101. The Energy You Bring – How to Make Lessons Fun & Engaging

Carol: You're listening to the Counselor Chat podcast, a show for school counselors looking for easy to implement strategies, how to tips, collaboration, and a little spark of joy. I'm Carol Miller, your host.

I'm a full time school counselor and the face behind counseling essentials. I'm all about creating simplified systems, data driven practices, and using creative approaches to engage students. If you're looking for a little inspiration to help you make a big impact on student growth and success, you're in the right place.

Because we're better together. Ready to chat. Let's dive in.

Carol: Hey there, school counselors. Welcome back to another episode of Counselor Chat where we are tackling all things related to school counseling. Because let's face it, my friends, this job is never boring.

I'm Carol Miller and I am your trusty guide today to making school counseling not only effective, but actually fun. And today we're talking about something that can really make or break your lessons, and that's the energy that you bring.

That's right. Today's episode is all about how your enthusiasm, your attitude and your presence directly impact student engagement.

Because if you walk into a lesson looking like you just pulled an all nighter, whether it was grading or binge watching Netflix, hey, we don't judge. Guess what? The kids feel it.

The energy that you bring into that classroom is really the energy that you're going to get back.

So let's dive in to how we can make your lessons engaging,

fun and impactful without feeling like a circus act. Because let's be real here, none of us went into counseling to juggle those, those flaming hula hoops. We didn't do that.

We are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Here's a truth bomb.

Students mirror our energy.

Think about it. Have you ever walked into a room and you instantly you felt the mood? Maybe the teacher looks exhausted, the kids are slouched over their desks, and the whole vibe just screams, can we just go home?

Well, if you come in with that same low energy,

good luck getting anyone to engage with your SEL lesson.

But let's flip it. What happens when you walk in with a smile,

some excitement, and a plan to make learning interactive?

You instantly shift the atmosphere. I mean, let's really think about this. Have you ever walked into a classroom? You're like, hi, guys. And there was like dead silence. Like you could hear the, the crickets chirping.

And then you repeat it with a little bit more enthusiasm. Hello, people. And then all of a sudden, you get back that energy from them. Hi.

It's the same thing,

really. The energy that we have and that we bring into our lessons can really. It sets the stage for everything else that follows.

I have the privilege of working with a new counselor in our district.

She's brand spanking new. If you've been following the podcast, you know that my co counselor left to take a position closer to her family since she is having a. A little baby of her own.

And this is just the right move for her, but that left our school a little short. So of course we hired and we went through that process and we finally have a new person who started and she is brand spanking new to the world of counseling.

This is her very first job and she is very sweet. She's very sweet. But of course, being the first job, she's also really nervous. So last week was her first week and I had her follow me into some classrooms and she was like, wow, you have a lot of energy,

which I do.

And I also observed her do a lesson and she was so timid and so quiet.

I kind of was sitting off, like, kind of in the. The middle, to the back of the room, off to the side, because I wanted her to take the lead.

And honestly, I was having trouble hearing her. I mean, she had a great lesson planned. We had talked about it. She knew exactly what she was going to be doing,

but it was still difficult.

And part of that is because, not just because she was quiet and it was difficult to hear, but the energy level was on the mellow side. So the kids were really mellow.

Now, you don't have to be overly rambunctious when you go into a classroom, but I do think that you need to think about the energy that you want from the kids.

I mean, if you're going to go in and do coping skills, or maybe you want to start with a guided meditation,

you don't want to hype them all up because we're trying to slow the energy down and, and do calm,

healing,

thoughtful voices.

We want the mood to be calm. So our voice and our energy,

it needs to reflect that. But if we are talking about careers or bullying or empathy, we might want to bring a little bit more energy to the room.

So we are in my school. We are really starting our classroom lessons on careers this month. I want the kids to be super engaged because this is their future. I'm not the one who should be standing up just lecturing about what, what they want to do and to listen and telling them what their hopes and dreams are.

No, I want them to share that information with me.

And so the way we go in really is the mood and the excitement and what we're going to get back from them.

So when you walk in, you have to be really intentional about your presence.

I think it all starts really with a warm welcome. Hello everyone. I'm excited to be here today. It immediately sets a positive tone.

You also have to have some movement and maybe some facial expressions. And if you're excited about a topic, show it. Use gestures. Make eye contact.

Don't just stand up at the front of the room like you're a robot. When I'm teaching a lesson, I am all over the place. I'm in the front of the room, I'm in the back of the room.

Because I also want the kids to use eye contact and keep their eyes on me. And as I'm moving around the room, they're watching me. Because Mrs. Miller has several expectations and they're pretty simple.

And I remind them each time we use our eyes to look, our ears to listen, our voices are off and our bodies are still at least while Mrs. Miller's talking.

And when there's your chance to talk,

then your voices will not be quiet. Your voices will be heard.

But when we do this, and I have those expectations and I repeat them each class as I'm walking around, they are, they're watching me, they're following me, they're paying attention.

And then I go over to them and I might say, okay, tell me what you think. What are your thoughts? I'm getting them to now listen to each other.

I think it's also important,

in addition to movement, is to kind of vary your tone of voice because nobody really likes to listen to a monotone lecturer. Do you remember that professor that you had in college?

You know, the one who was like this and everything was,

oh, it's happening.

Oh, no, we can't do that. You have to use some inflection, some enthusiasm, maybe even a little humor because we want our kids to be engaged.

And here's a really, here's a reality check. If you don't seem interested in your own lesson, why would the kids be?

So now we've talked about the energy, we really want to talk about how we make our lessons engaging without spending those extra hours creating this really Broadway worthy production. I mean, we can do little things to make them fun.

I especially because when I work with the, the Littles, the Little loves they. You can't just sit there. It's hard. And as much as I want them to watch me, I am really Watching them, I'm taking cues from them.

And I think that's important too, to take cues from our kids. Because if I see them getting antsy or they can't sit still,

I'm going to be like, brain break and we are going to have a little fun. One of the things, and this isn't easiest, easiest thing that you can do or.

And that I do with my kids is I'll just say, okay,

you do what I do. So touch your nose, touch your head, touch your ears, touch your shoulders. And I just say it and do it. But I will gradually increase.

So touch your nose, touch your head, touch your nose, touch your head, touch your shoulders, touch your knees, touch your hips. And I do it as fast as I can.

And the kids love it. They think that it's hilarious.

It reinforces them listening and watching, which is exactly what I want them to do. And it does. It gets out their little extra energy so that we can go back to learning.

But even when we're learning, it's okay to add some extra fun to your lessons too.

So gamify your lessons a little bit because nothing grabs attention like a friendly little competition. Maybe it's a Jeopardy. Style quiz or maybe it's some. Would you rather discussions.

Maybe even you want to do an escape room style activity.

So we were teaching conflict resolution earlier this year.

We did a whole conflict resolution escape room for the kids. And let me tell you, they just loved working together. And the kids, I put kids together because I always pair them or put them in groups because I don't allow them to choose their partner because I don't want anyone feeling left out or not picked.

So I always choose their groups. And it didn't matter who they were working with. They all work together.

And so that was great.

And like I said, in addition to all these games, you. You have to still watch them and kind of see where they're at. And it's okay to let your kids move.

As we start every lesson, even with the bigger kids, I try to always incorporate some kind of movement and it might be all right. So in this conflict resolution lesson that we're doing, we are going to do a little.

Would you rather. And if you. Here are two options and if this sounds more like you, I want you to move to the. The left hand side of the room.

And if the other option B sounds like it's more like you or that's your choice, you're going to move to the opposite side of the room. We have them move from side to side.

But gallery walks are another great way to engage kids.

And we do this, like I said, we're doing careers right now. And so I have the kids broken into little groups, and I'm doing a gallery walk with them. So.

So on the wall in different places, I have different pictures of buildings. This is with our fourth graders. So I have different pictures of buildings. So, and not just buildings, but I might have a park on one wall.

And another location I have a town hall. And another one I have a baseball stadium. Another one I have a library. Another one, I have a grocery store.

And with their group, their job is to think of as many occupations as they can that might work in that building or in that picture, that scene. So if it's a stadium, for example, the kids will tell me.

We got the ticket takers, we have the people, the escorts that are walking people to their seats. We have the hot dog makers, we have the vendors, we have the.

The people that mow the grass, the groundskeepers. We have the coach and the players and the umpire. And so they're trying to list out all the people. And then I have them think a little bit more.

Well,

we also have the people that are promoting that, and we have people that are playing music. And so we really try to incorporate as many different careers as we can into each picture because it's important for them to know where you can work.

So if you want to be maybe a physician, well, at that stadium, you might also have a team doctor. He could be working at the hospital. Our school actually has a doctor that comes from time to time.

So we start listing out all the places that they can work just by looking at the different pictures. You can also do role playing with our third grade class. They are talking all about smarts.

I have them doing a little, like, charades, where they're different careers and they're acting it out and their friends are guessing it. And after they guess that career, then we talk about, well, what kind of smart does this career have?

What kind of smart are they?

Because we've just talked about all the different kinds of smarts. And I have the posters of the different smarts on the board.

So they're fun and they get them up and moving.

And here's one thing to think about, too. Movement doesn't mean chaos.

I mean, it can be chaotic to have them move all around the room. But once again, you have to set some pretty clear expectations before you start. You might want to remind them of their voices when they're walking around, what tone level they should Be like we're using our.

Our whisper voices with one another because there's a lot of people talking at once and we walk from each picture to the next. We are not running. So you want to kind of guide that as well.

I think you also want to try to bring in as many real world examples as you can, because nothing loses kids faster than these really boring abstract concepts that don't seem relevant to their lives.

That's why those pictures of the buildings I tried really hard to find buildings that they see in their everyday lives or that they know about.

We do have a park in our town not too far from the school. We do have a grocery store. We do have a town center, a town hall. We do have a little mall.

These are some of the other pictures that I have. So they are real world examples and so they can start thinking about all the different people that work there and maybe where they could work when they're older.

It's also really cool to tell personal stories. And since we've been kind of talking and. Or I've been sharing about my career lessons,

I always say, guess what my first job was?

And it's really fun to hear the kids try to guess what my first job was. And they're like, you worked at McDonald's? That's where my mom got her first job.

Or maybe I was a lifeguard. Or maybe I worked as a babysitter because that's what their older sister does. Or. And it's so neat to hear what they guess. But when I tell them that I.

My first job was cleaning fish for a charting fishing boat. When we used to spend the summer at Cape Cod,

I would wait at the dock for the boat to come in. And when that boat came in, I was there cleaning the fish for a dollar fish. They were like, really?

You did that? That's gross. That's gross, Mrs. Miller. But yep, that was me. That was my first job. Those real life experiences and those personal stories,

they really help to create this bond between you and them as well.

And it's also okay to bring in guest speakers or older students into the classroom.

One lesson that I did this year, we had a sixth grader who was being kind of mean to some of his peers, and we thought he needed a little extra help with empathy.

So my principal came up with this really brilliant idea. She's like, I would love for him to go in and help you with your lessons with your first grade class, because our sixth graders have first grade buddies.

And so he came in, he picked out the book that we were reading, and we came up with a little project for the kids to do together.

And the story was really cute. It was about a little ornament who was kind of mean, and at the end was very, very helpful. And we did this little activity together,

and it was great.

So bring in the guest speakers, because I'll tell you, those little first graders, they're still like, oh, is our friend coming back into the classroom? Is he going to help us again?

They love that.

And it's okay to make your lessons student led because have you ever noticed how engaged students actually are when they're the ones in charge?

So you could just try being what I like to call the guide on the side.

Let the students lead parts of the lesson,

explain. Have them explain the concepts to each other. Maybe do some peer teaching,

get their input, Ask them how they would solve the problem before you offer some solutions,

because the less you talk,

the more they actually learn.

So I think there's a lot of different ways to really beef up your lessons. And my friends, even if you're reading a book,

go all in.

Read it with the voices and change your tone of voice.

Go slow and fast and build up that, like that climax before you turn the page for what's going to happen next. I. Sometimes I even go, oh, no, what do you think's going to happen?

And I hold the book really close to me, and I. I look around and I'm like, what do you think's gonna happen? And I make them guess.

Sometimes they guess right, sometimes they guess wrong. And if they guess right, I'm like, ooh, let's turn the page and find out. And we do. We turn the page and we find out.

And it really keeps them on the edge of their seats. Well, it actually, it keeps them on the rug, still looking at me, which is where I want them to be.

But as we are bringing the energy into the classroom,

we also really have to make sure that we're managing our own energy so that we don't get burned out. Because I know you've heard me say it, and you've heard it before.

You can't pour from an empty cup. If you are exhausted, it's going to show in your lessons,

so you need to hydrate and fuel your body. Coffee, my friends, is great, but actual food, it really helps, too, because you don't want to be hangry in the middle of that lesson.

You have to set the boundaries. And I've said this a gazillion times. You don't have to Say yes to every duty that comes your way.

And you want to find joy in those little, those little wins. Celebrate when that lesson goes really well or when that student has that aha moment. And since we just also did the smart cookie in one of the classes that I was with, I would have the kids every time the came out,

we'd all put our fingers up in the air and we'd say it together.

And I don't know, it's just cute and it's joyous.

So find something that's going to bring you joy in your lessons as well.

And don't be afraid to change up your routine because if your fit lesson feels a little stale to you, it's totally, definitely stale to them.

Because if you're on autopilot, your students are probably asleep. So shake things up, look for some new lessons.

And if you need help putting the lessons together, my friend, I always have you covered.

So Brainy and I, we have the Perks, our counseling hub for all things school counseling. If you haven't checked it out, you really should because totally we have you covered.

All right, school counselors,

that's really. That's a wrap. On today's episode, we've covered a lot, I think, from how your energy sets the tone for student loans engagement.

Some easy, low prep ways to make lessons fun and some ways to keep yourself energized so you don't burn out. And so here's my challenge for you because I think with this little episode, you need,

you need some homework.

So here it is. The next time you walk into a lesson,

be really intentional about the energy you bring. Walk in with a smile,

come in with the enthusiasm, and make a plan to make your learning interactive.

I promise you will see the difference.

So my friends, once again, if you need some help with lessons, I'm going to drop some links in the show notes. I'll put the links to my career lessons so you can go and check them out because they are a lot of fun.

And I'm going to drop a link for perks in there as well because if you need some lessons, you know, check out the perks we also take POS and so let your district pay for that.

Anyway,

until next time, keep bringing the good vibes. You are making a difference and you've got this.

So until next time,

have a great week and bye for now.

Carol: Thanks for listening to today's episode of Counselor Chat. All of the links I talked about can be found in the show notes and@counningessentials.org podcast be sure to hit follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast player.

And if you would be so kind.

Carol: To leave a review, ask.

Carol: I'd really appreciate it. Want to connect? Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram at Counseling Essentials until next time. Can't wait till we chat. Bye for now.