esteem groups because it allows me to be creative and

utilize one of my biggest strengths: bringing out people’s best qualities. What I wanted to do was

give out my needs assessment to as many ELL students as I could. However, my supervisor

wanted me to speak to the Data Technician (who is also a graduate student in School

Counseling) to determine who would benefit from my group. Therefore, I had to change my

approach from giving out Needs Assessment to this population to finding screening questions I

can ask potential participants. Once they informed me of the potential participants for my group,

I wanted to interview them by using the screening from Figure 5. I understand that the referral

method is not the most ideal, but I will use screening questions to find the perfect candidates for

my group.

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Selection of Participants

Based on the information given to my supervisor, he agrees that it is a good idea to

recruit English Language Learners or ELL students to be a part of the self- esteem group. My

supervisor agreed that it would be appropriate for me to work with these students since most of

them had some interaction with me. The majority of those interactions occurred when I was

conducting the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) exam. Also,

I may work alongside the ELL Coordinator and Data Technician to recruit these students, since

both know who all the ELL students are, and I have worked with the coordinator extensively.

Part of the recruitment plan involves asking the coordinator for recommendations of

students who would be ideal for this group. Ideally, I would want my group to be about 5 to 6

students total from grades 9 or 10. However, my supervisor stated that my group has to be open

to ELL students of all grades; thus, I will be considering juniors and seniors who are classified as

ELL students for this group. Once the recommendations are set, I will interview them

individually using the screening questions created by Janice L. DeLucia-Waack (2006). In Figure

5, I marked with a blue box the questions that I will ask students during the interview.

Hopefully, by implementing this group, these participants can be dissuaded from

engaging in detrimental behavior such as missing school or suspension will have them suspended

or not coming to school. This population has a high rate of absenteeism and suspensions, which

may be due to a lack of interest in school or the belief that they will not amount to anything or

pure apathy. Figure 4 shows that 8.1% of this population has been suspended at least once. Also,

Figure 6 from Ed-data.org shows that in 2017-2018, 23.3% of ELL students were chronically

10
absent. Regardless, the group sessions are meant to increase their self-esteem, so they are

intrinsically motivated to do better in school

11
Figure 5: Screening Questions

12
13
Figure 6: Chronic Absenteeism Rate- English Learners retrieved from https://www.ed-
data.org/school/Los-Angeles/Long-Beach-Unified/Wilson-High

14
 Letter to Parents or Legal Guardians
Dear Parents/Legal Guardians:

The Counseling Department at Woodrow Wilson High School is dedicated to providing preventative services for your
child. As part of these services, we are offering a small group to teach students strategies to develop positive self-esteem.
The group is called Leveling UP, and we will be meeting on Mondays during lunchtime for six sessions. If the students do
participate in this group, the students will have to attend all the sessions.

Your child, __________________________________, has communicated interest in being a part of the Leveling UP
group. We have explained to students that the purpose of this group is to teach them skills that can help them develop
positive self-esteem. The group that we will conduct is structured and will help students increase their self-efficacy and
help them identify their strengths.

The following lists consist of some of the topics that will be covered in the small group:

● What is Self-Esteem?
● Automatic Negative Thoughts
● Identifying One’s Strengths
● How to Give and Accept Compliments

The group facilitators and supervisors will keep the information discussed in group sessions confidential, except in
situations such as self-harming oneself, harming others, or suspected child abuse. All students in the group will be
encouraged to respect one another's privacy and keep the information confidential; however, we cannot guarantee peer
confidentiality.

If you have any questions, please contact me at juarezcortez@chapman.edu. We want you to be aware of what your child
will be doing in the groups. Thank you for your support and for sharing our desire to aide the student in becoming a
successful and healthy child.

15
Sincerely,

Karla Juarez Cortez Parent/Guardian Signature

Return to Counselor (mark one) _______________________________________________

________My child can participate in the counseling sessions.

________My child cannot participate in the counseling sessions.

Research and Literature Review

Introduction
The following research articles were used to
Annotated Bibliography

Diaz, A., Cochran, K., & Karlin, N. (2016). The Influence of Teacher Power on English

Language Learners’ Self-Perceptions of Learner Empowerment. College Teaching, 64(4),

158–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2015.1126801

Although this article discusses how a teacher can empower or hinder an English

Language Learners student’s academic performance, this article served as a lens

to show how an ELL student feels about his/herself. The researchers conducted 20

interview sessions on 20 ELL students to investigate the role teachers had on their

education. According to the research, ELL students thought that they were misfits

in their classrooms and "felt that they were treated poorly, embarrassed, picked

on, and perceived as slow" (Diaz, Cochran & Karlin, 2016, (p.163). Also,

numerous ELL students expressed feelings of isolation and misunderstood since it

is hard for them to assimilate into English while maintaining their culture.

Overall, the study found that students who were empowered by having teachers

16
 compliment them, slowing down when talking to them, being authoritative, and

helping them without being condescending made them feel more capable of

succeeding in class and less fearful of failure.

Gaines, I. (2015). Increasing Confidence and English Use outside the ESL/IEP Classroom for

Lower-Level Learners. ORTESOL Journal, 32, 56–67.

Gaines discusses the impact of an elective course on ESL and Low-Level

Learners. The course objective is to increase the student’s confidence and

motivation to speak English outside of the classroom. While taught as a typical

class, the strategies used to reach that objective can also be implemented in doing

group sessions. As noted by Gaines, pre-task scaffolding helped the students

complete tasks that facilitated their English speaking skills. Another aspect

discussed was that after a job is completed, the educator/facilitator could bring

attention to the student's successes since it will only increase their confidence.

The activities that have students reflect on their strengths or weaknesses can help

them learn autonomy and build a sense of community with their classmates.

Joker, H., & Ghaderi, Z. (2015). Effectiveness of a Solution-Based Counseling on Students’

Self-Perception. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(15), 2141–2145.

Joker and Ghaderi use Solution-based group counseling with a group of 30 high

school students whose ages ranged from 16-19 to see if it can impact their self-

esteem. The sessions were for ten-week, and each lasted 90 minutes each. The

first session focused on getting to know each other, and the second session

focused on teaching them concepts of SFBT. All the students did pre and posttests

17
 for all the meetings, and the results showed a drastic increase in their self-

confidence. Based on this article, it is evident that focusing on strengths and

working with students to help them develop solutions to their issues are all

effective strategies.

Khaleghinezhad, S. A., Shabani, M., Hakimzadeh, R., Shaker, HN, & Amerian, M. (2016).

Prediction of High School Students' Life Satisfaction and Academic Performance Based

on Locus of Control and Self-Esteem. International Journal of School Health, In Press

(InPress). DOI: 10.17795/intjsh-31924

The purpose of this research is to predict students' life satisfaction and academic

performance using the concept of locus of control and self-esteem. The

participants consisted of 315 students whose ages ranged from 14 to 17. The

researchers administered the following scales to participants: Brief

Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS), Scale of Locus of

Control (SCS), and the Rosenburg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The GPA of these

students was how the researchers measured academic performance. Based on the

results, students who indicated healthy self-esteem showed the most satisfied with

life. Therefore, the researchers encouraged stakeholders to pay attention to

adolescents' personality, be respectful towards them, and to think of their sense of

worth as a "humane duty." By doing so, this will help increase a student's positive

attitude with their actions and themselves. Also, researchers found that self-

control and locus of control correlate with academic performance. Thus locus of

control and self-esteem is vital to a student's academic performance and

satisfaction with life.

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Lambert, M. C., Garcia, A. G., January, S.-A. A. & Epstein, M. H. (2018). The Impact of

English Language Learner Status on Screening for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders:

A Differential Item Functioning (DIF) Study. Psychology in the Schools, 55(3), 229–239.

The article discusses how ELL students fare when being screened for emotional

and behavioral disorders. Dr. Matthew C. Lambert and his colleagues stated that

ELL students have high-risk factors that make them vulnerable to drop out of

school. The factors include poverty, limited access to proper education,

healthcare, and mental health services, and living in impoverished yet violent

neighborhoods. Even though the participants were 1st grade ELL Latino students,

the feelings of low confidence are just as prominent as it is with high school

students. The researchers emphasized that screening can be useful for creating

intensive interventions, but like the screening tools, the responses have to be

culturally responsive.

Perry, J. C., & Lavins-Merillat, B. (2019). Self-esteem and school belongingness: A cross-lagged

panel study among urban youth.  Professional School Counseling, 22(1)

doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1177/2156759X19826575

The findings indicate that growth in self-esteem leads to growth in feelings of belonging

to the school. However, school belongingness does not increase a student’s self-

esteem. Relevant to school counselors, the goal should not just be to improve self-

esteem but address issues such as the relationship with peers and other school

staff, friendships, social skills, and school programs.

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Popadiuk, N. E., & Marshall, S. (2011). East Asian International Student Experiences as

Learners of English as an Additional Language: Implications for School

Counsellors. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 45(3), 220–239.

Popadiuk & Marshall discuss the experiences of Asian students who are learning English

and how School Counselors can help them. In this study, the authors examined

factors that inhibit or support the adjustment of EAL students. The article asserts

the importance of school counselors having to be culturally competent and

advocate for this population. As counselors, we have to remind teachers to be

empathetic and encouraging to students who are new to the country (Canada in

this case). Also noted is that many East Asian countries have a negative

perspective about mental health and often equate counseling to therapy.

Therefore, it is our job to educate this population about what our profession is and

understand that because of these perceptions, students may not ask for our help.

Due to this, we must make ourselves accessible to these students and reach out to

them instead.

Sheng, Z., Sheng, Y., & Anderson, C. J. (2011). Dropping out of School among ELL Students:

Implications to Schools and Teacher Education. Clearing House: A Journal of

Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas, 84(3), 98–103.

The factors that increase the chances of ELL students dropping out of school are

English proficiency, family socioeconomic status, and cultural differences.

Because English proficiency is related to academic performance, ELL students

are more likely to have low grades; thus, they have a lower GPA. Educators must

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 consider when they arrived in the United States; students who come at a younger

age are at a lower risk of dropping out than those who visit in their teens. It is no

surprise that many of the ELL students come from low SES, which indicates that

these students have less access to tutoring, adequate schooling, or efficient health

care. Cultural differences are interesting since Asian and Pacific Islanders have

the lowest drop out rate yet, Hispanic ELL students have a high drop out rate.

According to the article, a possible explanation is that Asian parents may have a

better education than Hispanics did in their home country, which benefits them

when immigrating to the United States. The article only reinforces the idea that

educators need to understand the complexities of ELL students when teaching or

when doing an intervention.

Shi, Q., & Steen, S. (2012). Using the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) Group Model to

Promote Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement for English as a Second Language

(ESL) Students. Professional School Counseling, 16(1), 63–70. DOI:

10.5330/psc.n.2012-16.63

Dr. Sam Steen and colleague Qi Shi utilized Achieving Success's everyday group

model to increase both self-esteem and academic achievement for ESL students.

The model consists of six phases:

Data collection and agenda creation

Review- development of group expectations, goals and norms

21
 All members are getting to know each other.

Members challenging inconsistencies

Empowerment- teaching skills and informing members

Support- closing group by having members make suggestions and the celebration of

accomplishments

To see if the group was valid, the researchers would look at the students' GPA and use

the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-School Form (CSEI-SF); both measure

academic achievement and self-esteem of group members. The research found

that all group members had higher self-esteem and a better attitude about school.

However, there was no significant improvement in academic performance.

Yildiz, M. A., Baytemir, K., & Demirtas, A. S. (2018). Irrational beliefs and perceived stress in

adolescents: the role of self-esteem. Journal of Educational Sciences and

Psychology, 8(1).

The researchers wanted to examine the role of self-esteem in irrational beliefs and

the stress of high school students. Based on the results of 310 students, in which

the mean age of the participants was 16, the researchers concluded that irrational

beliefs do lead to stress by lowering students' self-esteem. In short, irrational

beliefs cause low self-confidence, and low self-worth leads to fear among

adolescent students. The reason for this finding can be attributed to the fact that

adolescence is a critical part of their lives were numerous changes are happening.

Some of the changes, such as peer relationships and puberty, can be stressful and

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 overwhelming for the student. One should consider the following; one group

session will be focused on helping students identify automatic negative thoughts

and helping them eliminate such thoughts.

⬜ Research: Make sure each lesson is tied to evidence-based research from your
literature review and connected to your topic. In your literature review, we pulled
research/evidence-based on your topic and included activities, strategies, and tools
used in groups. Make sure that each lesson is evidence-based.
⬜ Include a reference after lesson plan or use an in-text citation and references at the
end.
⬜ Include any artifacts/worksheets after each lesson. These should be copies of
activities/handouts that you are using.
⬜ See additional feedback on the lesson plans.
⬜ Final Lesson: In your final lesson, make sure to close the group properly. Often,
groups will have an additional group session for a group party or closing activities.
Consider adding a 7th session to account for termination and leaving students on a
positive note to help them as they finish the sessions. Sometimes students feel
disappointed then group ends.
⬜ If you are drawing from or adapting an existing curriculum, make sure to include
this information and the worksheet. Also, make sure the work is your own.

23
 Group Lesson Plan
Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students

students, ability level):
Grades: 9th-11th

Fluency: English- Limited Working Proficiency Spanish:

Advanced or Native.

Length of time: 20-30 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 1 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Will learn more about each other through icebreaker activities.

Group will: Understand the importance of the guidelines and how they will contribute to a
positive environment.

Lesson Procedure

: Describe each in detail.

Overview of Plan 1. I will take attendance to see if everyone is present.

2. Do the icebreaker activity (see below for details).
(provide a summary of overall 3. Discuss the guidelines that everyone needs to abide by and check if
lesson for the session) everyone understands and agrees with the guidelines.
4. Give an overview of what will be happening in the next couple of weeks.
5. Closing

Introduction/ Ice Breaker Activity: DUM DUMs

Ice Breaker Activity ● Materials: flavored DUM DUMs, paper & pencils
● Instructions: each will get a lollipop. Whatever flavor the individual gets,
that individual has to say something that he/she/they like based on the first

24
(Include instructions, materials, three letters of your flavor (e.g., BLUEBERRY- Black; a favorite color, L-
procedures) listening; like to listen to music, U-unicorn; cool creature). Students can eat
their DUM DUM after everyone finishes speaking, and they must throw
their trash away.

● Procedure:
o The group will have five minutes to write down things they like.
o The facilitator would be the one to model the behavior; therefore,
he/she/they will go first.
o All students will share what they wrote down on a paper.
o Everyone must speak and say their name (or wear a nametag).

Procedure and Lesson: Procedure:

1. Giving Students Their Name Tags- Two weeks before the first session,
obtain the list of students who will participate in this group. Once the list is
gathered, write the group members' first and last names as well as their
1. Giving Students student ID numbers on the nametags. In the first session, pass out the
their name tags nametags to the corresponding students once they sit down.
(30 seconds)
2. Ice breaker (2.5 2. Then, introduce yourself or partner to the group.
minutes)
3. Icebreaker Activity: DUM DUM activity (see "Introduction" for details on
3. Discussion of this activity. Once the activity is completed, state the following: "the reason
Guidelines (10 we did this activity is so that we all get to know a little more about
minutes) ourselves since we will be spending the next six weeks together during
4. Group Sessions lunchtime."
Overview (10-15
minutes) 4. Guidelines Discussion-Pass out a sheet that has the Group Guidelines to all
5. Pre-test (1 min) the group members. Then, state the following: "all of you are aware that we
6. Closing will be meeting each other during lunchtime for the next six weeks.
(2.5miutes) Therefore it is important to have some rules in place. The rules are mainly
there to create an open and safe environment for everyone so you can all
express yourself as much as you like." Read the guidelines to the group
*Meeting may end early.
and ask if they have any questions or concerns, and if they agree with the
guidelines.
**If the meeting goes past
lunch, make sure you
provide class passes to Group Guidelines:
i. Respect all group members and yourself
students and take them
ii. Use kind words when you talk to one another.
there yourself. iii. Be kind and polite
iv. Remain quiet while someone is talking.
v. Be on time for group meetings.
vi. Everyone's feelings are valid, so respect them.
vii. Confidentiality

5. Group Sessions Overview: Two weeks before the first session, I will
contact the teachers they have 3rd/4th and 5th/6th period to inform them of the
group. I will ask the 3rd/4th period teachers if they can let these students
come out 10 minutes before the bell rings so they can get lunch ahead of
time. To the teachers, they see on the 5th/6th period, assure them that they
may come 10 minutes after the bell rings. Also, provide them with a pass so

25
 they can get to their class. To ensure that they go to their class, take all the
students to their designated classes. All these details will be told to the
group members.
Then, discuss what the next six sessions will entail. End this discussion by
saying the following: "Ultimately, the purpose of this group is to teach you
all strategies that will boost your self-esteem in a fun and interactive way. I
understand that I have said much information, but it will not be like this at
all for the next sessions. Does anyone have any questions?"

Materials: Group Guidelines sheet

6. Pre-Test: Pass out the pre-test survey to students and inform them that this
will not be seen by anyone other than the facilitator (you/me). Also, l
encourage them to answer the survey honestly and that the purpose of the
survey is to see how much they grow over the next six weeks. Once they
have completed the pre-test survey, have the students pass it back to the
facilitator. Count the surveys that were returned to the group leader to make
sure that everyone turned theirs in.
*May need to give students an extra minute.
** If you are missing a survey, make sure you collect it before the
session and inform the group that you need all the surveys back.

Materials: Survey and pencils.

7. Closing: “Before we end today’s session, I want you all to tell me, what are
you looking forward to the most in the upcoming group sessions?” Go
clockwork to have all students speak.
● If one student says, "I don't know," come back to that student after
the other students have all said their piece.
● If one student says, "Nothing," just say this, "I appreciate your
honesty, and I hope I can change that for you in the upcoming
weeks," Smile afterward.
Afterward, Dismiss the students and wish them a lovely rest of the day.

*If you write a pass, make sure you take them to their classes personally
(hence have a schedule ahead of time)

Closing: The closing will involve doing rounds in which the group leader asks the group:
"what are you looking forward to the most in the next five weeks?"

Data Collection Plan – For multiple lessons in a unit, this section only need to be completed
once

Participation Data: 

Anticipated number of 6-8 students

students: According to the Data Technician, this is the number of students who may
potentially join.

26
The planned length of 1. Giving Students their name tags (30 seconds)
2. Ice breaker (2.5 minutes)
lesson(s): 3. Discussion of Guidelines (10 minutes)
4. Group Sessions Overview (10-15 minutes)
5. Pre-test (1 min)
6. Closing (2.5miutes)

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

Give the pre-test survey to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation, engagement, the
strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that are located on page _.

Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students

students, ability level):

Length of time: 30- 40 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 2 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Be introduced to what self-esteem is.

Group will: Create their definitions of what self-esteem is.

Lesson Procedure

27
: Describe each in detail.

Overview of Plan 1. Have students solve the riddle.

2. Talk about what self-esteem is.
(provide a summary of overall 3. Have students fill out a paper with what self-esteem means to them and
lesson for the session) read it out loud.
4. Closing will do rounds.

Introduction/ Ice breaker Activity: Solving Riddle

Before the session, have the partners set up for each student; that way, when the session
Ice Breaker Activity begins, they will know who their partner will be.

(Include instructions, materials, Materials: Paper and pencil to write their responses
procedures)
Instructions: The facilitator will read the group this riddle, "You can't touch it, but it affects
how you feel. You can't see it, but it's there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can't
hear it, but it's there every time you talk about yourself. What is this important but mysterious
thing? After reading the riddle, the students will partner up with another student who was
chosen for them and have 5 minutes to solve the riddle and write down their responses. The
students cannot use their phones or other searching devices to look for the answer.

Procedure:

i. Inform them that with a partner that is chosen by the facilitator (me/you), they will
have five minutes to solve the riddle and to write down their response.he
ii. Readout loud the riddle and then tell them to go with their partner.
iii. Once they are with the partner, hand them a pencil and piece of paper so they can
write their answer.
iv. When the five minutes are up, call on the groups in whatever order (first group on
your left/right, group in the middle, etc.), so they can read their responses aloud.
v. After everyone has gone, reveal the answer: "self-esteem."
vi. Have students return to their seats to do the next activity

Procedure and Lesson: Procedure:

1. Ice Breaker Activity: Solving the Riddle: The instructions on how to solve the
1. Icebreaker Activity
riddle can be found in the "Introduction/Ice Breaker Activity" session.
(5-10 minutes) 2. Inform students of the goals for today, which are to learn what self- esteem is and to
2. Inform students of have them create their definition of what self-esteem is.
the goals for today 3. Guided Discussion: Self Esteem-
(1minute) a. Tell the students that this activity is a guided discussion in which the
3. Guided discussion: facilitator encourages dialogue and uses questions to create dialogue
Self-esteem (20 around specific topics. In this case, it is around what self-esteem is.
minutes) b. Explain to the group members what self-esteem is, how one develops self-
4. Defining Self- esteem, and how it can be enhanced (refer to the Materials and
References).
esteem (5 minutes) c. Also, explain the importance of positive thinking, since people who have
5. Pre-test (1 minute) a higher sense of control over their outcomes of events in their lives have
6. Closing Round (2 higher self-esteem (Khaleghinezhad et al., 2016). With this in mind, ask
minutes) the student to share one accomplishment they have done.
*Meeting may end early. ● The accomplishment can be, for example, "I woke up early
today," "I passed my maths exam," "I taught my dog how
to fetch."
**If the meeting goes past ● Have students raise their hands if they want to start.
lunch, make sure you 4. Defining Self-Esteem: Hand group members a piece of paper in which the
provide class passes to facilitator informs them to complete this sentence: "self-esteem to me means…"
Once the statements are completed, each student in the circle will read their
students and take them statement out loud.
there yourself. 5. Pre-Test: Pass out the pre-test survey to students and inform them that this will not be

28
 seen by anyone other than the group leader. Also, encourage them to answer the survey
honestly and that the purpose of the survey is to see how much they grow over the next
six weeks. Once they have completed the pre-test survey, have the students pass it back
to you/me. Count the surveys to make sure that everyone turned theirs in.

*May need to give students an extra minute.

** If you are missing a survey, make sure you collect it before the end of the
session and inform the group that you need all the surveys back.

Materials: Survey and pencils.

6. Closing (see details below)

Closing: Rounds: The group members will be asked the following: "on a scale of one to five,
how well do you guys understand self-esteem?" One being I have no idea what it is
and Five beings I know what self-esteem is. All group members will say their
number in a counterclockwise direction.

*If the session ends early, dismiss them and wish them a lovely rest of the day.

** If the session ends after lunchtime, write them a pass and walk them to their
class.

References/Materials:

Khaleghinezhad, S. A., Shabani, M., Hakimzadeh, R., Shaker, HN, & Amerian, M. (2016).
Prediction of High School Students' Life Satisfaction and Academic Performance
Based on Locus of Control and Self-Esteem. International Journal of School
Health, In Press (InPress). DOI: 10.17795/intjsh-31924

Schab, L. M. (2018). Understand your goal: Healthy self-esteem. In The self-esteem habit
for teens: 50 simple ways to build your confidence every day (pp. 3-4). Oakland,
CA: New Harbinger Publications.

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

A pre-test survey will be given to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation,
engagement, the strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that can be found on page _.

Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

29
 Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students
students, ability level):

Length of time: 30- 40 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 3 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Identify and acknowledge personal strengths.

Lesson Procedure

: Describe each in detail.

Overview of Plan 1. Group will participate in the icebreaker.

2. As a group, we will discuss the relevance of the icebreaker activity.
3. The group will play a game of bingo.
(provide a summary of overall
4. Have the students write a letter to themselves and tell them that it will be returned to
lesson for the session)
them at the end of the group sessions.
5. Closing.

Introduction/ Ice Breaker Activity: Bingo the Self-Esteem Edition:

Instructions: Each group member gets a bingo card that can only be filled out once by each
Ice Breaker Activity member. All members will need to walk around the classroom. To win, one must have four
corners or five spaces filled out diagonally on his/her/bingo card. The first student who
(Include instructions, materials, achieves this will win.
procedures)
Procedure:

i. Have all group members stand around in a circle and read the icebreaker activity
(repeat if needed).
ii. Inform them that they have to walk around the classroom.
iii. The first student to have their bingo card filled out wins.
iv. All students will sit in a circle.
Materials: bingo card, markers

Procedure and Lesson: The group will also be writing a letter to themselves which fulfills these requirements: what
they like about themselves at this moment, hobbies they do, things they have accomplished,
1. Icebreaker Activity- and one goal they want to accomplish by the end of the group.
Bingo the Self-Esteem
Edition (5-10 minutes) Procedure:
2. Guided Discussion:
Strengths (15 – 20 1. Icebreaker Activity-Bingo the Self-Esteem Edition
minutes) 2. Guided Discussion: Strengths: The students will be asked the following:

30
 3. Letter to self (5 a. How did you all fell while playing this version of bingo?
minutes) b. What did you all like about this version of bingo?
4. Pre-Test Survey (1 The questions will be asked in a circle in which the first person to my left will be the one to
minute) start, and that individual will do popcorn style to choose the nest person and so on. Once
5. Closing (1 minute) everyone has talked, tell the students that the goal for today is to identify and acknowledge
*Meeting may end early. their strengths. Based on Schab, L. M. (2018), I will explain to students that we all have
strengths that can be physical, emotional, or intellectual. If we focus on our best
**If the meeting goes past qualities, we can create a positive attitude about ourselves (Joker & Ghaderi, 2015).
lunch, make sure you
Then, have the students pair up with someone they have not worked with before (if it is an
provide class passes to
odd number of students, it is okay, just have them choose their group). In pairs, they will
students and take them answer these questions:
there yourself.
a. What positive things do people say about you?
b. What are you proud of this week?
c. Who in your life has made you feel supported?
Each student will take turns answering these questions with their partner.

3. Letter to Self: After, the group will also be writing a letter to themselves which fulfills
these requirements: what they like about themselves at this moment, hobbies they do, things
they have accomplished, and one goal they want to accomplish by the end of the group. The
students are allowed to sit anywhere in the room to complete this letter. When they finish their
letters, tell them to fold the letter and to write their name on it. The student then gives the
letter to the facilitator. Assure them that no one will read the letters, including you/me.

4. Pre-Test: Afterwards, pass out the pre-test survey to students and inform them that no
one will see this but the group leader (you/me). Also, encourage them to answer the survey
honestly and that the purpose of the survey is to see how much they grow over the next six
weeks. Once they have completed the pre-test survey, have the students pass it back to me. I
will count how the surveys to make sure that everyone turned theirs in.

*May need to give students an extra minute.

** If you are missing a survey, make sure you collect it before the end of the
session and inform the group that you need all the surveys back.

Materials: Survey and pencils.

. Closing: Answering prompt question (see details below)

Closing: The facilitator will ask the group the following question: "what is one thing you like about
yourself? It can be academic, for example: 'I like the fact that I am good at History. Other
examples include physical traits such as hair, clothes, body, or smile, or it can be about your
personality; for example, "What I like about myself is that I can be patient with people."

References and Materials:

Bingo Card obtained from Gauvin, S. (n.d.). Self-esteem Bingo: Self-esteem worksheets, Self-
esteem activities, Group therapy activities. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138274651035723091/

Diaz, A., Cochran, K., & Karlin, N. (2016). The Influence of Teacher Power on English
Language Learners’ Self-Perceptions of Learner Empowerment. College Teaching, 64(4),
158–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2015.1126801

Joker, H., & Ghaderi, Z. (2015). Effectiveness of a Solution-Based Counseling on Students’

31
 Self-Perception. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(15), 2141–2145.

Schab, L. M. (2018). Understand your goal: Healthy self-esteem. In The self-esteem habit
for teens: 50 simple ways to build your confidence every day (pp. 3-4). Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications.

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

A pre-test survey will be given to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation,
engagement, the strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that can be found on page _.

Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students

students, ability level):

Length of time: 30 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 4 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Learn about what Automatic Negative Thoughts are.

Group will: Develop techniques to combat negative thoughts.

Lesson Procedure

: Describe each in detail.

32
Overview of Plan 1. Icebreaker activity.
2. Have students learn about ANTs.
3. Activity: Winner/Loser
(provide a summary of overall
lesson for the session) 4. Closing.

Introduction/ Instructions: The students will have five minutes to write five things they like about
themselves with a partner. Then, they will have one minute to read out loud their list.
The listener cannot say anything; they just listen.
Ice Breaker Activity
Materials: Paper and pencil
(Include instructions, materials,
procedures) Procedure:

i. The students will sit down, and the facilitator will number off students (if the total is
6- number off from one through three, if the total is 8- number off from one through
four). Have students pair up with the person who has the same number as them
**There may be groups of three
ii.

Procedure and Lesson: Activity #1: ANTs

1. Icebreaker activity. Read about all the automatic negative thoughts, and have each student
2. Have students share one example of when they have done one of those. Then have the
learn about ANTs.
rest of the students turn that negative thought into a positive one.
3. Activity:
Winner/Loser
4. Closing ● Materials: a sheet of ANTs will be given to each student.
Activity #2: Winner/Loser

With a partner, each person will take turns talking about a negative
experience to their partner. Afterward, the listener will retell that it
story; however, this version will only focus on the positive aspects of
that experience.

● Allows students to connect on a deeper level

● A positive perspective can have individuals break away
from negative thinking.
When the activity is over, in a circle, each will talk about how they felt
telling the story, having the other perspective, and how they can apply
this to themselves.

Closing: The group will complete the following question “One way I will squash
these ANTs is....”

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

33
A pre-test survey will be given to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation,
engagement, the strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that can be found on page _.

Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students

students, ability level):

Length of time: 30 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 5 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Develop positive attitudes about themselves and others.

Group will: Use practical communication skills to identify strengths.

Lesson Procedure

: Describe each in detail.

Overview of Plan 1. Icebreaker activity and discussion.

2. Compliment fan activity and discussion.
(provide a summary of overall 3. Closing.
lesson for the session)

Introduction/ Icebreaker: M&M Positive Trait Identification

Ice Breaker Activity Instructions: Pass out a pack of m&ms to all group members. They can
open the bag but not eat any of them. The group members are instructed

34
(Include instructions, materials, that for each red M&M they have, they have to share a positive trait
procedures)
about themselves to the group. If one did not get a red M&M, they still
have to share one positive trait.

Materials: snack pack M&Ms for all students

Procedure and Lesson: The discussion will give insight to others about how compliments can enhance
self-esteem.

Once the discussion is over, the group gets a pre-folded paper fan.

Each individual will pass their fan to the person to their right; that person will
have a couple of minutes to write something positive about the person who
owns the fan. Provide detailed instructions for this activity. What are the
guidelines for the positive comment? Will you model?

Compliments can vary from something they are wearing to something about
their personality. Once the fans are returned to the owner, everyone will go
around the circle and read out loud their compliments.

Discussion:

In a circle, the group members will answer the following questions.

“How does it make you feel to receive a compliment from a peer?”

“How does it feel to give the compliment to a peer?”

“Was it easy to give and receive the compliment? And why? Use caution asking
if it was easy to give a compliment- if they say it was hard, it might impact the
person who received a compliment from them.

Make sure your activities align with your objectives and provide the lesson or
skills that promote that.

Closing: Rounds: “Give me a thumbs up/down/middle about how you felt about the
activity today?” Consider a closing prompt:

For next week the students will need to bring one item that helps them feel
good about themselves.

35
 You also want to prepare students for the final session.

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

A pre-test survey will be given to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation,
engagement, the strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that can be found on page _.

Facilitator(s) Name Karla Juarez Cortez

Group Title: Leveling Up

Target Group (Grade, # of Six ELL high school students

students, ability level):

Length of time: 30 minutes

Overall Group Objective: Group members will learn strategies that can help them develop positive self-esteem.

Lesson 6 Of 6

Learning Objective(s)/Competency for Group intervention lesson

Group will: Continue to learn how to give and receive compliments.

Group will: Be able to connect compliments to self-esteem.

Lesson Procedure

: Describe each in detail.

Overview of Plan 1. Icebreaker

36
 2. Play card game: Totem the feel-good game
3. Prepare them for the final session.
(provide a summary of overall 4. Closing
lesson for the session)

Introduction/ Ice breaker:

Ice Breaker Activity Return letters they wrote to each other weeks back and asked the
following questions:
(Include instructions, materials,
procedures)
● Has anything changed about themselves since they wrote
those letters?
● How close are they to accomplishing their goals?
Procedure and Lesson: The majority of the session will be spent on playing the card game
Totem the Feel Good Game. The rules are in this link which will be
printed out ahead of time: https://store.totemteam.com/pages/instructions

Include details, instructions, and materials. Needs specifics.

Discussion: How will you discuss? Circle? Dyads?

● Did you enjoy playing the game?

● What was your favorite part of the game?
● How can you incorporate those qualities into your
everyday routine?

In your lessons, make sure your content is connected to the

objectives.

Closing: Show & Tell: the group members will have 1 minute to tells us
what the item is, how this item helps them feel good about
themselves, and have a group member give them one compliment
about the item.

In your final session, you need to have a closing to tie everything

together and provide details and tools for moving on from the

37
 group.

How will you measure the effectiveness of your discussion? What data will you collect?

A pre-test survey will be given to the students before our closing. The data will assess their participation,
engagement, the strategies they learned in each session, and other aspects that can be found on page _.

38
Good start, Karla.

This stage is designed to be a pre/post evaluation to measure the effectiveness of your

interventions based on your group's objectives and the individual lesson plans.

This is a tool designed to help you assess knowledge and skill development as a result of your
group. The purpose is not to give you insight into what students are struggling with the most. This
would be more closely aligned with a needs assessment. Please see feedback in the document for
additional details.

Other Feedback:

Additional feedback to make sure you have for the final project:

⬜ Is your statement asking what you intend to ask and measure?

⬜ Is your question a measure of the topics you are covering in your interventions (should
align with your objectives) This often measures: Attitude, skills, knowledge-
⬜ Review each question and make sure they align with your sessions and topic content.
⬜ Posttest should contain the same questions with the addition of questions.
⬜ Follow Sink’s examples: p. 219 & 224, p. 179 for question structure and set up.

Self-Esteem Survey
The following questions are to assess the participant’s level of self-esteem. See note above
regarding this purpose.

The survey will serve to give insight into the participant's thinking and help highlight which
areas//they are struggling with the most.

39
Instructions: Read the following traits, then, on a 1-5 scale rate your self based on the traits
below. Mark the number you believe you fall on.

Strongly agree 2- agree 3- unsure 4-Disagree 5- Strongly Disagree

I listen carefully and follow directions

I actively participate in class discussions

I get along well with others in the class.

I Am Fair

I Am Kind

I Am Confident

I Am A Good Listener Good.

I Have Leadership Skills Good

I Have Decision Making Skills Good

Post-Test

Overall, my experience in this group was: Great Decent Bad Terrible

What did you enjoy about being a member of this group?

What are your suggestions for improving this group?

Any other comments?

40
Step 8: Self Reflection Individually, you will draft a 3-5 page self-analysis paper addressing the
following criteria:

Development and Planning: Describe your overall impressions of developing and

planning a group counseling experience. What have you learned from this
process, and how will you apply it to future group planning?

Leadership and Facilitation Skills: Considering leadership and communication skills

required for group facilitation as well as any skills that you have had a chance to
utilize in practice, what do you feel will be your greatest strengths as a facilitator
and what do you feel will be challenges for you in the area of group counseling.
How will you address your areas of growth and strengthen these areas?

System-wide considerations: Based on your observations of groups, experience in

your practicum sites, understanding if the school as a system, what challenges do
you foresee for implementing groups in schools, and how will you address these?
(Consider parents, administration, teachers, etc.)

41
 References

DeLucia-Waack, J. L. (2006). Group interviews and group sessions. Leading psychoeducational

groups for children and adolescents (pp. 49-66). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi:
10.4135/9781452204291.n3

Kimberly Holland. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ed-data.org/school/Los-Angeles/Long-

Beach-Unified/Wilson-High

Performance Overview: Wilson High. (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/19647251939875/2019

42