what is honesty? courage honesty example pages/courage program sa… · courage 10 topics 36+...

© Character Ed Tools

Lesson #1 What Is Honesty?

Honesty Workbook

10 Lessons

on

Honesty

Courage

10 Topics

36+ Lessons

on

Courage

Helping students analyze their fears and calculate risks in their efforts to achieve their goals.

15709 Arrow Highway, #2 Irwindale, CA 91706

626-960-6922 www.characteredtools.com [email protected]

Building a Foundation of Character

© 2011 Character Ed Tools All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form

without written permission from the publisher, with the exception of materials designed to be copied for individual classroom use.

Character Ed Tools

Character Ed Tools’ Vision

Empowering students to stand on a foundation of character so they may act responsibly when faced with difficult decisions.


Courage

Table of Contents

How To Use This Program

Daily Reflections On Courage

Lesson #1 ……….What is Courage?

Lesson #2 ……….Courage at School

Lesson #3 ……….Courage with Your Friends

Lesson #4 ……….Courage to Be Yourself

Lesson #5 ……….Courage in Hard Times

Lesson #6 ……….The Courage to Believe in Yourself

Lesson #7 ……….Facing the Bully with Courage

Lesson #8 ……….The Power of Encouraging Words

Lesson #9 ……….Courage to Take a Stand

Lesson #10 ………Courage in the Community

How To Use This Character Ed Tools Program

Overview The fear of failure, rejection and humiliation are just a few of the fears that can paralyze, discourage, or destroy our dreams. We could dare to challenge those fears, but too often the pressure seems too great and we look for an easy way out. Some become paralyzed by their fears while others turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. Many become discouraged, ineffective or depressed. This courage program is designed to help students recognize that everyone has fears and will encounter hardships. Those fears and the hard times force us to ask questions, explore new options, make responsible decisions, and break free from our comfort zones. Your students will discover that courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgment that something else is more important than fear. It’s making the decisions that are right for you and not the decisions that you think others want you to make. Living courageously means standing up to those bullying others, encouraging those who need help, saying “NO” to drugs and alcohol, and being a friend to those in need of one. This program will help you motivate your students to live courageously at school with their friends, their family, and in their community. Your students will be encouraged to live their lives to the fullest in spite of their fears. Your students will gain the confidence to move in the right direction with their lives, taking control of the challenges confronting them on a daily basis. This workbook will challenge your students to work hard, calculate the risks, and then courageously take action to reach their goals and dreams. This Character Ed Tool will help you present the character quality of courage to your students in an interesting and engaging way. We have broken the topic of courage into ten lessons with tons of ideas to get you and your students talking. We are excited about the opportunities you will have to help guide your students to learn how to live courageously. But more importantly, have loads of fun and enjoy your discussions concerning this significant character quality. Daily Reflections On Courage We have provided you with an opening comment on each lesson. Our vision is for the entire school to participate in learning more about courage. With that in mind, we wrote these daily reflections on courage as witty statements that could be given during your school’s morning announcements for ten days. If it is only your class going through this book, a great way to reinforce the messages on courage is to begin or end your class period reading these daily statements. Also, these reflections could be used, as a reminder for the students, weeks after you’ve ended your lessons on courage. Remember, we move in the direction of our dominant thoughts. Let’s make living courageously one of those dominant thoughts. However you decide to use these statements, we’re sure you’ll find these statements to be inspirational.


Lessons 1 Through 10

There are ten different topics on citizenship. The lessons under each topic are loaded with insights and thoughts to get your students talking for hours on end about courage. Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating a bit, but this will get your students talking.

Activities This program contains multiple activities for each lesson. Use as many of these ideas as time or resources permit. Our goal is simply to get your students talking, thinking, and acting on what they think and have learned about courage.

The Lessons

Each lesson is packed with thought-provoking content to get your students talking. An interesting comment is then followed by open class discussion. We think you’ll find it fun to see what your students think courage means and how their actions model courage and the drive for excellence. Tip for the teacher: Please remember that calling on students to verbally respond to any question from this program puts that student on the spot. The resulting tension can lead to a rushed response, a wild guess, or simply no response at all. Please give students 10-15 seconds between asking a question and asking a student to respond. This gives them time to formulate an answer. Help each student feel involved and encourage the others to practice good citizenship when listening to other students’ responses. Biographies, Historical Data, and Poems We thought you could use some real examples of people, historical events, and poems that demonstrate courage in different ways. With each lesson you’ll find a whole bunch of data on a real person, an event, or a poem that demonstrates courage.

Worksheets Several worksheets are provided for each lesson to get your students’ feedback as they reflect on what they have learned.

Some Legal Thoughts

Copyrights and all that jazz. You know the drill. These lessons are owned by Character Ed Tools, so don’t copy them. How fair would it be if you copied any of these lessons without permission? If you want more books or a license to use this program school-wide, just give us a yell, we’ve got solutions. But when it comes to those worksheets? Copy tons of the worksheets (well, perhaps not tons since we are supposed to be saving trees, but you get the idea). Let’s get those students writing and reflecting on what they have learned.


Daily Reflections On Courage LESSON 1: WHAT IS COURAGE?

What does it mean to live courageously? How does a courageous person approach their fears? Ambrose Redmoon once wrote, “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather that judgment that something else is more important than fear.”

LESSON 2: COURAGE AT SCHOOL Don’t lose hope in your ability to do well at school. You can become more than you are right now. The famous Green Bay Packers’ football coach, Vince Lombardi stated, “If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

LESSON 3: COURAGE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Your friends are either taking you closer to reaching your dreams or moving you farther away. It takes courage to stand up to the peer pressure moving you away from your goals. Choose your friends wisely and surround yourself with people who will encourage you to excel in positive directions, people who are helping you reach for your dreams.

LESSON 4: COURAGE TO BE YOURSELF Don’t let fear hold you back from trying something new. Live courageously and enjoy the adventure each day provides. Mark Twain put it this way, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

LESSON 5: COURAGE IN HARD TIMES Life isn’t always going to be easy. There will be those moments when you are going to say “why me?” It’s at those moments that you need to remember Winston Churchill’s words, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” You don’t have to stay where you are right here, right now. You can change. JP Morgan, an extremely wealthy American businessman, once said, “The first steps towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”


LESSON 6: COURAGE TO BELIEVE Don’t let fear paralyze you or hold you back from achieving all that you can be. Believe in yourself, try new things, learn, and explore. Andre Gide, a French Nobel Prize winner, once said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” The destination for your life may be just around the next corner, but you’ll never get there if you don’t have the courage to move around the corner. Walt Disney believed that, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

LESSON 7: FACING THE BULLY WITH COURAGE Aesop once wrote, “It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.” It’s easy to talk tough and feel strong from a distance isn’t it? But what happens when you’re face to face with the bullies in your world? Bertha Calloway suggested this, “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” Most bullies bully to get attention, to feel powerful, to get respect or to be in charge. We may not be able to change their need to feel this way but we can help them change how they go about getting those needs fulfilled.

LESSON 8: THE POWER OF ENCOURAGING WORDS An encouraging word can lift your spirit and empower you to excel and expand the vision you have for your life. Find those around you who will encourage you, those who will motivate you to reach for your dreams. Everyone needs a supportive friend like Winnie the Pooh who put it like this, “If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

LESSON 9: COURAGE TO TAKE A STAND

Taking a stand and putting your emotions or reputation on the line can be an incredibly intense and fearful moment. At times like that, take this advice from motivational speaker Betty Bender, “Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile...initially scared me to death.” It’s okay to have those fearful feelings. It’s a natural part of life. It’s at that moment that you need to exercise your courage to push past that fear, calculate the risks, and take a stand for what you believe.

LESSON 10: COURAGE IN THE COMMUNITY

It takes courage to look beyond your own self interest and act upon what you know is best for those

around you. Former President Harry S. Truman encouraged Americans to stay strong and press onward when he said, “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination,

and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”


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What is Courage? Lesson #1

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Objective:

To get your students thinking and talking about what courage means to them.

Lesson:

This lesson takes a look at what courage means to your students. It will spark discussion and motivate your students to consider what it means to take the risks necessary to live courageous lives.

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Set The Stage #1: What Does Courage Mean to You?

Activity: Time: 15 Minutes Materials: Dictionary Have the students look up the following words in a dictionary and talk about how each one may be applied at school, home, with friends, or in the community. Courage Brave Valor Gallant Intrepid Coward Fearful Anxious Noble Brazen Audacious Heroic The concept of what it means to live courageously may be quite different from person to person. A bold action for one individual may be an everyday activity to another.


Lesson #1 What is Courage?

Discussion: What do you think of when you hear that someone has acted courageously? Read the following quotes on courage and see how they compare to the image you have of what it means to be courageous. “You can gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear.” Ambrose Hollingsworth Remington “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Andre Gide “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I’ll try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher “Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill 1. It’s been said that “courage is not the absence of fear, but action despite the

fear.” What do you think? Talk about how you can be fearful and yet courageous.

2. What motivates someone to act courageously?

3. Discuss what it means to be courageous. At school? At home? With friends?



What Does Courage Mean to You? Lesson #1 – Worksheet for Stage #1

1) Write a simple statement of what you think it means to be courageous. 2) What motivates someone to act courageously? 3) What stops someone from acting courageous? 4) Winston Churchill said, “Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure

without losing enthusiasm.” How can you apply that to your life? 5) Walt Disney stated, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage

to pursue them.” How can you apply this statement to your life? This worksheet may be duplicated for educational purposes only. For more information regarding COURAGE or other Character Ed Tools programs please go to www.characteredtools.com or contact: Character Ed Tools, 15709 Arrow Hwy., Suite #2, Irwindale, CA 91706. (626) 960-6922. Character Ed Tools is a division of Camfel Productions, a non-profit company.


Set The Stage #2: The Courage to Take Risks

Activity: Time: 15 Minutes Materials: A Set of Dice Tell the students that today’s classroom work is worth ten points. In a moment you are going to roll the dice for today’s grade. If you roll the dice and get a 12 they will receive a score of 10 for the day. Any other number automatically gives them a zero. How many of the students are willing to risk today’s grade on the roll of a dice? How many would be willing to take the risk if a roll of 9 or above gave them a 10 point score? What if a roll of 6, 7 or 8 gave them 8 points? Greater rewards come to those willing to take bigger risks. However, it is wise to consider what the consequences are for those risks. Winners in life are those who consider the up and down side of their actions. They educate themselves and calculate their options to minimize the risk to ensure success.

“Fortune sides with him who dares.” Virgil

Discussion: When we meet successful people, we are tempted to envy them for their great luck. But luck had less to do with their success than their willingness to take a risk. Virgil, a Roman poet, stated it like this, “Fortune sides with him who dares.” Good fortune doesn’t come to us; we go to it by taking risks. Everyone wants to be successful but not everyone has the courage to take the risks necessary to succeed.

“Courage is a willingness to take a chance, try something new, move out of your comfort zone, to become something different than what you are right now. “ Michael Ziegler

Think about a time when you went to an amusement park or carnival. Did you simply stand there listening to all the sounds of the activities taking place around you? Did you gaze with amazement at what you saw but did nothing more? Or did you venture around the park, enjoy the rides, play the games, and sample the food? No doubt, you explored the opportunities presented to you at the park. You stepped out to try



something new, tested your limits, courageously took on new challenges and probably hesitated or withdrew from others. Our lives are just like that amusement park or carnival. Every day you have 86,400 seconds to make choices for where you will go and what you will do with your life. Every day you are standing at the crossroads with an option to merely watch and listen to what’s going on in the world around you, or you can make a decision to take a risk that may change the direction of your life. So what’s holding you back? Remember, good fortune won’t come to you, you must go after it. It’s up to you to summon the courage necessary to take the risk necessary to achieve your dreams. 1. Virgil, the Roman poet said, “Fortune sides with him who dares.” Talk about

how this is displayed in our country’s economic system. 2. What risks are you taking when you do well in school? Why do some people

pick on those who are excelling at their schoolwork? 3. What types of decisions could you be making today that will affect where you

will be in ten years? How will those decisions affect your good fortune?

“The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” Dale Carnegie “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot...and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why...I succeed.” Michael Jordan



The Courage to Take Risks Lesson #1 – Worksheet for Stage #2

1. Virgil, a Roman poet said, “Fortune sides with him who dares.” List two

examples which verify this statement in your community. 2. What does it take to get an “A” in math? What

does a person have to risk in order to acquire a better grade?

3. You have 86,400 seconds each day. How many of those seconds are you spending studying for school at home?

What percentage of your day is that? # of seconds studying ——————————- = 86,400 The percentage of your day studying is quite small compared to other

activities you participate in doing. How can taking a risk to spend more time studying increase your chances of good fortune in the future?

4. What types of decisions are you making today that will affect where you

will be ten years from now?

This worksheet may be duplicated for educational purposes only. For more information regarding COURAGE or other Character Ed Tools programs please go to www.characteredtools.com or contact: Character Ed Tools, 15709 Arrow Hwy., Suite #2, Irwindale, CA 91706. (626) 960-6922. Character Ed Tools is a division of Camfel Productions, a non-profit company.


Set The Stage #3: The Everyday Hero

Activity: Time: 15 Minutes Material: None Find out how many students would be willing to donate ten cents towards a school project or some type of charity. How many of them would be willing to donate fifty cents? How many will donate two dollars? How many of them would be willing to donate five dollars? How many would be willing to donate fifty dollars? How many would be willing to donate one hundred dollars? Sacrificing our money for a good cause has its limits. Our ability to give and our desire to give can be challenged by what we have and how willing we are to part with it. It takes courage to give something away that we would rather keep for ourselves.

Discussion: The French word for courage involves heart and spirit—an act of courage comes from the heart. With that in mind there are heroes all around you. They’re the people who sacrifice their time, energy, or money for those less fortunate. They felt compassion for one another and stepped in to ease their pain. They are everyday heroes. Everyday heroes are self-sacrificing individuals. They may not be facing great dangers or adversity, but their heroism comes from the heart, a desire to help those in need. Their kindness and generosity is freely given to those in need without requiring anything in return. They courageously step out of their comfort zone to make a difference in the lives of those around them. They open their eyes and their hearts to the needs of those around them. 1. Talk about the courage it takes to sacrifice time, energy, or money to help

someone in need. 2. Does it take an act of courage to tell someone they did a good job? How

about to tell someone you love them? 3. Discuss the courage it takes to give to those who are not very appreciative of

your efforts.



The Everyday Hero Lesson #1 – Worksheet for Stage #3

1) What does it take to be an everyday hero? 2) Describe a time when someone took time out of their day to help you.

What did they do and why do you think they did it? How did it make you feel?

3) We don’t often hear words of appreciation or love from those closest to

us. Why is it so difficult for people to express their emotions?

What can you do to summon the courage needed to express your emotions towards those around you?

This worksheet may be duplicated for educational purposes only. For more information regarding COURAGE or other Character Ed Tools programs please go to www.characteredtools.com or contact: Character Ed Tools, 15709 Arrow Hwy., Suite #2, Irwindale, CA 91706. (626) 960-6922. Character Ed Tools is a division of Camfel Productions, a non-profit company.


Women Air Force Service Pilots The WASP Pilots of World War II

The Air Force leadership believed that women couldn’t fly anything bigger than a small single prop plane. However, in 1942, the number of pilots needed was high and the number of qualified male pilots was diminishing. So the U.S. Air Force sent out a call for women pilots. The Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASP, program was born. Recruited to fill a manpower shortage, these women fliers were the first to train in U.S. military aircraft. They did everything except participate in combat. They flew bombardiers so male pilots could practice dropping bombs. They flew test planes, delivered supplies and piloted every plane the Air Force had in its arsenal. They were eager to prove their abilities to pilot these planes, even though they knew this opportunity came with certain inherent risks. Many of these courageous women paid the ultimate sacrifice of service to our country. Thirty-eight of them lost their lives during the war years. At the time, they were not even considered to be military personnel, yet they served their country with valor. In 1977 these women were finally granted the status of a military veteran. Carol Brinton Selfridge was a 24-year old mother of two daughters, ages 4 and 2, when World War II began. She had always dreamed of becoming a pilot. She admired what those pioneer pilots like Amelia Earhart or Jaqueline “Jackie” Cochran had done before her. Over 25,000 women joined the Air Force to become pilots. Just over 1,000 of these women entered the WASP program. These women courageously stepped out of their comfort zones and left their families behind to answer the “call of duty.” Their patriotism reflected the heart and mind of that era. Men and women from all across the country bravely stepped up to make a difference. General Schwartz believes these women positively benefited the war effort. He said, “These women demonstrated that our great nation benefits the most when it rightly harnesses the abundant energy, the generosity, and the talents of all of its citizens.” Carol Brinton Selfridge remembers how fun it was getting paid to fly. She enjoyed every minute of her service in the military. Nine months before the war ended, the WASP program was disbanded. The female fliers were told to go home at their own expense and not to talk about their achievements. The WASP program laid the foundation for female pilots in the Air Force today. General Henry Harley declared, “We have not been able to build an airplane that these women couldn’t fly. It is on the record that women can fly as well as men.” Their service blazed a trail for women pilots in the military. General Schwartz stated, “Pioneers like you often had to endure persistent criticism, which make your efforts ever more courageous, and your achievements ever more substantial.” 1. Talk about the courage these women displayed with their service to the WASP program. 2. The common thought was that women couldn’t handle an airplane as well as men. These women

proved that to be wrong. Discuss the courage needed to overcome the negative perceptions of those around us.

3. These women endured criticism, put-downs, and other negative comments. What do we admire about those who persevere through turmoil and succeed at making a difference in the world around them?



What is Courage? Lesson #1 - Worksheet for the WASP Program

1) What is WASP? 2) Women pilots didn’t get the same respect that male

pilots enjoyed during WW II. Describe the courage you think it took for these women to answer the “call to duty” and serve their country as a military pilot.

3) What can you learn from these women in the WASP program about the

importance of courage? This worksheet may be duplicated for educational purposes only. For more information regarding COURAGE or other Character Ed Tools programs please go to www.characteredtools.com or contact: Character Ed Tools, 15709 Arrow Hwy., Suite #2, Irwindale, CA 91706. (626) 960-6922. Character Ed Tools is a division of Camfel Productions, a non-profit company.


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