>  Character Education Lesson Plan Bank

The Big Book of Judgment

Overview

Through discussion and making a book with written examples and artwork, students learn about judging fairly, weighing the difference between good and poor judgment, and practicing fairness.

Materials

• Bulletin board
• Paper (one sheet for each student to create a page of his/her own)
• Crayons, colored pencils, or marking pens for each student
• Large photo album or three-ring binder (you may also make your own binder using cardstock for front and back covers and metal rings to bind pages together)
• Laminating machine (to laminate book pages)

Procedure

Prepare a bulletin board titled "Making Fair Judgments" with words and phrases like "good judgment," "poor judgment," "equal treatment," and "unjust decision." Discuss these words and solicit definitions from students.

Assemble a book focusing on these words and phrases. Use a large photo album or three-ring notebook that can accommodate work from each student (or make your own binder). Use these guidelines:

1. Reserve one page for each youngster in the classroom or group.
2. Divide the page in half with "good judgment" on one side and "poor judgment" on the other. Have each youngster produce a statement and illustration about fairness under both headings. Suggest that they use examples of fair or unfair treatment they’ve witnessed or have been involved in.
3. Write "Big Book of Judgment" on the cover. If possible, have it laminated.
4. Discuss each example. Ask why each was fair or unfair and how better judgment might have been exercised.
5. Display the book on a table under the bulletin board. Include a comment sheet in the back and encourage readers to make comments.

Adapted from the Sweet Home Central School District’s Values Education Handbook (Amherst, NY). Used with permission.

This lesson is from the Good Ideas book, available for purchase from the CHARACTER COUNTS! online store: http://www.charactercounts.org/materials

Life Skills 

Standard 5. Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques.

Level II, Benchmark 1. Identifies issues and problems in the school or community that one might solve.

http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/