CHARACTER COUNTS! ACTIVITY MATRIX

GRADE

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER/

DECEMBER

JANUARY

FEBRUARY/ MARCH

APRIL

MAY

Pillar

Responsibility

Caring

Respect

Trustworthiness

Fairness

Citizenship

1st

Puppets/skits

Little Red Hen

Know address, phone number, birthdate

Daniel’s Dog

Kiss for Little Bear

Loving

Peter’s Chair

My Best Friend

Writing activities about caring hearts

Six Pillar Shuffle

Ira Sleeps Over

Best Friends for Francis

George and Martha

Frog and Toad

Hands & feet to self

Strega Nona

Make pots of trustworthiness

Build towers of trust

Principal’s New Clothes

Recess Queen

Peter’s Chair

Rainbow Fish

Skits on playground rules based on sharing and fairness

Pick up litter around school, halls, classroom

Plant flowers

The Greedy Python

2nd

Classroom jobs

Responsibility slips

Amazing Grace

Make Way for Duckling

Write kindness letters to classmates

Caring slips

Letters to relatives

Food for families

Gift baskets

Freckles and Willie

Read plays & literature

Prepare posters, thank you cards

Respectful behavior tickets

Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Perform a play

Simulation activities involving trust

Play Go Fish (talk about the rules)

Special award certificates

Nate the Great

Discuss cheating

Simulation involving dividing food fairly (equal, merit, effort, seniority, need)

Big Orange Spot

Create citizenship flag

Create cards for armed forces

Create poster of people showing ways to be good citizens

3rd

Read Excuses, Excuses and talk about being accountable for our actions, assignments and supplies

A Picture Book of Eleanor Roosevelt

Students write thank you notes to custodians, lunch supervisors.

The Recess Queen

Discuss gratitude

Respect slips

Washington’s Rules of Civility

Angel Child Dragon Child

Practice listening

Big, Fat, Enormous Lie

Create Truth and Lie monsters

“What would you do if

How to handle a problem

The Deal

Teammates and discuss challenges Jackie Robinson faced

Words in Our Hands

Create “citizenship hands”

Just a Dream

The Lorax

Find articles in newspapers

4th

Grandfather Tang’s Story

“The Finger of Blame”

Discuss intrinsic and extrinsic rewards

School-wide food drive

Hundred Penny Box

Donate books to needy

Stone Fox

Miss Nelson is Missing

Chysanthemum

Chester’s Way

Smoky Night

Teacher role play

RESPECT acrostic poem

Emperor’s New Clothes

A Day’s Work

Discussions, scenarios and questions

Journal entry reflections

Fair and unfair games in math

Recess discussion

MLKing Jr.

Rechenka’s Eggs

Babuska’s Doll

Rights vs. responsibilities

A Picnic in October

Service project

5th

Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul Overcoming Obstacles

Collect news articles showing responsibility

Make trail mix and go to fire station. Place in decorated bags with caring phrases

Bookmarks

Books for younger students

How we show respect to others

Public Scene with Eugene

Moral Courage Treasure Hunt

Role play

The Legend of Beggar Vance

Create posters “Are You Fair”

Movie – “Bridge to Terabithia”

The Sneetches

Play games (some not by rules) discuss

Discuss citizenship in classroom

Quotes