Our Centers for Ethics:

Weekly writing prompt

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April 12 – 18, 2009 Wanted: Students with Solutions "That's not fair!" Young people — and adults — say it all the time. But how often do any of us develop and implement solutions to unfair situations? Use the quotes and scenarios below to help students write stories about how they pursue justice and save the day.

Write or discuss it! Foundations for Life gives teachers an easy way to improve students' critical thinking and composition skills. Each of these weekly prompts comes with a maxim illuminating an ethical issue. Students can analyze it and apply it to current events and their own lives, through discussion or writing. Each prompt also references at least one of the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. As a result, students can easily tie the author’s words to community values. Suggestions for using the prompts:

• Read the biographies in the Teacher’s Resource.
• Present the maxim to the students.
• Briefly discuss:
  •   What did the author mean?
  •   Can you think of ways the statement applies to something in your life?
• Point out the Pillar related to the maxim.
• Present the writing prompt to the students and have them answer these questions in their draft book or other format.

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Elementary level

"Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched."
– Aesop, legendary Greek author of fables (6th century B.C.)

Focus Pillar: Fairness
Today is your birthday and you are bringing treats to the class! As you are carrying the box of sprinkled cupcakes, two fall out and land on the ground. Now you don't have enough for the whole class, but you still want to celebrate your birthday. How will you handle this situation, making sure everyone in the class gets a treat? Write a story including the following:

• A clear description of your feelings throughout the day
• Adjectives describing the events in the story
• How you will solve the problem
• The main and supporting characters involved

Secondary level

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
– Theodore Roosevelt, adventurer and Nobel Prize-winning 26th U.S. president (1858-1919)

Focus Pillar: Fairness
You are the coordinator of a graduation dinner where parents, teachers and your fellow students will be dining and accepting awards. At the last minute, you find that there are not enough chairs, and the caterers did not bring enough food. And this is just the beginning! Write a short story about how you creatively deal with a string of mishaps and prevent the dinner from becoming a fiasco. Be sure to include:

• Story elements
• Sensory language
• Dialogue

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