Our character trait this month is on being responsible. When thinking about responsibility inwardly, I think about goal setting, being organized, protecting our planet & managing my duties (at school, home & in my community). I broke this character trait up into five separate lessons.
Week 1: The backpack scavenger hunt
Responsibility - taking charge of yourself & facing the consequences of your actions
Hands on activity:
Purpose - By taking part in the scavenger hunt and working in small groups, students can be reminded of how they show responsibility by being organized in their lives.
Materials –
1. two backpacks filled with the following materials (NOTE: one backpack will be neatly organized while the other will be messy)
2. an assortment of items in your classroom. I have included a list of what I put in mine (just make sure that both back packs have the exact same items in each of them)
Procedure -
1. Ask students what they think responsibility is; then share the above definition with them.
2. Divide the class into two teams
3. Show the groups both backpacks and then hand one to each team
4. Tell the students that they are to find the items listed above, set the timer and have them start (the team with the organized backpack should finish first)
Discussion Questions:
1. Why did one of the teams finish the activity first?
2. Why is being organized important in school?
Exit Ticket:
If you were organized that would save you about 2 minutes per day, just enough time to recheck your work, 14 minute in a week, enough time to read a chapter or two in your new favorite book, and about 56 minutes a month. What would you do what that extra time?
week #2:
Chart what kinds of responsibilities the students have in their classes.
I start the lesson off with a large piece of paper (you can use a white/blackboard as well) with the words "My Responsibilities" written across the top. I talk to my students about my own responsibilities at home, at my job, to myself, and for our environment. I then make the following subtitles and we discuss their responsibilities.
1. At home
2. At school
3. to myself
4. to the environment
We role play the different responsibilities and in small groups/teams of 2-3 students. I have them practice what they would do if something occurred to disrupt their responsibilities.
Example of a role play:
A new movie you and your best friend are dying to see has just opened up, and your friends wants the two of you to see it this Saturday. The trouble is, your science project is due on Monday, and you and your project partner agreed you would spend Saturday gathering plants in the park. What should you do?
At the end of each role play we talked about the different feelings that come with responsibility: stress, disappointment, frustration, etc.
Week 3: Postcard activity (to be taught around New Years)
I laid several postcards around the room each with a different picture on it. I asked the students to (in silence) find a card that represented how they feel about starting the New Year and the new responsibilities they are taking on.
When everyone had a card we broke into small groups and shared the card we choose and why.
Next I asked everyone to set 3 goals for themselves: 1) Something they could accomplish this week. 2) Something they could accomplish in the next 2 months. (I like to remind them of their work habits pre-test) 3) Something they wanted to accomplish by the end of this school year.
We then shared our goals with our small group and then with the entire class. I collected the cards and will give them to our students in two months with a personal check-in note written on each.
**You can do this as an icebreaker with faculty and with older grades, it is also an awesome beginning of the year lesson. Participants can complete them as they would an actual postcard and I mail it to their homes half way through the year.
Lesson #4:
We continue our talk of responsibility and add in the word "stress".
First in groups they draw what it feels like to be stressed. Then each group shares and we look for similarities that we all have.
Next we watch the Brain Pop on stress and at the end they go back to their drawings and surround themselves with things they can do to help alleviate their stress.
To finish our series we take the same work habits post test and see if we have improved!
Lesson #5 Environmental responsibilities
Discussion: write POLLUTION on your whiteboard or chalkboard. Have students use their prior knowledge to describe some specific environmental problems that fall into this category.
Pass out copies of the Identify the Problem Activity Sheet to students. Read the introduction as a class. Explain that students will use the Internet to research one of the environmental problems they listed on the board. Then they’ll use the graphic organizer to explore the problem, its causes and effects, and solutions.
As students work, have them consider the following:
1. Are people responsible for or contributing to this problem? How?
2. Who or what does this environmental problem impact? How does this happen?
3. What don’t we know about this problem?
4. Are you personally curious about anything related to this issue?
If you have more time: I love showing my students the following pictures, we think, pair, share about them as a group.
Week 6: Environmental Stewardship
Step 1: Explain that people’s actions affect the environment. People can have a negative influence—or a positive one—on the world around them. One way to help solve issues facing the planet is by practicing environmental stewardship.
Ask:
1. What do you think environmental stewardship is? (The responsible use and protection of the natural world.)
2. What are some ways people could put environmental stewardship into action in their homes? Schools? Community?
Step 2: Caring for the entire planet might seem like too big of a task. But if many people make small changes in their own lives to help the environment together, they can make a big impact.
Share the following examples with your class.
Then show how environmental stewardship can work on a large scale.
1. Of the 254 million tons of trash Americans create each year, it’s estimated that 75 percent could be recycled. But we currently recycle just 34 percent of that amount.
2. Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons each year to circle Earth 300 times! If people were to stop using these disposable items, it would reduce a huge amount that would end up in landfills.
Step 3: Introduce students to a scientist who has made environmental stewardship her life’s mission. Read the following passage out loud. If students are interested in finding out more, you can recommend they read the book Jane Goodall by Jodie Shepherd, C. Press/F. Watts Trade (2015).
As a young girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of working with wild animals. When she was 26, Goodall was offered the chance to study chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa. She spent the next 25 years researching the apes in their natural habitat. She made important discoveries about the animals’ lives, such as how they raise their young and use tools. Goodall saw that chimpanzees and their homes were under threat. The same thing was happening to other animals all over the world. So Goodall created a program called Roots & Shoots. It encourages kids to create community projects to protect the planet.
Step 4: After you are done reading, share this video with students. Jane Goodall offers advice for kids on environmental stewardship: youtube.com/watch?v=skAbsyRkCLg.
After reading about Goodall and watching the video, ask students:
1. What environmental issue was Goodall concerned about?
2. How did she get others involved?
3. What advice did she give to kids?
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