Character counts

CHARACTER COUNTS!®The Six Pillars of Character®

CHARACTER COUNTS!" and "The Six Pillars of Character" ®are registered trademarks of Josephson Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

organization.

All information contained within this presentation can be credited to the Josephson Institute and their CHRACTER COUNTS! ® program.

Students can use this acronym to help them remember that people with good character are terrific: T rustworthiness R espect R esponsibility F airness C aring C itizenship Josephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Acronym: TRRFCC

http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Trustworthiness : blue Think "true blue"

Respect : yellow/gold Think the Golden Rule

Responsibility : green Think being responsible for a garden or finances; or as in being solid

and reliable like an oak Fairness : orange

Think of dividing an orange into equal sections to share fairly with friends

Caring : red Think of a heart

Citizenship : purple think regal purple as representing the state

Josephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Color Scheme


Be honest Don’t deceive, cheat, or steal Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do Have the courage to do the right thing Build a good reputation Be loyal — stand by your family, friends, and

country


Trustworthiness


Overview: Children learn about the need for trust by working together. Materials:

An object made from LEGOS or other building-block materials LEGOS or blocks to make a replica of the object (enough for each group)

Procedure: Ask: When do we need to trust other people? Field answers. Ask: When do people

need to trust you? Define and discuss cooperation and teamwork. Emphasize the importance of trusting the accuracy of information when people work together. Say: When we work together to achieve a goal, we must trust each other. Can anyone explain why? Discuss examples of what may go wrong when people work together but don’t trust each other. Ask: How can we get others to trust us? List answers.

Divide the children into groups and distribute building blocks. Make sure the model object is hidden from view. Introduce the activity. Say: We're going to practice teamwork and show our trustworthiness by constructing an exact copy of an object made out of blocks (or LEGOS, etc.). The problem is, the object is hidden and only one person from each group will be allowed to see it. This person must go back and tell the rest of his/her group how to build it based on what he/she saw. Those in the groups must take turns adding a piece to build their replica. The person who saw the object is not allowed to touch the replica his/her group is building.

When all groups have finished, discuss the process. Ask the children to explain what skills were needed, how they showed trustworthiness, and the effect it had on the outcome.

Adapted from an idea submitted by Herb Gould, a CHARACTER COUNTS! Character Development Seminar trainer and police officer in Waverly, Tennessee.Josephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Lesson on Trustworthiness


Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule

Be tolerant and accepting of differences Use good manners, not bad language Be considerate of the feelings of others Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and

disagreementsJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Respect


Overview - Children will learn the importance of listening, an important aspect of respect.Materials: Angel Child, Dragon Child by Michele Maria Surat (or any story that points out

the role listening plays in understanding) Drawing paper CrayonsProcedure: Read or summarize Angel Child, Dragon Child by Michele Maria Surat. In this story, a Vietnamese girl named Hoa is teased and ridiculed at her new

American school because of her language and dress. In one instance, she is taunted by a classmate and fights back. To settle the dispute and teach the children a lesson, the principal orders the two children to complete an unusual assignment. The girl must tell her tormentor about Vietnam, and the boy who teased her must listen and write down her story. This leads to a friendship between the two children — and ultimately to the whole school creating a fundraiser to help reunite Hoa’s family.


Lesson on Respect


Discuss how this story illustrates the importance of listening and how our viewpoints about other people change if we take time to understand them better.

Inform the students that they will practice listening. Divide students into pairs. Instruct them to tell each other about their family and what they like to do together. Have each child draw a picture of an activity that their listening partner shared about his or her family.

Have the children share with the class what they learned about their partners from listening to them. If possible, have the children share pictures of their partner’s family.

This lesson is from the Good Ideas book, available for purchase from the CHARACTER COUNTS! online store: http://www.charactercounts.org/materialsJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

A Lesson on Respect Cont…..

http://www.charactercounts.org/materials



Do what you are supposed to do Plan ahead Persevere: keep on trying! Always do your best Use self-control Be self-disciplined Think before you act — consider the consequences Be accountable for your words, actions, and attitudes Set a good example for othersJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Responsibility


Overview - When we talk to students about responsibility, we can't do so without mentioning stakeholders. While this can be an abstract concept for little learners to master, it’s critical in their understanding of the responsibility pillar.

Materials - A tent stake (or picture of a stake) to use as a visual to help explain the job of the stake in the ground: to hold something up, like your tent. Ask if anyone knows what a “stakeholder” is. Explain that a "stakeholder" is anyone who might support or hold you up and have a stake in your choices, in the outcome of your decisions.

Procedure Ask the students this simple question, "Who will care?" Have students stand up to

represent the stakeholders as they name them. For example: Who will care if you show up late for a baseball or soccer game? Expect answers

like the umpire, our teammates, the other team, the other coach, our fans, the other team’s fans, the team who plays next, etc. If you take it out far enough, everyone in the room will be standing


A Lesson on Responsibility


Try a few more; have your students answer aloud or make a list of stakeholders: Who will care if you don't let your dog in at night? Who will care if you sneak out of the house after your curfew

to drive around with friends? Who will care if you choose never to recycle anything? Who will care if you don't do your homework? Who will care if you don't pick up after yourself at home? in

the classroom? Who will care if you don't show up for a play dates? Who will care if you promise to give a friend a ride to skate

night and you forget and go without him/her?Josephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

A Lesson on Responsibility Cont…


CLOSURE: Here's a little ditty that encapsulates the responsibility pillar that you can use as an echo poem or sing to the tune of Where is Thumbkin?

What's Responsibility?Staying in control of me!Doin' my chores faithfully,Making choices carefully.Thinkin' 'bout the stakeholders.Thinkin' 'bout the consequences.You can count on me –Responsibility!

This lesson was submitted by Barbara Gruener, counselor at Westwood Elementary School, Friendswood, Texas.Josephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

A Lesson on Responsibility cont…


Play by the rules Take turns and share Be open-minded; listen to others Don’t take advantage of others Don’t blame others carelessly Treat all people fairlyJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Fairness


Overview - Students hypothesize and what the optimal size would be for a jack-o-lantern and estimate its circumference. Then they discuss the importance of being fair in not judging others by their physical characteristics.

Materials Examples of different-sized pumpkins String Scissors Ruler Writing paper Pens Orange construction paper


A Lesson on Fairness


Procedure Show students images or real-life examples of pumpkins. Ask the class to

describe the features of these pumpkins, including color, shape, texture and size.

Ask students to define “jack-o-lantern,” explaining when and why these novelties appear.

Describe the following scenario to your students: We are going on an imaginary field trip to visit a pumpkin patch today.

Your task is to pick the perfect pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern. Yours will be on display to celebrate Halloween.

Introduce the term circumference to students. To introduce this concept to younger students, draw a diagram of a pumpkin pie to demonstrate the relationship between a circle and a round object.

Pass the ball of yarn to each student, instructing them to cut a length of yarn they feel is the perfect-sized pumpkin. Ask students to predict the length of their piece of yarn.

Using rulers, have students measure their length of yarn and record this number in their writing journals. Introduce various units of measurement to older students.

Compare these measurements by asking students to lay their yarn pieces on the floor. You may wish to create a graph of these results with students’ names on the x-axis and measurements on the y-axis. Younger students can create an ordered list of their names according to the size of their strings.


A Lesson on Fairness cont….


Ask students to vote for the length they feel best represents the perfect pumpkin. When students have voiced their opinions, prompt a class discussion on the impossibility of forming such conclusions. Say, There is no such thing as a perfect- sized pumpkin! All pumpkins, big or

little, are ideal for celebrating Halloween. A pumpkin patch needs all sizes. Explain that an important part of being fair means keeping an open mind

and not judging people by their differences. To reinforce this concept, have students write a reflective paragraph on what they learned about fairness.

Encourage students to create a pumpkin of any size from construction paper. Have students cut out their pumpkins and paste their paragraphs inside.

Create a class pumpkin patch with these cutouts on a classroom wall or bulletin board. This will stand as a fun fall reminder that fairness means appreciating everyone’s unique qualities.


A Lesson on Fairness Cont….


Be kind Be compassionate and show you care Express gratitude Forgive others Help people in needJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Caring


Overview - Students learn what it means to give and receive compliments and why it’s important. This activity helps them learn to initiate friendships and make others feel good about themselves. It's most effective when done regularly as a 10- to 15-minute exercise.

Materials - Light color or white construction paper (cut paper into 3 x 4 "tickets" prior to the activity)


A Lesson on Caring


Procedure

1. Begin by finding opportunities to compliment the class (e.g., You all did a great job listening quietly when the principal was here). Each time you compliment them, acknowledge it. (I just gave you a compliment. That means I told you something nice about yourselves.)

2. The next day, remind the class about the compliments they received. Say: Now let’s play the "compliment game." I’ll start by giving one of you a compliment. When you get a compliment, you get a ticket. Write your name at the top. Then it’s your turn to give a compliment to someone else. Every time you give a compliment to someone, you also give the ticket to that person.

3. Give three or four youngsters compliments that they, in turn, pass on to another child, each one writing his/her name at the top of the ticket each time a compliment is received. When you stop the activity, save the tickets so the game can be picked up where it was left off.

4. Resume the activity with the kids who last wrote their names on the tickets. Have them start by reading all the names on their tickets to recognize everyone who has been complimented. When the slips of paper are full of names, give new compliments and tickets to those who haven’t received any yet. Make sure all kids are recognized. Keep tickets that are filled with names in a jar to show that the compliments remain valid.

Contributed by Laurie Kutcher, Coolidge Elementary School teacher (San Gabriel, CA).This lesson is from the Good Ideas book, available for purchase from the CHARACTER COUNTS! online store: http://www.charactercounts.org/materials

A Lesson on Caring cont….


Do your share to make your school and community better Cooperate Get involved in community affairs Stay informed; vote Be a good neighbor Obey laws and rules Respect authority Protect the environment VolunteerJosephson Institute. “The Six Pillars of Character ®”. CHARACTER COUNTS ®. 4 November 2012. http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Citizenship


Overview - Students learn how members of a community work together to help each other.

Materials – None Procedure

1. Discuss the word "community." Explain that communities are made up of many neighborhoods. Make sure they understand the meaning of community before proceeding. Discuss jobs that adults do that make their community work.

2. Make a list of "community helpers" and the help they provide. Show how each person is necessary for the community to work.

3. Create scenarios in which the kids act out what might happen if these community helpers were not available.

4. Discuss ways that kids can be helpers in the community (e.g., recycling, taking out trash, keeping their school and parks clean, etc.).

This lesson is from the Good Ideas book, available for purchase from the CHARACTER COUNTS! online store: http://www.charactercounts.org/materialsAdapted from the Character Education in Ohio: Sample Strategies handbook (Ohio Department of Education, Columbus, OH), 1990.

A Lesson on Citizenship



References
