This character education mini-lesson is not intended to be a service learning lesson or to meet the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. The character education units will be most effective when taught in conjunction with a student-designed service project that provides a real world setting in which students can develop and practice good character and leadership skills.  For ideas and suggestions for organizing service events go to The League.

Anticipatory Set:

Tell the learners they are going to use a strategy called "Think, Pair and Share." They are to take a few minutes to think about someone from history or the present, a real or fictional character, that they would call a "hero."  They should also be ready to explain why they think this person or character is a hero. After allowing a few minutes to think, ask the learners to pair by forming groups of two or three, and then to share their idea of a hero and the rational.

• Allow about five minutes for the learners to share. When most groups seem to be done, ask for some volunteers to share with the whole class the name of the hero and the rational. They may share the hero they thought of or a hero of a group member. As the learners share names and mention character traits or attributes of heroes, write them on a display area.
• Discuss with the students what all the heroes had in common. Lead the discussion to the character traits that seem to be  the most common in heroes.  If courage doesn't naturally come into the discussion, suggest that as one trait all heroes might have.
• Draw a large "T chart" in a display area. Entitle the chart Courage. Label the Left side of the chart "What it Is" Label the right side of the chart "What it Is Not." Ask the learners to suggest words or phrases to fill in each of the sections. Encourage them to think of what courage might look like, sound like, and feel like.
• Ask the learners to return to their original "pair" groups. Distribute a large sheet of paper to each group and ask the groups to create an acrostic [a poem using the letters of a word as the first letter of each line of the poem] for the word "courage," using some of the information generated during the sharing and discussions. Post the acrostics in the room for all to see.