1st - Hobbs And Mcgee - Character Education Paper

Character Educ. Paper 1

Character Education Paper Creekside Elementary School

Phoebe Hobbs Kristi McGee

Character Educ. Paper 2 EDUC 410.002 Dr. Goodwin September 5, 2007 Introduction Creekside Elementary School is proud of the successful achievements of its students and staff. The traits of positive character are weaved throughout our curriculum and community. Through courage, the staff has the ability to question their own education and is willing to consistently update their knowledge through research. The students are able to reach out to others, whom they may not know, in order to lend a helping hand. With self-esteem, staff and students are able to stand proudly behind their work and successes throughout the years. Selfcontrol lets our school run efficiently. Establishing set rules and regulations provides our school with a safe and secure learning environment. The school community feels safe operating within the guidelines of their set rules and depends on the integrity of each individual entering the building. The staff and students’ ability to identify potential, harmful situations and bring them to attention makes Creekside a great school. The reliability of the staff allows each student to excel regardless of their individual needs. Cooperation begins with the students and reaches to the state school boards. The parents have constant communication with teachers and administrators and are therefore always in tune to their child’s personal educational needs. The respect one receives when entering Creekside branches from the courage and integrity everyone holds so dearly. By having a firm foundation in the school’s values, Creekside has become its own unique community with individual members working to accomplish their selected goals. First grade teachers work diligently to help their students learn how to be good citizens, filled with integrity.

Character Educ. Paper 3

Courage Courage, as defined by Wikipedia, “is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.” Students in every school need to have courage to face the day. Courage starts by being able to face the unknown, whether it is a new face at school, starting long division, mysterious lunches, or not knowing what the day holds. The students will be courageous in order to face the unknown, unclear, and the uncertain. After all, everyday is a new day. English The teacher will read The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg. The teacher will start a class discussion on how the mice felt living in a big city. How did the mice show fear and how did they show courage? What acts did the mice do that were courageous? The students will participate in the class discussion, also bringing their own experiences of courage into the discussion. The class will make up a song, which goes along with the book, being sure that rhyming words are used (SOL 1.1 a, c, and 1.4 c). Math The teacher will promote the students to approach peers in other grade levels to collect the data for their math lesson. By asking students in other grade levels, the teacher will promote the students to have self-confidence by finding the courage to approach an unfamiliar face. The students will demonstrate courage by having to ask ten other peers what is their favorite food. After all the data is collected, the students will graph their data using bar graphs.

Character Educ. Paper 4 The class will combine their data and make a presentation to the lunch staff, hoping for the schools’ favorite food to be served more often (SOL 1.18, and 1.19). Science The teacher will set up boxes that will contain mystery objects. The objects will have different surface characteristics that can be observed using touch. The students will have to reach into the unknown black boxes and try to identify what each object is by using the sense of touch. The hesitant students will be supported by their classmates to try something out of the ordinary (SOL 1.1). Social Studies The teacher will come to class elaborately dressed as an American leader. The contributions of American leaders will be discussed in class, focusing on the hardships faced in their pasts. The students will identify the hardships and how each leader felt as they were looked down upon and as they rose to confront society. The students will include how courage played a role in the lives of American leaders (SOL 1.2).

Self-Esteem Nathaniel Hawthorne once said “Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not” (Affirmations for Success n. pag.). Every person, animal, and living thing was created for a purpose. Even if the purpose is unknown believing in oneself is the key to becoming happy and successful.

Character Educ. Paper 5 English The teacher will encourage the students at the beginning of the lesson in order to boost their self-esteem, focusing on their ability to read. The students will receive a copy of The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle to work with during the lesson. The class will read the story out loud, picking out vocabulary terms as they move towards the end of the book. Using textual clues and looking at pictures, in the story, will assist students in reading difficult words. After the story is read, the teacher will commend the students on their hard work and efforts. The class will then discuss the importance of self-esteem (SOL 1.1 a, and 1.7 a). Math The teacher will remind the students about self-esteem and how through believing in oneself, he or she can accomplish anything, including mathematics. The students will use proximity and geometric figures for their activity. Each student will receive a set of blocks (squares, triangles, rectangles, and circles). The students will choose an object (truck, train, building, etc.) and will construct the object using the blocks provided. After the objects are constructed, the objects will be drawn onto paper. The students will use proximity words to identify where the shapes are located in reference to one another on the paper (Cathcart, Pothier, Vance, & Bezuk 78) (SOL 1.15, 1.16, and 1.17). Science The teacher will start class by telling how he or she has mastered a learning concept by working hard and having confidence in his or herself. The students will use the different animals from The Mixed-Up Chameleon to study life needs. The animals will be colored and cut out of the handout provided. The class will discuss

Character Educ. Paper 6 the habitats, needs, and different characteristics that make each animal unique. The animals will also be combined into groups with similar attributes. Plenty of support will be provided throughout the lesson (SOL 1.4, and 1.5). Social Studies The teacher will remind the students how the chameleon in the book was able to change the coloring in his skin depending how he felt or what surface that was next to him. By using the chameleon in the book, the teacher will bridge the chameleon’s change to the way that people react to different climates, locations, and surroundings. The students will be given props, including people, food, modes of transportation, and shelters. Relating to a climate, location, or surrounding, the students will group themselves in response to their prop. For example, a student with a person in a fur coat would group themselves with others in a cold climate. The students will give each other positive encouragement and feedback (SOL 1.6).

Self-Control Napoleon Hill stated, “Self-Discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.” People strive to contain thoughts, feelings, or actions daily. The choice to commit or not to commit an action is considered self-control (Jorda n. pag.). English The teacher will ask the students to choose a good habit that they should try to incorporate in their lives (Coriell & Coriell 32). The class will listen and look along as the teacher reads The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare by Stan Berenstain. Emphasis will be

Character Educ. Paper 7 placed upon the act of stealing and what Brother Bear should have done to make the situation better. The students will commit to their new habit, thus needing self-control to achieve success. On lined paper, the students will write down words from the book that was not clear. Dictionaries will be used to find meanings of unclear words. The definitions will be written down and placed into vocabulary notebooks to study from later (SOL 1.1 a, 1.10 b, and 1.11). Math The teacher will administer a quiz based upon number sense including a few word problems that require fundamental addition and subtraction. The students will be permitted to use calculators to answer a certain number of problems from the test. The students will answer questions to the best of their abilities. The students’ use of the calculator will not be monitored. Self-control to not use the calculator, when asked not to, will be weighed upon (SOL 1.8, and 1.9). Science After showing and demonstrating how to classify objects, the teacher will pass out an equal amount of mixed candies to each student, instructing not to eat or touch them until the lesson is completed. The students will group the candies depending upon different characteristics that will be verbally stated. Candies will be grouped by colors, sizes, flavors, textures, etc. After numerous categories are formed, the students will record their results. Due to the students’ self-discipline and hard work, they will be able to eat the candies as a reward (SOL 1.1 c).

Character Educ. Paper 8 Social Studies The teacher will take the school and classroom rules and post them on the blackboard. The teacher will explain the purpose of the school rules to the class, making it clear that even though not everyone wants to follow them, the rules are in place to keep everyone safe and happy. The class will respond by stating the purposes behind the classroom rules. They will identify situations in which someone does not want to follow the rules but need to in order to better the class (SOL 1.10 b).

Integrity “Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn’t know it must learn and find by experience that a quiet conscience makes one strong” (Lewis Integrity n. pag.). English The teacher will go over the main events of Tommy dePaola’s book, The Art Lesson and have the students get into groups to form a skit of what happened in the story. As they finish presenting their skit, they will be given one sheet of paper and draw anything they want to draw. The teacher will have the students stand up and say their name and describe what they drew. The teacher will put their artwork on a bulletin board for the rest of the class to see. The teacher will also have each student think of one principle that he or she values above others. The students will write one or two sentences explaining how they would stand up for their specific principle. Math

Character Educ. Paper 9 Because Tommy had a box of 64 crayons, students will count out loud by two’s from zero to 64. The teacher will show students what a box of 64 crayons looks like. The teacher will ask the students to make as many adding problems that equal 8, 4+4 or 5+3 for example. Science Using scientific investigation, reasoning, and logic each student will be given one penny and one quarter. The teacher will have the question, “What are the differences and how do you know?” on the board. The teacher will ask each student to write down the answer to this question alone, not to copy or talk with classmates about the answer. Students will learn that part of having integrity is learning is obedience. The students are literally practicing integrity while obeying the rule not copy. (SOL 1.1.g). Social Science The students can get a clean sheet of paper and color with crayons the American Flag. The teacher will the students in a discussion of what the American Flag symbolizes. Most will say freedom. The teacher will explain that freedom comes from being hones and respectful to all of our friends, family, and even those we do not know (SOL 1.11 a).

Reliability Marcus Tullius Cicero (Ancient Roman Lawyer, Writer Scholar, Orator and Statesman, 106 BC – 43 BC) said, “The shifts of Fortune test the reliability of friends” (Moncur Quotation Details n. pag.).

Students need to learn how to trust one another. Students need to know that

reliability means coming through when someone else is counting on you. Students need to learn how trust one another. Students need to know that reliability means coming through when someone else is counting on you.

Character Educ. Paper 10 English In Frederick , by Leo Lionni, the family of mice gets inspired by Frederick who instead of gathering supplies for the winter, gave them poetry, warmth, and the colors of the earth. The students will identify the sequence of the events in the story. The teacher will have a felt board and most of the key objects mentioned in the story. In order to include those who have difficulty understanding the story, the teacher will ask them to help put up the correct felt objects to tell the story in order. The teacher will also write on a board words for them to spell and speak such as mice, hay, and sun. This activity will reiterate the importance that Frederick was to his family in the winter. Math The students will first color and cut out five mice. Secondly, the teacher will give the students a piece of cardstock with a folder cut so that students can insert the mice horizontally. They may call this “the cave.” The students will count each mouse that they place in the cave. As they pull the mice out one by one, the students can write 5-1=4. They will understand principles of subtraction as they continue with this process. The students can do addition as well, by using the same activity (SOL 1.8). Science The teacher will lead a discussion on what color leaves are in what season. The teacher will also discuss with the students some of the animal groups that sleep during the winter and know that process is called hibernation. They will learn how animals depend on one another to survive. The teacher will ask the students if they could survive on their own or are there certain things they rely upon from their family. Social Science

Character Educ. Paper 11 In the Don’t Laugh At Me book, there is an activity that is entitled The Ridicule-Free Zone-Constitution of Caring (Roerden 34). Students will understand, hands-on, why reliability is so important. The students begin the activity in a circle. The teacher explains that he/she will go around the circle by first rubbing his/her hands together, snapping fingers, or slapping his/her thighs making a pattering sound. When the teacher does this looking at each student,, that student will mirror the teacher quickly in the same hand motion. The students will begin to sound like a rainstorm and will realize that without each person making a noise the rainstorm would not be as complete or recognizable.

Cooperation Cooperation, as defined in Webster’s Dictionary, is working together for a common cause. This character trait is, and will be, demonstrated through the school system through teamwork created through administration, staff, teachers, parents, and students. As a school that cooperatively works towards common goals, Creekside Elementary focuses on being a T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More). English The teacher will read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and have the children brainstorm what traits are demonstrated in the book. The teacher will model cooperation by team teaching this lesson with another first grade teacher. The students will split into groups to create, color, cut, and shuffle pieces of a fictional story into mixed piles. The students will retell the story in a logical order as a group, each person having a chance to speak. After all the groups have completed the assignment, the students will

Character Educ. Paper 12 work together to clean up their areas and rearrange the desks back in order (Kyle 28) (SOL 1.1, 1.7, and 1.9 f, g). Math The teacher will instill cooperation by having the students work together to achieve a better understanding of measurement. He or she will discuss with the class the task involved and will discuss how as a classroom, the task will be completed. The students will remove their shoes and line them up around the classroom. The shoes will demonstrate a nonstandard unit of measurement. As a class, the students will guess how many shoes it would take to go around the entire room. The class will count and move shoes until the room is measured. After the room is measured, the students will guess how many shoes it would take to measure different objects (SOL 1.12). Science The teacher will use You are Powerful, We are More Powerful Together activity from Don’t Laugh at Me to teach objects in motion (Roerden 81). While materials are being collected and students line up, the teacher will go over the rules. The rules consist of following directions, working together, and having fun to learn about the different movements, which objects can make. The students will form a circle in a large, open area. One student will begin by holding the end of a ball of string. The student will then mention an object with either a straight, curved, or back-and-forth motion. While holding the string the student will throw the ball to another student across from them, who will catch and hold onto the ball. That student will then mention another object with a different motion and throw the ball of sting to someone new, still holding onto a piece of string. The new child will repeat the process until all students have had the

Character Educ. Paper 13 opportunity to mention an object’s motion. The ball of string will have created a web, connecting each child to one another demonstrating the strength of a team. A ball will be thrown onto the web and moved around, creating straight, curved, and back-and-forth motions. After the motions are created, one-by-one students will drop their end of the rope, causing the web to weaken. This shows that working together and doing one’s part accomplishes more (SOL 1.2 a). Social Studies The teacher will focus on geography; specifically map skills to enrich the students’ abilities to work with one another. The teacher will review map symbols by having the students participate by writing them on the board or overhead projector. Large sheets of paper will be handed out and the students will be divided into groups. The students will draw maps of any familiar area, including the school, a neighborhood, or city. The maps will consist of a legend and symbols, which were previously reviewed, in class. The teacher will walk around the classroom to check to make sure the students are engaged and understanding the material. The maps will be displayed in the classroom and discussed; to ensure the mapping symbols were thoroughly understood (SOL 1.4 a, b, and 1.5).

Respect E. E. Cummings “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit” (Lewis, Self Respect Quotes n. pag.). Students will learn, first, that they can respect themselves by embracing the qualities they possess. They can then respect others for who they are. All teachers will work together as a team respecting one another to lead the

Character Educ. Paper 14 students in understanding the strength and impact a group of people can have if each individual respects him/herself and everyone he/she is around. English In the story Amos and Boris, William Steig demonstrates how two different animals come together during difficult times and learns to respect one another’s character. There is vocabulary that the students will need to know before hearing the story read aloud: plankton, dainty, grandeur, abound, experience, mammal, immense, iodine, afloat, ashore, luminous, and mote. The teacher will ask the students to write two sentences describing what they liked or disliked about the story and how they can be respectful to their friends or family. This helps students with their handwriting. The teacher will stress that students start their sentence with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark. After they finish writing their sentences the teacher will have each student stand up and share their sentences about respect with the rest of the class. The students can also get into groups with four people and act out the story (SOL 1.12 e). Math The students will discuss the differences between the mouse and whale. The students will discuss how the two animals showed respect to one another and how they as students can show respect to each other. Students will practice identifying and investigating several different animals into two categories: mammal or not mammal. They can color and cut out the animals given to them and place the mammals on one side of a construction paper and the non-mammals on the other side. The teacher will ask which animal is larger: the whale or the mouse. The teacher will hold up cut out drawings of a whale and mouse. The teacher will ask students which is greater that the other. The students will identify the whale as being greater than the mouse. The teacher will give students a worksheet with the two animals in a row continuing down the

Character Educ. Paper 15 paper. The students will circle which animal is greater than the other animal across from it. (SOL 1.18) Science The previous activity relates with science standards of learning in that students are learning to identify different aspects of objects/animals. The teacher will lead the students around the school with parent volunteers asking the students how they can respect nature and the animals that are in it. Social Science The story mentions that the mouse lives on the Ivory Coast of Africa. Students will learn where the Ivory Coast is located. They will also discover the characteristics of that land and its waters. It has rapids, heavy flooding, and falls that make traveling difficult. They will learn that there are 60 different ethnic groups and some distinguishing characteristics. The teacher will ask the students what qualities America has to make its citizens unique. They will compare the ways America shows respect, such as shaking hands and making eye contact versus the Ivory Coast of Africa.

Citizenship Citizenship is like a cake. There are so many ingredients that go into to what actually makes the cake. Being a citizen involves many “ingredients.” Citizens have respect for others, are reliable, cooperate, and have self-control. Students work with these “ingredients” confidently to make a positive impact on society by being a good citizen. Margaret Mean said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” (Citizenship Quotes n. pag.).

Character Educ. Paper 16 English In Richard Scarry’s book, Busy Busy World, a fireman helps to save a burning Kitty’s house and blueberry pie man. Prior to reading the short story, the teacher will discuss and define what citizenship is and why it is important to be a good citizen. The teacher will help the students understand that part of being a good citizen is helping the people around them, whether those people are family or friends. The teacher will ask the students to raise their hand and share with the class what they have done to be a good citizen. After reading the story aloud to the class, the teacher will ask the students if there was an example of citizenship. A discussion will take place leading ultimately to the fact that the fireman worked hard to save the Kitty and clean up the mess he made with pies (SOL 1.1 a, 1.9 c, and 1.12 a). Math Students will receive a piece of construction paper with a pie drawn in the shape of a circle, with lines dividing the pie into four equal pieces. The students will use a crayon to color one-fourth of the pie. After checking to see if students understand the concept of one-fourth, the teacher will ask them to color one more fourth with the same color. At the end the students will be asked to write how many pieces they have colored (2) and what fraction of the pie that equates to (1/2). Students can decorate their pies however they want. Science The school will get permission to have a fire truck come for the students to observe. A fireman will come to the school and attach his hose to a fire hydrant and spray into the air. The students will observe water shooting in real life. The teacher will remind the students that in the story the water was used to stop a fire. The students will go back to class and the teacher will have a plant that has just sprouted. He/she will have a pitcher of water and will pour it over the

Character Educ. Paper 17 sprouted sunflower seed. The teacher will ask how the water is being used and what it will produce. The students will understand that the water goes into the soil and helps the plant grow. Not only will teachers see water used in different ways, but the teacher will ask the students what they could do that would have a positive impact in their community. By challenging the students to be active in with their idea of bettering the community, students will understand more about what being a good citizen involves (SOL 1.1.b). Social Science Students could close their eyes and think of things wrong in their community. The teacher will write five of the ideas on different posters. The teacher will post these ideas on posters around the room and lead the students to walk around the room in a circle thinking of what they could do to change those things. After returning to their seats, the teacher will ask students what some of their ideas are to help their community by being a good citizen (Roerden 40). This comes from the activity Identify the Problems and Brainstorm Solutions from Don’t Laugh at Me.

Conclusion Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to be in the world” (Moncur Quotation Details n.pag.). Creekside Elementary School is proud to have students that grow every day as they read character building children’s literature and take part in fun activities which reinforce positive character traits. Each student learns to be courageous when they dive into the unknown, whether it is an unfamiliar object or an introduction to someone new. Teachers constantly encourage their students to build their confidence and self-esteem making sure they know they have a purpose in life; thus, allowing students to impact their community. Students at Creekside

Character Educ. Paper 18 may start out as individuals, but will become a team by interacting and cooperating with the teachers and staff. Students will learn that by working to attain positive character traits, they can better help people in need, which defines the meaning of citizenship. Creekside Elementary, home of the Beavers, is a climate where integrity, respect, and reliability blossom and students have a safe place to learn and grow. When students leave, they will each influence those around them and, indeed, will be changing the world.

Character Educ. Paper 19 References Affirmations for Success. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from http://www.affirmations-for-success.com/self-esteem-quotes.html. Cathcart, W. G., Pothier, Y. M., Vance, J. H., & Bezuk, N. S. (2006). Learning Mathematics in Elementary and Middle Schools. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Citizenship Quotes. Retrieved September 3, 2007, from http://chatna.com/theme/citizenship.htm. Coriell, R., & Coriell, R. (1985). Living Like Him. Whittier: Association of Christian Schools International. Delong J & Schwedt R. (1997) Core Collection for Small Libraries: An Annotated Bibliography of Books for Children and Young Adults. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Jorda, V. (2007). Self-control. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from http://en.proverbia.net/ citastema.asp?tematica=1076. Kyle, K. (2003). Cooperation. Chanhassen: The Child’s World. Lewis, J. J. (2006). Integrity Quotes. Retrieved September 3, 2007, from http://wisdom quotes.com/cat_integrityindividuality.html. Lewis, J.J. (2006). Self-Respect Quotes. Retrieved September 3, 2007, from http://www. wisdomquotes.com/cat_selfrespect.html. Mahatma Ghandi Quotes. (2006). Retrieved August 31, 2007, from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/mahatma_gandhi/. Moncur, M. (2007). Quotation Details. Retrieved September 4, 2007, from http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24319.html. Roerden, L. P. (2000). Don’t Laugh at Me. New York: Operation Respect.