SEPTEMBER

Pillar Overview

<        Divide the class into groups. Have each group develop a list of do's and don'ts for each pillar. Address these questions: What happens when people live in accordance with these guidelines. What happens when they don’t? In what ways can/do young people demonstrate upholding the pillar?

October

Responsibility

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Have students search "responsibility" on the Internet. Make a list of resources. Create a Responsibility Web Page with links to these resources. E-mail this list to websites recommending a link.

<         Students describe a situation they have faced. What are possible choices? Pros and cons for each choice. What course of action? What was the outcome?

<         Making Excuses Skit

NOVEMBER/

DECEMBER

Caring

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Select caring characters from literature as role models

<         Write a thank you note to someone in the community who did something very caring

<         Write two headings on the board: Caring and Uncaring. List things under these headings. Discuss what it would take to move all of the items from the uncaring column into the caring column.

JANUARY

Respect

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Playing Card Hierarchy

<         Role play some typical situations in which disrespectful behavior leads to hostility and maybe even violence. Then, change one of the disrespectful actions into one of respect and see how the outcome changes.

<         Conduct a survey in your school or community, asking questions like these. Do you think people are respectful enough? What are some disrespectful acts that are annoying? Examples of respectful acts?

FEBRUARY/MARCH

Trustworthiness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Select a trustworthy character in literature or history. Discuss specific behavior that reflects honesty, integrity, loyalty,  promise-keeping

<         Have students find news articles of individuals who were untrustworthy

<         Have students watch a movie or TV show, paying attention to behavior of the characters. How much trustworthy behavior did they find? Untrustworthy behavior?

<         Read the biography of Maya Angelou

APRIL

Fairness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Invite a judge to come and talk to your class about how he/she makes a fair decision in the courtroom.

<         You own a business. If you have to let one person go, how would you decide?

<         Conduct a vote on who will get dismissed from the class first, boys or girls, the catch being girls can’t vote. Students write an essay on fairness of democracy in which voting rights are restricted.

MAY

Citizenship

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Assign a biography of a historical hero

<         Have a class election or referendum in which students vote on group decisions

<         Invite community leaders to present and discuss community needs and issues. Develop a plan to improve one situation

SEPTEMBER

Pillar Overview

<         Divide the class into groups. Have each group develop a list of do's and don'ts for each pillar. Address these questions: What happens when people live in accordance with these guidelines. What happens when they don't? In what ways can/do young people demonstrate upholding the pillar?

October

Responsibility

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Bring a high school graduate to speak with your class about transition to college or work. How has good character helped in the adjustment

<         Make arrangements for students to visit lower-grade classes to teach a character lesson.

<         Share a personal hero and tell the students why he/she still is your hero

NOVEMBER/

DECEMBER

Caring

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Watch a movie or TV program, and then write about how the actions of the characters demonstrated either caring or uncaring. Write a critique of an uncaring character, suggesting how he or she could have been a more caring person.

<         Write a thank you note to a historic figure, for instance, Florence Nightingale, to thank her for what she did.

<         Folding Heart

JANUARY

Respect

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Have students write when they were disrespectful to someone. Why did it happen? Was it the right thing to do? What were consequences? How did it make the other person feel? What was learned from the experience?

<         Brainstorm ways to make the school more respectful. Make recommendations and put them in the school paper or on a poster.

<         Read the biography of Cesar Chavez

FEBRUARY/MARCH

Trustworthiness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Tower of Trust

<         Write an essay describing what this society might be like if nobody were trustworthy, if suspicion, dishonesty, and betrayal were the norm, if nobody could be counted on to keep commitments.

<         Write about someone you trust. Why do you trust that person? How important is that trust to you? How do you reciprocate?

<         Read the biography of Elie Wiesel

APRIL

Fairness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Research and write about how the legal system in a democracy attempts to administer fairness or justice. What are the elements of the legal system that are designed to make justice work?

<         Fairness Tower

<         Have students think about a time when they had a problem with someone else that turned into a conflict. Reasons for the problem? What were the feelings of each person? How could the problem have been solved?

MAY

Citizenship

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Select a service project to improve your school or community

<         Interview people who are making a difference in the community.

<         What would a good citizen do?

SEPTEMBER

Pillar Overview

<         Divide the class into groups. Have each group develop a list of do's and don'ts for each pillar. Address these questions: What happens when people live in accordance with these guidelines. What happens when they don’t? In what ways can/do young people demonstrate upholding the pillar?

October

Responsibility

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Have students write about the relationship between being in MS and responsibility. How does responsibilities differ for their age and for older adults? How has sense of responsibility changed as they get older? What age are we totally responsible and accountable for our actions?

<         Share why you’re a teacher and explain the responsibility of the profession

<         Responsibility Role Play

NOVEMBER/

DECEMBER

Caring

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Pepper Experiment

<         Have students identify a charity, collect donations and administer distribution of goods or funds

<         Brainstorm ways to make the school more caring. Make recommendations, and place them in your school paper or on a poster. Find a way to deal with the cynics who will sneer at the whole idea.

JANUARY

Respect

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         Speak No Evil Day

<         How does government "of, by, and for the people" depend on respect? Write an essay connecting democracy and respect. How is listening to other points of view a sign of respect and a cornerstone of democracy? How does democracy rely upon mutual respect among people? How is democracy related to respect for the individual?

<         Read the biography of Nelson Mandela

FEBRUARY/MARCH

Trustworthiness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         2 Truths and a Lie

<         Keep a journal for a month that focuses on your relationships with your friends and family in the area of trustworthiness. If there are things that displease you, develop some ideas for improving the situation.

<         Have students write an essay and make persuasive arguments to convince students not to cheat.

<         Read the biography of AC Green

APRIL

Fairness

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         As a class, make the following two lists: a list of things we sometimes do in our personal lives that are unfair, and a list of things we do as a society that are unfair. What could be done to rectify these injustices so we can cross them off the list? Whose responsibility is it to correct the injustices in our society? How could you contribute to the effort? How could we do better in our personal lives?

<         Bring in articles from newspapers and magazines describing situations in which fairness and justice is an issue.

MAY

Citizenship

<         Quotations – Discussion and journaling

<         Literature connection or hero project

<         In ancient Greece, people felt that it was important for all people to try to leave Athens better than they found it. Write an essay in which you apply this principle to your own community.

<         Have students design posters that promote good citizenship

<         Read biography of Nadine Gordimer