Get a 'Hand'le on Your Character-A Character Education Lesson

"Teaching kids to be good people."  To me, this small but mighty sentence, sums up my job description.  I strive to make sure my students are honest, accountable, responsible, respectful, and all of those other great character traits.

I am in charge of my school's character education program.  It was developed by a former counselor in our building many years ago, and still stands strong today.  Our character education program relies heavily on volunteers from the community to come teach lessons once a month.  Every classroom has a volunteer who comes to teach them a lesson that I have prepared.  I have around 30 volunteers that I depend on each month to help make this program successful.

How this works:
1.  Theme:  Think of a theme at the beginning of the year.  (You could also just use a different character trait each month.)  This year I am using the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens as my lesson plan skeleton.

2.  Gather volunteers:  I have many parents and many local pastors.  I ask staff to help me recruit.  I have it posted on the school website and on fliers around the school.  I also announce the opportunity at orientations.
3.  Communicate regularly:  email your volunteers regularly about upcoming dates and important information.
4.  Create Lesson:  I try to make my lessons very interactive, easy-to-follow (since so many people will be teaching the same lesson) and meaningful
5.  Email Lesson:  I email the lesson at least one week before the lesson date
6.  Room Assignment:  I place one volunteer in each room. I ask the volunteers if they have any room placement requests.  I try to honor those as best I can.
7.  Staff Communication:  I email the lesson to all staff members.  If any technology is being used int he lesson, I ask them to check the sound and program prior to the lesson date.
8.  Review:  On the day of the lesson, I meet with all volunteers to make sure I have all rooms covered, and to review the lesson before they teach.
9.  Teach:  All volunteers go to their designated classroom to teach the same lesson for 30 minutes.  All students receive the same lesson at the same time.

This is a lot of work, but it is so powerful to hear the kids and staff talk about the lessons.  It is something all students need...character development.  I mean, you really can't get enough of that!

The first lesson this year was an overview of teacher and student expectations of each other.  I worked with some members of the staff to create a fun video to present to the kids.