Lesson 1: Classroom Rules

Exemplars Lesson 1

Children need guidelines which define appropriate and inappropriate behavior and are based on themes of respect, cooperation, and responsibility. The rules should be developed with students under the teacher's guidance. Developing classroom rules with students empower them with creating a positive classroom environment where all can learn and grow. For this lesson the teacher will decide consequences for breaking classroom rules.

Objective: Students will collaborate with class members while developing a list of classroom rules.

Lesson 2: Characterization

Exemplars Lesson 2

After classroom rules are established, students will begin exploring character traits. This introductory lesson provides students with a basic understanding of characterization and connects this knowledge to characters from Dream Chaser stories.

Objective: Students will discover that character traits define a person's unique personality. Using this knowledge, students will generate a list of character traits, define them, and cite examples of story characters who possess these traits.

Lesson 3: Character Education
(Character Traits)

Exemplars Lesson 3

Understanding of characterization will be enhanced as students read a novel and explore how personality influences decisions made by storybook characters.

Objective:
Students will identify positive and negative traits, evaluate how traits define the character's unique personlity, and explain their effect on the character's actions in the story.

Lesson 4: Character Education
(Character Portraits)

Exemplars Lesson 4

Understanding of characterization will be enhanced as students self-reflect on their character traits.

Objective:
Students will analyze character traits by identifying personal strengths and areas they perceive as weaknesses.

Lesson 5: Character Education
(Character Traits of Historical Figures)

Exemplars Lesson 5

Objective:
Students will evaluate positive character traits of historical figures and recognize how these traits enabled the individual to make favorable contributions to the world.

Lesson 6: Conflict Resolution

Once students identify positive character traits, the next step is to employ them when faced with conflict.

Objective:
Students will explore being peacemakers as they learn conflict resolution techniques

Lesson 7: Conflict Resolution
( Role Play)

Students will reflect on disputes they may encounter in school thus providing an authentic context to apply conflict resolution.

Objective:
Students will present role plays identify the positive/negative traits of the participants and use conflict mediation techniques demonstrating peaceful resolution.

Lesson 8 - Sharing with School Community - Part 1

In this lesson, students will extend and share "Caring Kids" themes with other members of the school community.

Objective:
Students will present conflict mediation role play scenarios to second grade students.

Lesson 9 - Sharing with School Community - Part 2

Exemplars Lesson 9

This lesson provides another opportunity to share and further develop positive school community.

Objective:
Students will share ideas with the school community by collaborating with their second grade buddies and writing a book. They will also create posters to be displayed around cafeteria.

Lesson 10 - Reflection

Exemplars Lesson 10

Objective:
Students will reflect on what they learned during this unit by responding to a writing prompt.