What does Character Education Look Like in Early Grades?

Character education is fundamentally important for children aged 4-7 as it lays the groundwork for their social and ethical development. During these formative years, children are highly receptive to learning about values such as empathy, respect, responsibility, and kindness. Instilling these traits early helps them navigate social interactions and build a strong moral compass that will guide their decisions throughout life. For teachers, integrating character education can be seamlessly woven into daily routines.

Tips:
Use literacy instructional time to discuss different character traits and their impact, encourage cooperative play to foster sharing and teamwork, and provide opportunities for children to practice problem-solving in a respectful manner. Additionally, recognizing and praising positive character displays, no matter how small, can reinforce desired behaviors and motivate children to continue developing these essential qualities.

Suggested Lesson Plans

Recommended Units of Study

• Playing Patriotically
  Deepen kindergarten students' understanding of patriotism, democracy, and voting through a combination of games, group activities, and direct instruction.

• F is for Flag
  A lesson from the Medal of Honor teaches symbolism behind the American flag, develops an understanding of patriotism, and explains why we say the Pledge of Allegiance. 

• Citizenship with Pete the Cat
  Introduce kindergarten students to the word "citizenship" and its meaning, by learning how Pete the Cat demonstrates good citizenship, and highlights ways everyone can become good citizens at school.  

• Be a Good Citizen
  This lesson from the Medal of Honor helps students deepen their understanding of citizenship before illustrating examples of how they can show good citizenship in their own lives.  

• Share What You'll Do and Carry it Through
  Teach elementary students how to commit to their word by first defining it, and then identifying how to embody it by listing examples of commitment in their own lives, using children's literature.

• I Am a Good Citizen
  The lesson from the Medal of Honor asks elementary students to examine what good citizenship means, using Mary Ann Hoffman's I Am a Good Citizen. 

• Fairness
  A lesson from Overcoming Obstacles, in which students explain the purposes of rules and the consequences of breaking them.

• Kindness
  From Overcoming Obstacles, this lesson explores ways students can show kindness and how others have shown them kindness in turn.

• Integrity 
  Help students understand that integrity is a matter of personal choice and how looking at a situation from someone else’s perspective will help them to make a good choice.

• Courage Begins With a Dot
  This module from the Medal of Honor teaches elementary students the true meaning of courage through a combination of individual activities and art projects demonstrating their understanding of courage, using Peter H. Reynold's The Dot.

• Commitment to Growth 
  Help students deepen their understanding of commitment and reflect on how they've shown commitment in their own lives. Necessary materials include Steven Kroll's The Biggest Pumpkin Ever.

• Making a Difference
  Students will identify how a person they know is making a difference in the world, and draw inspiration from them, using Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius.  

• Leadworthy Character Education Grade 1
  From Capturing Kids Hearts, is grade-level specific, progressive, and easy to use suite of lessons that can become a monthly focus on specific character traits. 
  

• Leadworthy Character Education, Grade 2
  From Capturing Kids Hearts, the progressive curriculum focuses on nine initial character traits to support the development of leadership skills in young children.
  

Multimedia Resources

Teacher References 

• Sacrifice Your Scales
  Kindergarteners deepen their understanding of sacrifice through direct instruction, video, and books, including Marcus Pfister's The Rainbow Fish. 

• Goodness: Pass it On 
  

           From The Foundation for a Better Life, short series of examples demonstrating the goodness in
         humanity.

• Loyalty: Pass It On
  Brief videoclip to help student begin to contemplate the meaning of loyalty.
• Sharing: Pass It On
  How can students show their respect and care for others? "Sharing" provides a simple example. 

• Evidence-Based Character Education Programs, an article from Positive Action for teacher reference.

• What is Character Education in Schools? from Navigate360
  This article provides a good overview of the benefits of character education, including shaping ethical values, promoting social-emotional skills, developing resilience, and fostering civic responsibility. 

• The Importance of Character Education in Elementary School from graduateprogram.org:
  This resource emphasizes how character education prepares students to become responsible, compassionate citizens and contributes to academic success, highlighting the "Six Pillars of Character." 

• How to Teach Elementary Students Character in the Classroom and Online from Edutopia: This article offers practical tips for teachers, such as discussing student expectations, inviting role models, using role-play, and explicitly practicing character traits. 

• Character Development Activities for the Classroom from the University of San Diego Professional & Continuing Education: This article provides concrete activity ideas for elementary teachers, such as creating gratitude bulletin boards, defining a classroom moral code, and using peer encouragement.