A day in the life of a school counselor is never easy. We never know what’s going to come our way, and as confident counselors, we like to have resources at our fingertips. I stay efficient and organized with things like an easy reference phone list, a binder of community resources and referrals, and an online list of resources. To help you maximize your time, resources, and budget, compiled below is a list of 75 free school counseling resources to help you support students and families.
Attendance
- Attendance Works provides toolkits, videos, and webinars to help you improve attendance.
Autism
- Sesame Street shares great materials on autism. I love their character, Julia, and there are videos, tips to support families, and daily routine cards.
- Help promote student understanding of autism with these awareness worksheets from Autism Educators.
- Grab some emotions picture cards to use with your students from Educate Autism.
Behavior Interventions and Crisis Intervention
- Check out CPI’s Top 10 De-escalation Tips.
- PBIS World provides tiered interventions for a multitude of behaviors.
Bullying and online safety
- Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center includes videos and lesson plans for multiple grade levels.
- Stopbullying.gov provides statistics, tips for children/caregivers, and videos.
- Teaching Tolerance has a large list of lessons on digital interactions and communities.
- Find more information about helping kids stay safe online at NetSmartz.
- The Ophelia Project provides great lessons on relational aggression.
- Receive free video kits, including the DVD, Bullied, at Teaching Tolerance.
- Teaching Tolerance has a timely guide for administrators, counselors, and teachers titled Responding to Bias and Hate free guide.
- Look no further than GLSEN for No-Name Calling week lesson plans.
- Terrific K-12 digital citizenship curriculum can be found at Common Sense Education.
Counselors of TpT
- Meet the Counselors of Tpt by viewing this e-book, and snag a freebie on every page. Resources for counselors, created by counselors.
Family-related issues
- Sesame Street incarceration toolkit has videos, activities, and caregiver tips.
- Children in Change group curriculum is a great resource.
- Sesame Street videos and activities for military families is another great resource.
Grief
- Sesame Street grief toolkit includes video clips, caring cards, feelings journal, & a caregiver guide.
- Check out the amazing Hospice Grief Guide.
- The Dougy Center provides grief activities, podcasts, and tips by developmental level.
- Full Circle, a not-for-profit in Virginia, provides a comprehensive Grief Resource Manual.
Growth Mindset
- Find free courses and presentations for professional development at Mindset Kit.
- The Mojo Show video series on Class Dojo is awesome – and each video is only 5 minutes.
- Nothing beats a Don’t Give Up video with Bruno Mars and Sesame Street …
- Except for maybe Will.i.am singing with the puppets.
- Or this Power of Yet video (I realize I might have a Sesame Street problem. They’re just so good!)
Kindness
- Stock up on K-12 lessons at Random Acts of Kindness.
- Check out this Mindfulness-based Kindness curriculum targeting preschool students.
- Sesame Street brought more kindness to Season 47. I can’t help but love this Elmo’s World.
- Life Vest Kindness Boomerang “One Day” is a video that students love.
- Ripple Kindness Project, out of Australia, shares great kindness printables.
LGBTQ
- The Trevor Project provides free online course modules for educators and lesson plans to support LGBTQ youth.
- Safe Schools Coalition shares free lessons as well.
- It’s important for transgender students to know their rights, but it’s important that we know them, too.
- Here’s a guide for supporting transgender students in schools.
- This model district policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students is an incredible resource.
Mindfulness
- The Calm app provides lots of options for mindfulness and meditation.
- Mind Yeti app brings you more mindfulness options.
- Hit the pause button with the Stop, Breathe, Think app with a guided meditation that promotes compassion.
- Go Noodle shares fun movement breaks and mindfulness exercises.
- More mindfulness and relaxation videos can be found over at Cosmic Kids Yoga youtube channel.
- Check out the videos on mindfulness at Mindful Schools.
Self-care
- It seems like we all need a bright moment in our day. Receive a daily positive message and encouragement with a Shine text.
- The self-care starter kit will get you thinking … and healing.
Self-Injury
- Cornell Self-Injury and Recovery Research and Resources is a goldmine of information for families and professionals, including informational printables.
- Info guides for families, school professionals, and mental health professionals can be found at SiOS.
Social Emotional Learning
- The SEL lessons at Teaching Tolerance can make weekly planning easier.
- Sesame Street Breathe, Think, Do app for devices provides an awesome way for kids to work through 5 scenarios, deep breathe, and problem solve.
- There’s a lot to learn from the Howard B. Wigglebottom books, lessons, and activities.
- Help students develop emotional regulation with the Settle Your Glitter app.
- Keep building emotional awareness with the Touch and Learn Emotions app.
- Character Playbook has cool visual stories on healthy relationships, SEL, and positive character development for secondary students.
- Build relationships with the Positivity Project. This school-wide program emphasizes #otherpeoplematter by focusing on 24 character strengths stemming from positive psychology.
- Find more K-12 character education lessons from character.org.
- Check out the empowerment and confidence-building resources at the Inner Rainbow Project.
- This free K-12 curriculum from the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement ™ helps students become “connected, resilient, and empowered.” Who doesn’t love that?
- Peer Mediators provides a free curriculum that includes program implementation guide, trainer’s manual, student workbook.
- Empathy videos at Class Dojo are a hit with students.
Suicide Prevention
- Act on FACTS Suicide Prevention Training is a helpful 2-hour online training.
- The model school district policy on suicide prevention is also an incredible resource.
Substance Abuse
- NYS OASAS (Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services put together a video to address stigma titled Reversing the Stigma.
- The National Center on Addiction and Substance abuse provides videos, slideshows, and statistical information.
- Grab downloadable ebooks and guides to support parents from Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.
Trauma, Abuse, & Safety Prevention
- I might print out this Child Trauma Toolkit for all my educator colleagues because it discusses the psychological and behavioral impact of trauma, and provides suggestions for educators on how to help.
- Find hotline/chat support, parent/student safety & prevention information, including social media safety, over at RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).
- The Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO™) is an incredible resource that is freely accessible to anyone.
- Looking for something to supplement a presentation? Check out the presentation graphics on ACES.
- National Children’s Advocacy Center Virtual Training Center provides online training on a variety of topics related to abuse and maltreatment of youth.
- KidSmartz brings more options for safety and prevention lessons.
- Sesame Street shares videos, activities, and coping skills ideas for traumatic experiences.
- The National Human Trafficking Hotline provides training videos and a resource guide for schools.
- Complex Trauma: Facts for Educators should be in everyone’s resource library. It offers concrete suggestions as to how students can be supported.
- This crisis resource guide provides information on supporting youth in a variety of crisis situations.
Do you have a great free resource for counselors that I missed? Don’t keep it to yourself – comment below!
Definitely pin this one!
