5th- Turner And Currie- Character Education Paper

Character Education 1

Character Education in the Classroom

Character Education in the Classroom Kristen Turner Tekla Currie Liberty University

Character Education 2

Introduction Character Education is an important part of the elementary school curriculum. The student must learn how to conduct themselves with excellent character and how to identify themselves with good role models in literature who are good examples of excellent character traits. In order to succeed in society and progress in their academic career, the student must take ownership of their character and be provided with opportunities to grow and develop these traits. There are many important character traits that are worthy of attention in the classroom. The Mallard Elementary School has identified eight principal character traits that are focused on in the classroom. Leadership, Responsibility, Accountability, Creativity, Obedience, Integrity, Respect and Compassion are eight character principles that give students an edge in the classroom and in the world. In the fifth grade, students will read Prince Caspian. Because of WinnDixie, The Empty Pot, The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Indian in the Cupboard, and Shiloh. These pieces of literature provide the students with positive role models who embody the character traits to help students succeed. Leadership Understanding what a good leader must do and how a great leader can make great things happen is an important thing for the fifth grader to learn. Leadership is an important trait to foster and a wonderful tool for a student. A good leader is needed for small projects, families, and huge endeavors. Lyman Bryson says, “Why do we need leaders in a free country? I would answer that the leader’s function is to determine, in

Character Education 3 any crisis, which of our possible selves will act” (Lopez 261). The leader must give his followers confidence, and must show strength in making decisions that benefit every member of the group. Leadership allows a student to be successful in the classroom, an asset to his peers, and gives the student skills to help him succeed in the future. The novel Prince Caspian, in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, is an excellent text to incorporate into the curriculum to introduce leadership skills and help build strong leaders. The character of Caspian has to take on a leadership role in his land of Narnia, and learns a lot about leadership through trial and error on his way to success. Leadership in the English Curriculum The teacher will conduct a lesson to help students learn the communication skills necessary for strong leadership. The teacher will ask students to brainstorm what it means to be a successful leader. The students will give examples of people who have been good leaders, words that can describe leaders, or situations that leaders could be useful in. The teacher will discuss the importance of good communication skills for a leader, and she will explain specifically the importance of giving a well-organized speech. The teacher and students will discuss how a leader can change the content of a speech to fit their audience, organize the information in their speech sequentially or around major ideas, summarize important points at the end of their speech, and incorporate visual aids. The teacher will then ask the students to write a one page speech about why they would be a good leader, and in what situation they could be a leader. The speech should be written and edited, with at least one draft and one final copy. The teacher will work individually with each student to get them on the right track. The students will work with the teacher, individually, and in pairs to edit each other’s

Character Education 4 speeches. The students may also choose to use the classroom’s art supplies to make visual aids for their speeches. When the speeches have been written, the teacher will ask each student to present their speech to the class. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Language Arts 5.3, and gives students practice making oral presentations and organizing their skills to provide leadership. Leadership in the Math Curriculum In order to incorporate leadership into a mathematics lesson, the teacher will ask groups of students to choose leaders to help teach the rest of the class about the concepts of “mean,” “median,” and “mode.” The teacher will divide the class into five to eight groups, dividing exceptionalities randomly between the groups. The teacher will hand out a worksheet with skeleton notes of the definitions of mean, median and mode to each student. The teacher will give the students a set of data involving the heights and weights of ten creatures of Narnia. The teacher will write the definitions of mean, median and mode on the board, and have the students complete the definitions given to them in their handouts. The teacher will work with one set of data with ten heights of Narnian creatures. She will demonstrate to the students the processes of ordering the numbers and finding the mean, median and mode of the data set. The students will then work in groups with new sets of data. They will find the mean, median and mode of the data, and record them on their handouts. The students will select a leader in their group, and that leader will present the exercise to the rest of the class. This exercise fulfills the requirements of the Virginia Standard of Learning, Math 5.19, and it also gives the students practice in working with a group and selecting a good leader.

Character Education 5 Leadership in the Science Curriculum Prince Caspian’s tutor tells him stories about the Old Narnia, when the world was frozen and then thawed. The teacher will use the events in the novel to jump-start an exploration of heat on he states of matter. The teacher will set up three different experiments, and the students will be divided into three groups to rotate to each experiment. The teacher will demonstrate each experiment before the students move into groups, and then she will circulate among the groups while they do their experiments. The groups must select a leader who will lead them through the experiments. The first experiment will determine the temperature that water melts and evaporates at the students’ altitude. The students will remove a piece of ice from a freezer, and wait for a small amount of the ice to melt. The leader will measure the temperature of the water closest to the ice, and record this as the melting temperature. Then the students will boil a small amount of water under teacher supervision. The students will wait until bubbles begin to form and the water begins to evaporate. The leader will ask the teacher to measure the temperature, and thy will record this temperature as the evaporation temperature. The second experiment will demonstrate the effects of cold on the states of matter. The students will each get a glass that is half full of ice water. They will breathe in, hold their breath for three seconds, and then breathe out gently into the glass. The teacher will explain that the fog generated on the inside of the glass is the warm water in the students’ breath condensing into liquid water as it is cooled by the ice water. The final experiment will involve chocolate. The students will each take a piece of chocolate out of the freezer. The students will break the chocolate, and the leader will write their observations about its texture. Then the students will hold the chocolate in their hands

Character Education 6 for a few minutes. After a few minutes they will again record their observations and describe the changes the chocolate underwent as a result of increased temperature. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Science 5.4C, and makes the transition of matter from one state to another personal for the student. Leadership in the Social Science Curriculum The teacher will use the theme of leadership in Prince Caspian to help students better understand what made the first five presidents of the United States good leaders. The teacher will make “stations” around the room dedicated to each of the first five presidents, and allow the students to move about the room and explore each station. Each station will have pictures of the president, information on whether they were first, fourth, etc., not the dates they served in office, and each station will have examples of events each president lived through, actions they took, laws they helped to pass, and their major accomplishments. The students will explore these stations, learning about the accomplishments of each president, then the students will return to their seats. The teacher will ask the students to identify some of the reasons why or why not the first five presidents were good leaders. The students will orally compare and contrast the presidents and Prince Caspian. The teacher will then assign each student a president, and the student will construct a diorama of a scene where the president showed leadership through one of his major accomplishments. The student will also write a paragraph to paste onto the back of their diorama, describing what they have depicted and how the president demonstrated leadership in this accomplishment. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Social Studies USI.7, and helps students to think critically about what makes a good leader.

Character Education 7

Responsibility The student must learn responsibility in order to build constructive relationships in the classroom and the world. For the student to be responsible, they must have good role-models who do the things they know they should, even when those things are not rewarding to them personally. These role models can be found in many pieces of children’s literature. The novel Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo, introduces students to a girl named Opal who takes responsibility for a dog nobody wants, and eventually leads the town to act responsibly and make their community a better place to live. Responsibility in the English Curriculum Opal learns how to take care of Winn-Dixie, but she also learns how to take responsibility for her dog. When Winn-Dixie chases a mouse through Opal’s father’s church, Opal has to defend her dog’s behavior. The teacher will have students fill in skeleton notes about how to plan a piece of writing. The notes will emphasize planning strategies like making an outline or a web to organize information. The teacher will also emphasize the importance of being aware of the audience that the students are writing for, and the importance of vocabulary choice. The teacher will ask the students to write a letter from Opal to the church congregation explaining why Winn-Dixie is a special dog, and why he chased the mouse. Letter writing allows students to explore a more intimate form of writing. Anne Morrow Lindberg asks, “Why is it that you can sometimes feel the reality of people more keenly through a letter than face to face?” (Lopez 257). Letter writing is an important skill for students to master, and can help to build responsibility in

Character Education 8 the student’s writing. The students’ letters must contain evidence that Opal is taking responsibility for Winn-Dixie. She should apologize and explain that she is trying to train Winn-Dixie. The students will write the letter and illustrate it with at least one page of illustration. The students will be allowed to work independently on their letter, and then they will edit the letter in pairs. Each student will demonstrate responsibility by revising their own writing for clarity. The students will type their letters on the computer, and they will place them in envelopes provided by the teacher. The students will address the letters, place toy stamps on them, and turn them in to a bin that represents a mail box. This exercise satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Language Arts 5.8, and encourages students to take responsibility for editing their own writing and mailing their own correspondence. Responsibility in the Math Curriculum The teacher will use the character of Opal to help the students learn how math can help them to be responsible. Opal gets a job at a pet store to help pay for a new collar for Winn-Dixie. The students will learn about perimeter, area and volume, and they will use their knowledge to complete exercises involving Opal in the pet store. The teacher will use a fish tank in the front of the classroom to illustrate measuring perimeter, area and volume. The teacher will explain that perimeter is the distance around an object, and she will measure the perimeter of the fish tank. Then the teacher will explain that area is a measure of how many units are inside of a two-dimensional shape, and she will give the equation for computing area and measure the area of the bottom of the fish tank. Then the teacher will explain that volume is a measure of how many units are inside a threedimensional shape. The teacher will write the formula for finding volume on the board

Character Education 9 and she will demonstrate measuring the fish tank’s volume. The teacher will then ask the students what she should measure to find out how big of a cover the fish tank needs. The students should respond that they would measure the area of the top of the fish tank. The teacher will ask the students what she should measure to determine how much water she will need to put her fish in the tank. The students should respond that they will measure the volume of the tank. The teacher will ask what she should measure if she wanted to tie a bow around the tank for her friend. The students should respond that they would measure the perimeter of the tank. After this lesson, the students will be given a worksheet with word problems concerning Opal and her husbandry of various animals. The students will have to determine what application is appropriate, and they will have to solve the application. This exercise satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Math 5.10, and demonstrates what is necessary for the students to show responsibility when caring for pets. Responsibility in the Science Curriculum The teacher will set up the aquarium used for the math activity. The teacher will ask the students to calculate how much water they need, how many rocks the bottom should have, how much de-chlorinator they should add (per package instructions), how many fish they should add, and how often and how much they should feed the fish. The students will then have to choose what instruments they will use to measure volumes, and they will measure the mass and approximate size of their fish. The students will use a thermometer to measure the water temperature every day, and they will record the mass of the fish each week. The purpose of this exercise is not to test a hypothesis, but to give students practice using instruments such as a thermometer, graduated cylinder, meter

Character Education 10 stick and a balance. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Science 5.1 C and D, and allows the students to show responsibility for the welfare of living organisms. Leadership in the Social Science Curriculum The teacher will ask the students to help locate the area in Florida where Because of Winn-Dixie takes place on a United States map. The teacher will ask the students to recall from their third grade curriculum, who was the explorer who first explored the area we now call Florida? The students will respond that this explorer was Ponce de Leon. The teacher will show on a world map how Ponce de Leon sailed from Spain, and ask the class to discuss what they remember about his explorations in Florida. The students will then be taken to the computer lab, where they will use the Internet to research the explorations of Ponce de Leon, and the students will fill in skeleton notes provided by the teacher. The teacher will give each student a cut out ship, and each student will draw a scene that depicts what an explorer’s responsibility is when he is exploring a new area and meting new people. On the back of their ship, each student will write one or two paragraphs analyzing whether or not Ponce de Leon was responsible during his explorations of Florida. This activity partially satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Social Studies USI.4 A, and allows the students to analyze what responsibility means. Accountability The successful student must be able to accept responsibility for their actions, and they must be willing to be accountable for their responsibilities. The student should be honest and straightforward, even when they disagree or feel that they have made an error. The short story of The Empty Pot, by Demi, is a wonderful text to use for encouraging

Character Education 11 students show accountability in difficult situations. The main character of the story, Ping, brings an empty pot to the emperor even though he is supposed to have grown a plant from a seed the emperor gave everyone. The emperor rewards Ping for his honesty, explaining that he boiled the seeds so they would not grow, and the people who grew plants must have cheated. This story is encouraging to students, showing that being accountable pays off in the end, even though it sometimes doesn’t seem like it will. Accountability in the English Curriculum The teacher will read The Empty Pot aloud to the students twice. The first time, the students will quietly listen. The second time, the students will raise their hands when they hear an unfamiliar word, or a word that they think should be defined more clearly. The teacher will write the words on the board. The class should end up with ten to twelve new vocabulary words written on the board. The teacher will ask the students to write the words into their notebook, and then the students will be placed in groups of three. The teacher will write on the board some strategies for finding the meaning of an unknown word, including Context Clues, Knowledge of Root Words, Prefixes and Suffixes, and Dictionary or Thesaurus. Each group will be assigned two or three words from the list, and they must use all of their resources to define their vocabulary words. Once the groups are done, the students will report to the class what their new definition is, and they will read the paragraph where the word is used aloud to the class. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Language Arts 5.4, and teaches students accountability through solving their own word-meaning problems.

Character Education 12 Accountability in the Math Curriculum The students will study probability, relating this concept to the probability of Ping being chosen to be the next emperor. The teacher will give the students some statistics about China, including the population at several times during history and today. The teacher will demonstrate that the probability of Ping’s becoming emperor was one in many thousands. The teacher will give each student a ten-question problem sheet, and the class will solve the first three problems together. The students will then have to solve the remaining seven problems individually. The problems will be similar to the question, “if the Emperor chooses his successor at random, and there are twelve individuals to choose from, and two are wearing yellow, three are wearing brown, two are wearing red, and four are wearing blue, what is the probability that the new emperor will be wearing blue?” The students will be held accountable for their individual problem sheets and will turn them in at the end of the work session. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Math 5.17, and gives the student practice in being accountable with their use of time. Accountability in the Science Curriculum The teacher will set up two growing stations in tubs on opposite sides of the classroom. The teacher will explain to the students the differences between vascular and non-vascular plants, and invite the students to bring in examples of plants that the class can classify as vascular or non-vascular. The students will then grow both bean plants, which are vascular, and sphagnum moss, which is non-vascular. The teacher will then ask the students to design an experiment to explore the differences between vascular and non-vascular plants. The students must be responsible for the growing plants, designing

Character Education 13 their own experiment to conduct on the plants. The students must conduct the same experiment on both vascular and non-vascular plants. For example, the students could hypothesize that the non-vascular plants would die faster if the water was restricted. The students must work together as a class to create a schedule of responsibilities. The teacher will help the class assign responsibilities to every student throughout the experiment so that each student must do his or her part to ensure the experiment’s results are accurate. The students will observe their experiment three times every week, and record their observations. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Science 5.5 C and 5.6 C, and encourages students to be accountable for their roles in a group. Accountability in the Social Science Curriculum The teacher will divide the students into groups, and each group will be given a globe and a map of the Earth. The students will be given time to explore the globe and map, and then the teacher will ask them to point out where they are on the globe, and where they are on the map. The teacher will then ask the students to point out where The Empty Pot takes place on both mediums. The teacher will ask the students how they could describe to someone where China is, or where Virginia is. The teacher will explain that lines of latitude and longitude help us to explain where places are on the earth, on a globe, and even on a map. The teacher will show the students how to estimate what the latitude and longitude addresses of Virginia and China are. The teacher will pass out worksheets to each student, and the student will have to write the latitude and longitude addresses of five places in the world. Then the teacher will pass out blank maps, with only the lines of latitude and longitude labeled. The students will plot out where they

Character Education 14 think the five locations would appear on the blank map, using the latitude and longitude addresses they just found. The students will be allowed to compare their blank maps to the world maps and globes once they have completed the exercise. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Social Studies USI.1 G, and provides students with practical experiences using Latitude and Longitude. Creativity Developing students’ creativity in the classroom is often overlooked. A student’s creativity is what will allow him to find a new path and make the world a better place. George Bernard Shaw says, “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will” (Thinkexist.com). Students must be given ample time, resources and encouragement to nurture their creativity, so that it can help the student develop and become motivated in all areas of the curriculum. The book The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, by Tomie dePaola, is an excellent source of inspiration in the classroom, as it encourages students to explore their creative identities. Creativity in the English Curriculum The teacher will ask the students to write a creative story about a difficult experience they had, and how they could have solved the problem in a creative way. The students do not need to stay literal, in other words they can use their imagination to solve their problem or have help from an imaginary creature. The story should be about one page long, and the teacher will remind students to use good planning practices. The students will edit their stories to assure that they have a well-structured story. They will pay special attention to plural possessives, adjectives, adverbs, interjections, quotes,

Character Education 15 fragments, run-on sentences and excessive coordination. When the students have edited their stories, the teacher will review the draft and suggest any changes to the student. Once the student makes the changes, they will be allowed to use a word-processor to type their stories. The student will then do one full-page illustration for their story, and the teacher will display the stories around the classroom. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Language Arts 5.9, and gives students the freedom to explore their creativity through writing. Creativity in the Math Curriculum The character Little Gopher in The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush understands the importance of shapes in his art, and uses shapes to help him develop his creativity. The teacher will explain that the shapes we take for granted have specific properties and that the shapes can be manipulated to help the students understand them. The teacher will pass out buckets of blocks in the shape of squares, rectangle, triangles, parallelograms, rhombi, kites, and trapezoids. The teacher will allow the students a period of time to play with the blocks and explore the properties of the two-dimensional figures they represent. The teacher will then write each shape on the board, and ask the students to help make a list of properties for each shape. The teacher will ask if the students can make any new shapes by combining the shapes they have been given. The teacher will demonstrate several new shapes, and allow the students to move their own blocks to match hers. The teacher will then hand out worksheets with polygon outlines on them, and allow the students to try to fill in the polygon outlines with their blocks. The class will re-group and discuss how they filled in the outlines, and if there is more than one way to fill in the polygons with the shapes provided. The students will draw

Character Education 16 their blocks onto a worksheet to turn in. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Math 5.15, and allows students to manipulate concrete objects to solve problems creatively. Creativity in the Science Curriculum The teacher will set up prisms and glass containers of water in sunny locations throughout the classroom. The students will be allowed to observe the refraction caused by the water and prisms. The teacher will discuss with the students how all visible light is in a spectrum, and all the colors are caused by light reflecting. The teacher will explain that the sunset that Little Gopher wants to paint in The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is caused by the same reflection of colors that the color of his paint is caused by. The students will use paint to color their own spectrum of light on paper, using the prism’s refraction for a guide. The teacher will show the class how the spectrum can be divided into the colors of the rainbow, and how they will always be in the same order. The students will label their paintings by color and set them aside to dry. The teacher will then allow students to use handheld mirrors to reflect light from the windows of the classroom onto the ceiling of the classroom, demonstrating how light reflects off of the surface. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Science 5.3, and allows students to explore the scope for creativity in their world. Creativity in the Social Science Curriculum The students will learn about the interactions between European Explorers and Native Americans. The teacher will give the class examples of three types of ExplorerNative People relationships. In the first example the Explorers ignore the Native Americans. In the second example, the Explorers become friends with the Native

Character Education 17 Americans and cooperate with them. In the final example, the Explorers take advantage of the Native Americans and cause them harm. The class will discuss the pros and cons for both sides in each example. The teacher will explain that in every conflict, such as when two cultures meet, there are two points of view, and the two parties have to be creative to find a way of compromising. The teacher will use the “Walk in Another’s Shoes” exercise on page 45 of the Don’t Laugh at Me handbook. When the activity is completed, the students will write a paragraph about how the European Explorers could interact with the Native Americans to bring positive rewards to both parties. The students will practice using creativity to solve conflict in their classroom. This activity satisfies the Virginia Standard of Learning, Social Studies USI.4 B, and helps the students to realize the importance of creativity on a social level. Obedience According to Webster’s dictionary (2003) obedience means the state of being obedient. In order to understand the true meaning of obedience one must know the meaning of the word obedient. Webster states that word obedient means willing to obey (Webster’s dictionary, 2003). Obeying is the art of following directions and instructions. The beauty of obedience in the classroom is indescribable. Students who strive to obey and live their lives in obedience will not only succeed in the classroom but in all areas of life. As Saint Theresa once stated “I know the power obedience has for making things easy which seem impossible”(Brainymedia.com, 2007). Having obedience in the class will prove to be beneficial to the well-being of the teacher. Having a classroom of students that are willing to obey will also enhance their learning experience.

Character Education 18 Obedience in the English Curriculum To incorporate obedience into the English curriculum used in the classroom, the teacher has many different options at her fingertips. One way in which the teacher can incorporate obedience in the English curriculum is to have the students give oral presentations on a piece of literature used in the classroom. The class will be asked to read the book Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka (1992). While reading the book the students will be asked to highlight or mark places in the novel where obedience or disobedience occurred. Upon completion of the book the students must prepare a five minute oral presentation on a topic covered in the assigned novel. This assignment is consistent with the Virginia Standards of Learning, English 5.3. The teacher will also lead a discussion on obedience upon the completion of this novel. The teacher will ask the students to document ways that they can be obedient. The teacher will ask the students to record this information in their daily journals and they must have fifteen different ways they can practice obedience. The students will also be asked to share the sections of the book where they marked or highlighted the obedience or disobedience mentioned. At a class discussion time the teacher will facilitate a discussion on obedience and what she expects from her students. The teacher will incorporate this character trait into the curriculum during the first week or two of school. The piece of literature used would be a great introductory book to rules and expectations for the school year. By having the class read Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear they will learn about being tone deaf and all of the struggles that Yang the Youngest went through (Namioka, 1992). Students will also discover that despite Yang the Youngest’s hearing

Character Education 19 problem, he still obeyed his father and kept playing his violin (Namioka, 1992). Through classroom discussions the students will know exactly what the teacher expects out of them. By holding a classroom discussion on obedience the students will know the expectations from the beginning of the school year. The teacher is also reinforcing these expectations by posting them on the wall for the class to have a daily reminder of what the teacher expects out of them. Obedience in the Math Curriculum The teacher will create a sequence activity for the class to complete. The teacher will give out detailed directions to her students and she will hand out the activity and ask the students to work on this activity individually. The students will not receive any help on this particular activity. They will be responsible for reading the directions and doing exactly what is asked on the sheet of paper that was given to them. Once the student believes that he has completed the activity he will turn it in to the teacher and she will determine if the student has indeed correctly completed the activity. If the student has missed a single step he will have to start all over again until he has successfully completed the activity. The teacher can use this activity as an opener to her discussion on obedience. She can explain to the students that they must obey in the small things or else the big things will not work either. The teacher could also take the avenue of introducing the order of operations to the students. The teacher can explain that one must follow the exact order of operations or your answer will not be correct. Performing math requires a lot of obedience. One little mistake and the answer to the problem are completely wrong. Requiring the students to be obedient by following directions is a great way to teach obedience in the classroom. This activity forces the students to follow every

Character Education 20 direction and enforces obedience. Following directions given to you is very important. Developing obedience in the small things will prepare the students to be obedient in the big things as well. Students must take their time when working with math problems. Having students work on their sequence skills and direction capabilities will help the students to succeed in math. Obedience in the Science Curriculum When going over lab safety rules the teacher can incorporate obedience into that lesson. She can start off by explaining that if students are not obedient during classroom labs then serious injuries could occur. It is very important that the lab rules be obeyed at all times. Once the teacher has covered all of the rules and information for conducting an experiment and being in the lab, the teacher will give the students a lab to conduct. This lab will have many detailed instructions with how to perform the lab. Included in the instructions will be directions that do not comply with the lab safety rules. The teacher will be monitoring as the students complete this lab, and the students who follow the directions straight through and complete the tasks that have lab safety violations will have their names written down on a piece of paper. The teacher will discuss the infractions with the students later. The violations that will be written on the lab will not be violations that could cause any type of harm to the individual. They will be simple but important violations. Upon the completion of the lab, the students who did not complete the directions with the violations will have a completely different result than the ones who completed the violations. The teacher will have the students come back to their seats and they will then discuss the lab and the importance of obedience even in the small areas.

Character Education 21 Practicing safety regulations in the lab areas will prevent many accidents from happening. There will more than likely be an unavoidable accident to occur in the lab at some point, but teaching precautions will cut down on the overall number of accidents that occur. Using this approach to lab safety will help the students become familiar with how labs are operated and how they are to conduct themselves when in a lab. This approach is just another method in teaching obedience and rule following in the classroom. It is a practical for students to practice obedience. Obedience in the Social Science Curriculum The teacher can incorporate obedience into the social science curriculum when the class begins to study the laws and legal documents of the United States. The class will cover the topic of voting and registering to vote when they turn eighteen. The students will be given a ‘voters registration card’ and they will have to fill it out and submit it to the ‘judge’ (teacher). Once all of the students have registered to vote, the teacher will explain that for every law there are consequences for every action that breaks that law. The class can then discuss the different levels of punishment and the ways that they have been punished at home or school for not following the rules given to them by the people in authority over them. The students will then form groups and come up with fifteen class ‘laws’ for the class to abide by. With the laws that the students come up with they must also come up with a punishment for each rule that is broken. Once each group has their list together one student from each group will come to the front of the class and present the ‘laws’ that their groups came up with. While each group is sharing the laws that they have formed the teacher will be recording them and once every groups has shared their laws the class will hold an election for the ten ‘laws’ they want to be instated into their

Character Education 22 classroom. Once a decision has been made then those ‘laws,’ along with the teacher’s laws, will be displayed in the classroom so that they serve as a constant reminder of the classroom expectations. This is a great introductory lesson for obedience (Obenchain & Morris, 2007). The purpose of this activity is to teach the students about how our government works. Giving students to opportunity to practice voting is a great way to have the classroom involved in an activity. This will also serve as a reminder to each student, that when they turn eighteen then they need to register to vote. Having the students work together to form classroom ‘laws’ will help the students keep each other accountable for the school year. Allowing the students to choose some of the classroom rules will help them to feel like they are truly a part of the class. If a student breaks a ‘law’ then it will be easier to correct them because they had a part in choosing that ‘law’. Integrity Integrity is a character trait that seems to be lacking in the school systems of America. According to Webster, integrity is ‘moral purity, honesty’ (Webster’s dictionary, 2003). Students today are being raised with little or no moral value. This problem is most evident in the schools. There are students stealing, cheating, lying, and disobeying. Without morals, or a sense of right and wrong, the chances that a student will follow the rules is slim to none. As Confucius once said, “To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice” (New York Times Company, 2007). Since honesty is also included in the definition of integrity it is something that cannot be overlooked. Dishonesty is second nature in society today. A student can look a teacher in the eye and lie to her and not think twice about what he did. Without honesty there will be no basis for fair evaluation in the

Character Education 23 classroom. Students need to be presented with information on integrity so that they might one day be able to posses this character trait. Integrity in the English Curriculum Integrity might be one of the more difficult character traits to teach in the classroom. Incorporating integrity into the English curriculum would best be done through a selection of literature. The novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, would be a fantastic example of integrity to its audience (Lewis, 1994). The characters in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are in a constant battle of good vs. evil (Lewis, 1994). Throughout this novel the students will be able to follow these characters as they are making moral decision and using honesty as their guide. By using this book in the classroom the teacher will be covering the Virginia Standard of Learning K 5.5g. Upon completion of the book the students will discuss the moral decisions mentioned in this book. The teacher will follow up with a discussion on integrity and then she will show the movie version of the book. The purpose of the above activities is to promote integrity in the English curriculum. Through reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the students will be presented with real examples of integrity (Lewis, 1994). The characters in this novel are faced with many situations that call for them to use integrity. The selected book is the best example of integrity through English and therefore there are no other assignments but to read the book. The students will be able to recognize the situations in which integrity was used.

Character Education 24 Integrity in the Math Curriculum The students will use M&M’s to practice making various graphs. The teacher will pre-count the M&M’s and place them in plastic bags. The students will be instructed not to eat the M&M’s until the teacher tells them to. The teacher will ask the students to sort the M&M’s by color. After the students have arranged them the teacher will ask the students to make a bar graph, line graph, pictograph, and a stem and leaf plot. After the students have successfully completed the graphs, the teacher will instruct the students to hand in their graphs for grading. The teacher will then ask the students if any of them ate their M&M’s before they finished their graphs. The teacher will then mention that integrity was used in this activity. The students will have used integrity whether they ate the M&M’s or not. Once the discussion is over the teacher will then instruct the students to eat the M&M’s. The purpose of the above activity was for the students to practice integrity. The students could have chosen to not use integrity and eat their M&M’s. This is a small example of using integrity, but it can be a powerful one as well. Students will be tempted to eat the candy, especially when it is right in front of them. They will think that no one is watching them, and some will use that as an excuse to eat the candy anyways. Integrity in the Science Curriculum The students will go on a nature walk and the teacher will have previously hidden objects along the trail. These objects will be coins or other nice objects that a student would want. The teacher will not say anything to the students as they are walking around gathering leaf samples. She will be watching the students and if they pick up any of the objects she will make a note of it. When the students have all come back into the

Character Education 25 classroom the teacher will ask the students to place all of their items on their desks. If there were any students that picked up an object the teacher will then ask the students to raise their hands if they found anything besides a leaf. The teacher will then reveal to the students that she placed objects out there to see if anyone would pick them up even though they were not instructed to do so. She will then tell the student’s that she knows who picked up the objects and she will not embarrass them but will ask that they return the objects by the end of the day. The teacher will then recap what it means to have integrity. The students are presented with the opportunity to take something that does not belong to them and something they were not instructed to pick up. The teacher will use this as a learning opportunity for the students. She will explain to them that she placed the objects out there in hopes that someone would pick it up. There will be times in which there are items that are just lying around. Integrity can be used when the objects are left where they were. This would be choosing the good over the evil. Integrity is a choice. Integrity in the Social Science Curriculum Students will create their own make-believe land like ‘Narnia’ from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis, 1994). In the novel there was a constant battle of good versus evil (Lewis, 1994). The students will develop the issues that their men and women will be fighting over. The students will draw a map of their make-believe land, and on that map include the places where the battles were fought. The students can also draw dotted lines on the map to show how far the people traveled to get to the different battle locations. The students will also determine if the good or the evil side will win the battle.

Character Education 26 The students will then present their make-believe land and map to the class. The teacher will evaluate their understanding of good versus evil. The purpose of the above activity is to stretch the imagination of the students. They will be challenged to recreate The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis, 1994). The issue of integrity will be handled with the motives for battle that the students select. The teacher will be able to see if the students truly grasp the concept of integrity through this exercise. The main way that the teacher will be able to tell if her students grasped the idea of integrity will be to see what the end results were to their battle of good vs. evil. Respect Respect is not something that is easily acquired by any one individual. Respect must be gained over an extended period of time. Unfortunately, there are many times in which respect will never be gained because individuals do not know what respect is. Incorporation of the character trait respect into schools and classrooms will make the environment in these places a positive one. Without respect there are no grounds for acceptance by others. Diversity and differences in the classroom call for respect to be present. Students can be mean and therefore respect needs to be established in the classroom from the first day of class. Respect is not just about respecting others. It is also about respecting oneself. As U. Thant once said “Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.” (New York Times Company, 2007) Respect should not be an option but a requirement in everyday life.

Respect in the English Curriculum

Character Education 27 A teacher can incorporate respect into the English curriculum by introducing the class to the novel The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (Banks, 1982). By reading this novel students will see that the Indian, cowboy, and little boy have to learn to respect one another’s differences (Banks, 1982). The student’s will also see the benefits of working as a team to accomplish a goal. This novel will be read in class and as homework assignments during a two week time frame. When the book has been completed the students will be asked to complete an acrostic dealing with material from the book. The students can choose from the following acrostics: Indian, cowboy, cupboard, or respect. Once the acrostics have been completed they will be hung up around the classroom so that the students can see what the other classmates learned from reading the novel. A class discussion on respect and showing respect to others will be held in the classroom. The teacher will begin by asking the students what they think respect is. After a few responses the teacher will ask the students how does it make you feel when someone picks on you or is not nice to you. After a couple responses the teacher will then ask the students what are some ways that respect can be shown in the classroom. After the students have given a few answers the teacher will wrap up the conversation by explaining to the class that disrespect will not be allowed in the classroom. The teacher will also take this time to inform the students of the consequences of disrespect in the classroom. As a complement to the class discussion a respect activity will be derived from the Don’t Laugh at Me teacher’s guide. The activity that the class will be participating in is found on page seventeen and entitled The Torn Heart (Roerden, 2000).

Character Education 28 The students will complete this entire activity with some parts of this activity being completed as a class and other parts being completed individually. The purpose for implementing respect into the English curriculum is so that students learn through different activities that everyone has feeling and each individual deserves to be respected. In order for students to be respected they must show respect to others. The sooner they learn this concept the sooner the classroom atmosphere will be positive. Diversity in the classroom is the largest area in which respect needs to be shown. Having students voice their feelings in certain situations will help the other students realize that respect needs to be shown at all times. Through reading The Indian in the Cupboard, students will see how respect is shown even when the two characters do not get along or agree on the same subjects (Banks, 1982). Respect in the Math Curriculum The teacher will have a list of math problems for the students to solve at their desks. Once everyone has completed their problems the teacher will call the students up to the board one at a time and have them work one of the math problems out on the board. If the student gets the answer to a question right the class will applaud the student. If the student places the wrong answer on the board the class will still applaud and the teacher will select another student to come to the board and help the student who got the problem wrong. The two students will work together to find the correct answer to the problem. Once the students have found the right answer the class will applaud for them. Once everyone has successfully completed one problem the teacher will then ask the class why every student received an applause regardless of the first answer that was recorded on the board. The teacher will then explain the if a student came up with the

Character Education 29 wrong answer and the class made fun of them or started to laugh at the student then it would not make the student feel good himself. The teacher will explain to the class that respect will always be shown to every student who tries his best. If the students do not respect one another the teacher will then follow through with the appropriated consequences. These consequences will come from the ones that had been instated earlier on in the school year. The purpose of the above activity is to help the students realize that everyone is going to make a mistake at some point and if they are laughed at or picked on then that student’s feelings will be hurt. The teacher can also reiterate that her classroom is a respectful area and that disrespect will not be tolerated. Having the students become accustomed to respecting, encouraging, and positively talking to one another will help to develop proper communication skills. Teaching students about respect through many different activities will help them to carry this character trait outside of their classroom. Respect in the Science Curriculum Respect for the school, community, and world can be taught through the science curriculum. The teacher will discuss the topics of recycling and litter to her students. By informing the students that litter is bad for our world and that recycling helps our world the students will gain a better understanding of how to keep the world a cleaner place. Throughout this unit the class will collect recyclable item and bring the items into the classroom. The students will have one week to collect as many recyclable items as possible. At the end of the week the class will take a field trip to the recycling plant. The students will get to tour the recycling plant and hand in all of the items that they collected. When the students arrive back on campus they will be given a trash bag and

Character Education 30 gloves. The will then be instructed to get into groups and walk around the school property and pick up any litter that they see lying around. The group that comes back with the most litter will receive a free homework pass. The purpose of having the students complete the activity listed above is so that they will begin to appreciate the world they live in. When students discover the results of accumulated litter and then see the results of a clean world they will be more likely to help by cleaning up their mess and making sure that their trash goes into the appropriate spot. By collecting recycling items and then taking them to the recycling plant the students will receive first hand experience of how recycling helps the world. The above activity would be a great community service project for the student. Making the students aware of the benefits of keeping the world nice and clean will help them to make sure they are cleaning up after themselves and not littering. If one classroom of students sets an example by picking up trash and then others follow behind them then the world will be a cleaner place to live. Respect in the Social Science Curriculum The teacher will incorporate the novel The Indian in the Cupboard into the social science curriculum (Banks, 1982). The class will be studying different Indian tribes at this time. The class will become familiar with the geographical areas in which these particular Indian tribes reside. The students will be assigned groups and will use the computer to research the assigned Indian tribes. The groups will each be responsible for producing a five minute presentation on their assigned Indian tribe. The students will have to tell where the primary location is of their Indian tribe and ten interesting facts

Character Education 31 about their tribe. On the day of their presentation the students will have the option of dressing up like Indians. The purpose of this activity is to include the literature selection into the social science curriculum. The students will become familiar with different Indian tribes. They will use their technology skills to research the assigned Indian tribes. By using the Internet the students will have a large selection of material to conduct their research from. The students will also work on their communication skills by giving the oral presentation after their research has been completed. Allowing the students to dress up when they give their presentations will allow for them to be creative in choosing their costume for the day. Compassion Pity is the word used to describe compassion in the Webster’s dictionary (2003). Compassion is much more than just pity. It is taking action on that pity and making a difference in someone’s life. It is not hard to show compassion to people around you. All that is needed is a heart. Compassion is a fulfilling feeling. It not only builds up one person but builds up many others. As HH the Dalai Lama once declared “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion” (Lewis, J.J., 2006). Compassion is contagious and it is something that needs to be spread like a virus. If every individual possessed a little but of compassion the world would be a happier and self-gratifying place. Compassion in the English Curriculum The teacher can teach compassion through the English curriculum in many ways. The teacher can teach compassion through literature by having her class read Shiloh by

Character Education 32 Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2000). By reading this book students will gain a real sense of compassion by examining the main character Marty Preston (Naylor, 2000). Marty finds a dog and must make many decisions as to how he will care for this stray dog (Naylor, 2000). A unit will be derived from this novel. The teacher will assign nightly readings out of this novel. The Virginia Standards of Learning 5.7 will be incorporated in this activity. The teacher will instruct her students to design a ‘lost dog’ poster. These posters will be hung around the room and must include three descriptions of the relationship between the dog and his original owner. Upon the completion of this novel the teacher will conduct a lesson on compassion, pulling exampled from this novel. The teacher will refer to the Don’t Laugh at Me handbook for a unique lesson on compassion and caring (Roerden, 2000). The title of the activity used from Don’t Laugh at Me is entitled “The Caring Being” (Roerden, 2000). The teacher will also lead a discussion on how, as a class, to show compassion to one another. The teacher will also make a list of ways to show compassion and then hang the poster in the room for the students to refer to throughout the year. The purpose of the above activities is to integrate compassion into the curriculum that is being taught. By reading Shiloh the students will gain a better sense of compassion due to the example that is shown in the relationship between Marty and Shiloh (Naylor, 2000). The Don’t Laugh at Me activity that is listed will be beneficial in that the students will learn how to be compassionate rather than mean towards their classmates (Roerden, 2000). The goal is for the students to be familiar enough with compassion that they are able to show it on a daily basis.

Character Education 33 Compassion in the Math Curriculum Each student will be given the same piece of paper with descriptions of twenty people on it. The student will have a scenario and based on that scenario he will only be allowed to take ten people with him on the special adventure described in the scenario. The student will then have to determine which ten people he will take with him. Once he has determined who he is going to take with him he will then have to consult with his group members. As a group they must decide on the same ten people to take with them. Once the group has selected their ten then the teacher will take a vote from all of the groups and see which ten people will go with the class on their special adventure. The class must come to a conclusion in order for the adventure to take place. The purpose of this activity is for the students to use logic and reason when selecting the individuals who will be accompanying them on their special adventure. The students must also remember to use compassion when selecting the people to go on the adventure. They should remember that they cannot just skip over someone because of the description beside them but they must think about their contribution to the team. This activity will encourage compassion is a different way. They students will have to use compassion and judgment at the same time. Compassion in the Science Curriculum Students will each plant a tree for earth day. They will be responsible for watering and taking care of the tree throughout the school year. The teacher will discuss that trees help the environment. Students will keep a weekly log of the growth and development of their trees. At the end of the school year the students will compare their results with the rest of their classmates.

Character Education 34 The purpose of the students completing the activity listed above is that they will learn how the trees help the environment. The students will also learn responsibility while caring for their trees. Compassion will be shown by the students actually taking care of the trees. Students will understand that they are making a contribution to the community by planting and taking care of their tree. Compassion in the Social Science Curriculum Students will research a profession of their choice. The students will conduct research on this profession and determine the contribution that this profession makes to society. While conducting the research the students must find four different ways that someone in this profession might show compassion. Students will write a two page report on the specific profession that they chose. Students will then dress up like an individual in that profession and they will tell the class how that specific profession shows compassion. The teacher will evaluate the student’s performance. This activity will help students to recognize that compassion is shown through ‘grown-up’ jobs. The students will, hopefully, gain a sense of respect for the people in the selected professions. Through research the students will also have a better understanding of what people in the researched professions actually do. By the research that was done students might discover that they are interested in practicing that profession later on in life. If that is the case then they will already know ways in which they can show compassion towards the people they come in contact with. Conclusion If teaching character traits in the school systems becomes extinct, it will not be long before character traits in society are no longer present either. Society can not afford

Character Education 35 for character traits not to be displayed in everyone. There are many students who have parents that do not help teach them at home, and therefore the only education they receive is in school. Teachers are the primary influence in many students’ lives. The character traits listed above are only a few of the character traits out there. Choosing a few character traits to focus on as a school or classroom will prove to be beneficial not only to the students and teachers, but to the community as well. Teaching character traits does not have to take up a whole separate unit. As stated above, there are many ways to incorporate character traits into everyday lessons. Integration of character traits into classroom curriculum is not difficult. Taking the extra time to focus on a couple character traits can have an effect on the shaping of the future of our nation. It is up to the teacher to carry the torch and teach character traits in her classroom. America is depending on the teacher to keep character traits in the schools and in society.

Character Education 36 Resources Banks, Lynne R. (1982). Indian in the Cupboard. New York: Harper Collins. Brainymedia.com (2007). Famous Quotes. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from Brainyquote.com. Clark, Ron (2003). The Essential 55. New York: Hyperion. Delong, Janice A., & Schwedt, Rachel E. (1997). Core Collection for Small Libraries: An Annotated Bibliography of Books for Children and Young Adults. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Demi (1990) The Empty Pot. New York: Henry Holt & Co. DePaola, Tomie (1988). The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. New York: Putnam. DiCamillo, Kate (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge: Candlewick Press. Lewis, C.S. (1994). The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Harper Collins. Lewis, C.S. (1951). Prince Caspian. New York: Harper Collins. Lewis, J. J. (2006). Compassion Quotes. August 31, 2007 from http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_compassion.html. Lopez, Lilia, & Siccone, Frank (2000). Educating the Heart: Lessons to Build Respect and Responsibility. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Namioka, Lensey (1992). Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear. New York: Dell. Naylor, Phyllis R (2000). Shiloh. New York: Simon & Schuster. New York Times Company (2007). Integrity Quotations. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from About.com New York Times Company (2007). Respect Quotes. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from About.com

Character Education 37 Obenchain, Kathryn M., & Morris, Ronald V. (2007). 50 Social Studies Strategies for K8 Classrooms (2nd ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Prentice Hall. Roerden, Laura P. (2000). Don’t Laugh at Me: Creating a Ridicule-Free Classroom. New York: Operation Respect, Inc. The New International Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus of the English Language (2003 edition). Naples, Florida: Trident Press International. Thinkexist.com (2007). Creativity Quotes. Retrieved September, 4 2007 from Thinkexist.com at < http://thinkexist.com/quotations/creativity/> Thinkquest.org (2007). Why Explorers Explored the World. Retrieved September 4, 2007 from