Character Education Remix

If we are going to talk about character, then I need to be honest.  I love having fun in my job, and I often have no problem making a fool of myself in the process. It is clear that I was meant to be an elementary school counselor because the students still think I am cool no matter what crazy idea I try during their lessons.  I realize this fact would probably not be the case in middle or high school, so I'm thankful to be working with little ones who reward me with hugs no matter what.  Here are some fun ways you can spice up your character education lessons if you want to try something new!

Fairness - Judge Poovey

 It's amazing how excited students get when you come into their room in character.  For my Fairness lessons in second and third grades, I donned my graduation robe (knew that would come in handy again), borrowed a blow-up gavel, and transformed into JUDGE POOVEY to teach students what it means to be fair. We linked fairness to situations at our school and to situations in the news (Lance Armstrong) to decide what is fair and unfair.  Then, students brainstormed fair behaviors they should use at recess, in the classroom, at home, and on a team.  The best part, however, was when I entered and exited to the People's Court music using my IPAD, some external speakers, and an adapter.


People's Court Music

If you have an Ipad and want to play music during a lesson so that students can hear it, you just need a few things:  an external speaker that has a power cord with one USB end, an Ipad Camera Connection kit (or any adapter that can plug in and has a USB slot), and your Ipad.  Here is a picture to show how I set it up. 

Respect Rap

Another way I have used music to hook students at the beginning of a lesson is with the Respect Rap, an AWESOME YouTube Video that was created in neighboring Chapel Hill by the Fearless Lions at Frank Porter Graham Elementary.  Students from Kindergarten thru fifth grade absolutely  LOVE this video! It can be used in a respect lesson for character education, or I often use it when starting my bullying unit.  We spend a lesson talking about respect so that students will understand what replacement behaviors they should be showing if they are having a problem with conflict or bullying.  I always say that if we are only showing respect, we would never even have to talk about bullying.

Movie Video Clips -  Honesty and Courage

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video clip must be worth a million.  Any educator who has taught in school has seen how students perk up whenever they get to see a movie or video clip as part of instruction.  Again, I think that using video clips as a "hook" to start a lesson or illustrate a point can be really powerful for students (and teachers).  Here are a few that I have used this year for different character lessons.

Pinocchio:   I use this video clip to introduce the character trait of honesty.  I tell the students they are going to guess which character trait we will be discussing that day and then let them watch it.  We relate Pinnochio's nose growing to consequences you can receive at school and at home when you lie or steal. 

A Bug's Life:  If you start the video around 2:07 and show it for a short amount of time, you will see Flick and the princess show courage to stand up for themselves and the other ants.  I also made this cute activity sheet for my kindergarten students to help relate the lesson to their lives following this video and other discussion.

There is so much more to say about games, experiments, and more video clips, but I will leave that for another post. Happy Counseling!

                                                                 Angela