Decorate Your School!

• Six Pillars of Character signs
• Character quotations for CC! Week
• Each class could decorate their room or door. (Have a contest for the best decorations!)
• Visit our store for banners and posters.

Theme Days

• Click here for some ideas.
• Everyone wears the same color each day to highlight one of the Six Pillars. Or, pick one day during the week, and each grade/class wears a different color.

  

Recognizing students who show good character and make positive choices is an important part of character education and a great way to celebrate CHARACTER COUNTS! Week. Here are a few ideas:

• Use these free CC! Week certificates:
  • Trustworthiness certificate
  • Respect certificate
  • Responsibility certificate
  • Fairness certificate
  • Caring certificate
  • Good Citizenship certificate
• Look for ways to acknowledge as many students as possible!
• Ask teachers to tell each of their students which Pillar of Character the student excelled at that week.
• Highlight one student from each class every day in front of the whole school.
• Ask students to nominate someone who shows trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, or good citizenship.
• Extend this idea – ask students to write about someone whose character they admire.
• Check out our awards and incentives.

For quick activities anytime, pick one of the Six Pillars of Character and give students opportunities to practice that skill or discuss it. Here are a few examples (that you can adapt for your grade level) focused on caring.

We show caring by being kind, compassionate, grateful, and forgiving others.

• Ask students to write a character compliment about someone else in the class. They can hand deliver it, or you can collect and hand them out.
• Students can write notes of gratitude to school faculty or staff. Read the short thank you notes over the PA throughout the day.
• Have a class discussion about someone in history who showed compassion or forgiveness.
• Ask students to journal about someone they know who exemplifies caring.

CC! Week Worksheets

• Six Pillar Match
• What Does Each Pillar Look Like?
• Prompts for each Pillar:
  • Primary grades
  • Elementary
  • Secondary

CBS News and CHARACTER COUNTS! are proud to present Kindness 101, a collection of complimentary K-12 lessons to teach character, social-emotional, and academic skills.

Each lesson features a short video originating from CBS News’ On the Road series with Steve Hartman. Students and educators easily connect to the heartwarming and inspirational stories featured in the videos.

Along with the video, we’ve provided activities, discussion and journal prompts, family connections, and a Google Slides deck. You may even find lessons written by teachers at schools near you!

Check out the video library.

Educators love CHARACTER COUNTS! because it can be customized to your class or school. It’s also easy to weave values like the Six Pillars of Character into your current academic lessons.

Quotations for journal or discussion prompts

• Elementary
• Middle/High School

Integrate the Pillars into Subject Areas

• Review your upcoming lesson plans and look for examples of character. Choose discussion/journaling prompts or activities based on what you’re already planning on teaching. Here are a few examples:
  • Language Arts: Consider the books you are reading. Which characters show respect? Which characters don’t? Have any characters made an important decision? Did their decision reflect good character?
  • Social Studies: Who are historical figures who were trustworthy? What made them trustworthy? How do character skills impact the citizens of our world?
  • Math: Look back on their last lesson. Ask students which character skills they demonstrated while learning new concepts. Which skills make them more successful?
  • Heath/PE/Wellness: Ask students what character skills they need to have a healthy lifestyle.

Daily Challenges (K-5)

Click here to download daily challenges for your elementary students. 

Integrity Ball (Grades 6-12)

This activity allows students to practice trustworthiness and fairness.

You’ll need a ball for students to toss around. A NERF-sized ball generally works best. Have students stand in a circle.

1. Students will throw a ball around the circle. If students break one of the rules below, they are out of the game.
2. Each person is to interpret these rules for themself. Instruct students to step out of the circle (and out of the game) if they feel they have broken any of the rules.  No one decides for anyone else. Rules:
   1. Don’t make any sound.
   2. You can only move to catch or throw the ball.
   3. Don’t drop the ball.
   4. Don’t make a bad throw.
3. Play until you have one person remaining, then ask the following questions:
   1. Was there a time when you weren’t sure if you should pull yourself out? Did you stay go?
   2. Was there a time when you thought someone else should have pulled themselves out of the game (without saying names)?
4. Do as many rounds as appropriate for the group and see if anyone’s actions change.

Electricity (Grades 6-12)

Schools that emphasize character development and build a positive school culture are more likely to succeed when students, faculty, and staff build respectful and healthy relationships. This activity is a fun way for students to learn about each other.

1. You will need a ball for this game.
2. Divide your class in half. Label one half as “Team 1” and the other as “Team 2.”
3. Have Team 1 stand shoulder to shoulder, all facing the same direction.
4. Have Team 2 find a partner from Team 1 and stand directly across from them. There should be about 3 feet in between Team 1 and Team 2
5. Place the ball at the end of the line on the floor.
6. Pose a question for the pairs to discuss. Give 30-60 seconds to discuss. Use your own question, or use the ones provided below.
7. Once conversations are finished, explain to the teams that they will be working together to pass a high-five from the start of their line to the end of their line.
   1. The first person in line high-fives the next person in line, and so on.
   2. When the last person in each line has been given a high-five, they will attempt to be the first person to grab the ball.
   3. The first person to grab the ball after receiving the last high-five wins a point for their team.
8. Have Team 1 slide one person to their right, so all students have new partners; repeat the process.

Questions:

1. If you could go anywhere, where would you go on a vacation?
2. Who is your favorite musical artist right now?
3. What’s the best show you’ve seen on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc.?
4. Which of the Six Pillars is your strongest?
5. Which of the Six Pillars is your weakest?
6. Who is someone that you admire for their character?

In addition to the products in our store, we have lots of free resources available in our Digital Classroom.

We’ve selected a variety of activities that are great additions to your CHARACTER COUNTS! Week celebration.

You’ll find K-12 activities for

• Each of the Six Pillars of Character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship)
• Setting and achieving goals
• Growth mindset
• Good decision-making

Families impact kids’ character by being good role models who teach values and good decision-making.

CHARACTER COUNTS! Week is a great opportunity to distribute our Family’s Guide to Teaching Good Character.

Learn more about these guides and download your free copies here.

Helping your school and community demonstrates all of the Six Pillars of Character!

• Collect food for the local food bank.
• Ask students to donate new books to donate to a local children’s hospital.
• Ask non-profit organizations in your community how your students can help.
• Encourage students to pick up trash they see or take a few minutes to work together to help clean up a classroom, hallway, or another part of the school.

Social media is a great way to show your community and families how you’re celebrating CHARACTER COUNTS! Week. Plus, you’ll help other schools that are looking for new ideas!

Idea: you can even let your students take over your social media platforms! Or, post your students dancing to the Six Pillar Shuffle.

However you choose to share, be sure to tag us! We’re @CharacterCounts, on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok and @TheRayCenter on Instagram.