This character education mini-lesson is not intended to be a service learning lesson or to meet the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. The character education units will be most effective when taught in conjunction with a student-designed service project that provides a real world setting in which students can develop and practice good character and leadership skills.  For ideas and suggestions for organizing service events go to www.generationon.org.

Anticipatory Set: 

Teacher: Have you ever promised to be responsible for  something, had every intention of doing it, but it slipped your mind or you weren't on time in doing what you said you'd do? (Show of hands) Today, we're going to look at being responsible/dependable.

• Teacher:  I'd like you to imagine this situation. You're expected to come home immediately after school to unlock the door for your younger brother and sister whose school gets out later than yours. You know you have a good twenty minutes before you absolutely must be home, so when your friend invited you to walk to his/her house to see the new video game/new outfit, you guess you can do that and still be home in time. In fact, because you and your friend stop to talk with friends on the way to his/her house, you lose track of time and only realize you're already late in getting home when you arrive at your friend's house. Your brother and sister may have already been home, standing outside, for 5 or 10 minutes. You wonder what you should do. Your anxiety increases as you wonder if they are all right. You start thinking about what your family will say. What will you do?
• Refer to the headers on the board (choices, decisions, consequences). Tell the students to think about the scenario and then write on paper answers to the following questions (they may make columns like the chart on the board):
  • What choices do you have?
  • What decision will you make?
  • What are the possible consequences [conclusions following specific actions] of your decision?
• Allow 4 minutes, and then have students pair up and share their answers. Allow 5 minutes.
• Ask one pair to share their three answers while you record their responses in the appropriate columns on the board. Ask for another pair to share their different answers. Ask for others to share any different answers they came up with. Record all of the possible choices, decisions, and consequences on the chart.  Allow 6 minutes.
• Teacher:  Looking at these different choices, decisions, and consequences, which appears most responsible? Why? Allow 4 minutes for students to respond.
• Teacher:  Please think about what you have learned about the relationship between responsibility and dependability [can be counted on to follow through] today. Your ticket out of class will be your individual response to me. (Teacher stands by the door and hears each person's written or verbal comment)