What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...

Students explore the concept of courage, both in themselves and in others. In this history and character education lesson, students discuss the characteristics of courage and what it means and how one can show it. Students listen to...

Read and analyze the novel, Ransom of Redchief. They identify the elements of character development, and participate in a mock trial, creating the witnesses through the use of character development.

Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...

Explore character traits using this resource. After reading the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, learners fill in a graph identifying character traits. Then, they write and put on a skit. This resource provides a motivating way to...

There is not a clear purpose for this resource. It seems to be partly an exploration of self-discipline and a discussion of the myth The Dancing Horses of Sybaris. If a class was studying this myth, it could be altered, and corrected in...

Students explore how to build their character by respecting and appreciating various cultures. In this character education lesson plan, students read the book Seedfolks and answer questions based on the character's cultural backgrounds....

Students explore signs and types of bullying. For this "building character" lesson, students listen to several read alouds based on a bully theme. Four groups are formed to discuss "gossip", "exclusion", "physical bullying", and "verbal...

Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

Use websites to read stories about heroes. The "My Hero" website provides skills and reading materials to help your class analyze sequence and story parts. They put the events in order to show the correct sequence of events.

Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this cross curriculum literacy and character development lesson plan, students read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and note charitable acts described in the story. Students relate...

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...

Students identify bias in books. In this character education lesson plan, students read a text and discuss any gender or racial bias which may be present. Students retell and rewrite the story in a fair way.

Learners create a photo essay. In this lesson encouraging self-expression, students view and reflect upon photo essays. Then, they go out into the community and create their own photo essay complete with captions. Learners publish their...

A 10-lesson unit takes high schoolers through a novel study of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To start, students learn about Fitzgerald's background and gain historical context that prepares them for a reading of the book. The...

It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...

Students explore relationships between story characters. In this story elements and reading comprehension lesson, students generate character traits of the characters in Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Students describe...

Young scholars read short stories that are related to adolescent issues and behaviors. In groups, they review the elements of a short story and vocabulary they might need while reading. To end the lesson, they read "Sir Tatton Sykes"...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Students compare the Native American version of Cinderella to the more popular version they know. They compare legends with fairy tales and explore character traits and discuss the meaning of good character. They write a fairy tale of...

Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters.  In this character writing lesson, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....

Young scholars read about character education in stories online. In this character education lesson, students complete activities about making good choices and sign a pledge to be a good person.

At the beginning of this Halloween lesson, learners generate a list of spooky characters and words that they will use when creating their original stories. Teams of 3-4 members create the stories together. The lesson includes a handy...

Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...