When Jory John writes a book, I’ll preorder it every time. I love The Bad Seed and The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean is no exception! After reading it at home, my wheels were turning for how I could use it at school. It’s all about what it means to be cool and how we can use our “coolness” for good. Keep reading to find The Cool Bean activities you can use in school counseling!
The Cool Bean Activities
Hook:
Before reading this book with your students, first spend some time making a list of students’ ideas about what it means to be cool. Record any and all of their responses. If you have a 45-minute class period, you may want to have a couple of students act out what it looks like to be cool, too! Then read your story.
Discussion Questions:
- Which “cool” qualities from our list did we see in the book?
- When has a “cool bean” been cool to you? How did you feel?
- After reading this book, what do you think it means to be cool?
Activity:
Break students into small groups: class, recess, cafeteria, home, & community (add more locations that are specific to your school/area if you want). In their small groups, students will work together to create a list of all of the ways they can be cool in these places. Share these out after groups have made their lists! Hang these up for students to reference in the individual activity.
Personal Reflection:
Students can complete an individual reflection to think about ways they can be cool at school, home, and the community (they can use the ideas generated by small groups). They can also identify why they are cool! Share it out in small groups before leaving. This mini booklet is free in my resource library:
More book activities:
Click the pictures below to check out these other activities to accompany Jory John’s awesome books (you need them on your counseling shelf!):
