Character Education Toolkit
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Table of Contents Character Education Overview ............................................................ 1 SECTION 1: School-Based Character Education ............................... 2 Overview .................................................................................................. 2 Curriculum and Instruction .......................................................................... 3 School-wide Integration .............................................................................. 3 Service Learning ........................................................................................ 3 Section 2: School-wide Professional Development .............................. 4 Cross-Curricular Activities ........................................................................... 4 Awareness: The Key to Friendships ............................................................ 4 Teen Trendsetters ................................................................................... 4 Integrating Character Education into Different Subjects ................................... 5 English Language and Literature ................................................................ 5 Number Skills and Science ........................................................................ 5 History and Geography ............................................................................ 5 Lesson Plans ............................................................................................. 6 Teaching Responsibility Across Curricula ..................................................... 6 Teaching Trustworthiness through Service-Learning Projects ......................... 8 Integrating Knowledge & Wisdom .............................................................. 9 Integrating Health Care & Technology into English Language Arts .................. 9 Other Helpful Websites for Integrated Character Education Programs or Lesson Plans ................................................................................................... 13 Harvesting Rewards of Character Education ................................................. 13 Section 3: School/Community Partnership ........................................ 15 Parent Resources ..................................................................................... 15 Community Partners ................................................................................. 16 Cities and Communities of Character .......................................................... 16 Community-Based Programs ..................................................................... 17 Grants .................................................................................................... 17 SECTION 4: Research Findings ......................................................... 19 Character Development Research ............................................................... 19 Character Education Rubric ....................................................................... 21 SECTION 5: South Carolina Promising Practices ........................... 22 2009 Promising Practice Awards Winners ..................................................... 22 State School of Character Award / National School of Character Award ............ 24 Teen LEAD .............................................................................................. 24 Red Carpet .............................................................................................. 25 Heart Award (Higher Education Awareness Readiness Transition) .................... 25 State Board of Education Volunteer Awards ................................................. 26 SECTION 6: Teacher Resources ........................................................ 27 Publishers and Catalogs ............................................................................ 27 Professional Literature .............................................................................. 29 SCDE Resource Room Books ...................................................................... 29 Model Character Education Lesson Plans ...................................................... 30 Additional Resources ................................................................................ 44 Character-Based Programs ........................................................................ 46 Related Websites ..................................................................................... 54 Electronic Newsletters .............................................................................. 60 Quotes ................................................................................................... 60 Children’s Literature by Character Trait ....................................................... 60 Character Song List .................................................................................. 67 SECTION 7: Calendar of Events ........................................................ 69 Acknowledgments ................................................................................... 71 APPENDICES Richland One Character Education Guide Grades K-2 ................................ 72 Richland One Character Education Guide Grades 3-5 .............................. 179 Richland One Character Education Guide Grades 6-8 .............................. 295 Richland One Character Education Guide Grades 9-12 ............................ 404 Richland One Character Education Evaluation ......................................... 463 Berkeley's Health Standards for Character Education ............................. 466 Character Education Overview Definition of Character 1. Character is the sum of continuously developing moral and ethical qualities and the demonstration of those qualities in people's emotional responses, thinking, reasoning, and behavior. 2. Character may be represented by values and virtues: a. Personal values—people's ideals expressed by their behavior in a wide range of situations and activities (e.g., honesty, courage, perseverance, self-discipline, responsibility, integrity) b. Social values—people's behavior and attitudes toward others, especially in relation to family, peers, teachers, and others in their immediate social environment (e.g., caring, respect, empathy, trustworthiness, fairness, tolerance of diversity) c. Civic virtues—people's behavior and attitudes toward the community, society, and government (e.g., engaged citizenship, patriotism, justice, welfare) 3. Character conveys: a. Moral knowledge and reasoning—people’s behavior that is based in moral ideals, such as considering others' perspectives, treating others as one wishes to be treated, acting as one wishes anyone would act in the same situation, and honoring the intrinsic worth of each person b. Moral emotions—people's behavior that demonstrates empathy and sympathy for others and situation-appropriate feelings of guilt and remorse toward the self Character Education 1. Character Education encompasses the multiple layers of influences that families, schools, and other social institutions have on positive character development of children and adults. As such, it focuses on: a. Recognizing and understanding the strengths of families, neighborhoods, and communities b. Creating positive social climates and cultures in social institutions, especially schools c. Empowering teachers to recognize that teaching character is teaching the whole child 2. Character Education creates a meaningful framework and incorporates aspects of social- emotional learning, conflict resolution, violence prevention, social skills training, and service learning Contact Information Joan Dickinson, Program of Character Education, 1429 Senate St., Columbia, SC 29201, [email protected], Phone: (803) 734-4807, Fax: (803) 734-8343. 1 SECTION 1: School-Based Character Education Overview 1. School-based Character Education is deliberate, planned, and proactive. 2. It emphasizes instilling, teaching, and promoting character qualities—virtues, values, and principles. 3. It promotes the usefulness of character qualities across many contexts and places rather than focusing on skills useful only to specific situations (e.g., conflict resolution, reducing disciplinary problems). 4. It teaches virtues, values, and principles: a. Directly (e.g., knowledge of moral ideas, of examples and heroes) b. Indirectly (e.g., role modeling, literary examples) c. As important in themselves d. As supporting and promoting academic achievement in reading, math, science, and other subjects e. In engagement in wider school activities and events 5. Character Education professional development for teachers, administrators, and staff: a. Promotes positive school and student outcomes b. Enhances adult skills and character qualities 6. In addition, community and parent involvement deepens and broadens support for Character Education. In school, Character Education must be approached comprehensively to include the emotional, intellectual, and moral qualities of a person or group. It must offer multiple opportunities for students to learn about, discuss, and enact positive social behaviors. Student leadership and involvement are essential for character education to become a part of a student’s actions and beliefs. For successful implementation, schools are encouraged to: • Take a leadership role in bringing faculty, staff, students, parents, and community leaders together to identify and define elements of character they want emphasized • Provide training on how to integrate