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104 Engaging Character Building Activities for Kids

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These 104 engaging character building activities for kids represent a small percentage of the resources I have available for character education.

Building character is an essential part of raising and teaching kids. For many, values and morals are not being taught in the home. Whether you are a school teacher, care giver or a parent ready to invest in developing integrity in children, you have landed in the right place.

I want to introduce you to my character building series so that you can take full advantage of the lessons and activities available here.

104 Engaging Character Building Activities for Kids

Welcome to my character building series. This series has been one of the backbones of my blog since I began blogging in 2012.

One of my goals when I started blogging was to invest in my children’s character every day for an entire year. I did just that and have since developed the concept further. I plan to continue to tweak and refine my character education lessons in the coming months.

What is Character Building?

Character building is intentionally investing in and strengthening the good and useful qualities in a human being. It is intended to develop the integrity and morals that not only benefit the individual but also the society.

What is this Character Education Series?

I have chosen 52 character traits to work on, one for each week of the year. You can find the 52 traits here .

Within these 52 traits you will find over 7 lessons. Therefore, you can be intentionally teaching morals to children every single day of the year if you choose to utilize what I have available here at Meaningful Mama.

Each trait comes with a variety of lessons. I start the week out with defining the term and adding a scripture verse for memorization. The next day I present “I Will…” statements for kids to claim. The rest of the week is filled with object lessons, book & movie resources, crafts, activities and Bible lessons.

I originally did this series with my kids when they were age 2-5, but I’ve continued adding. All lessons can be adapted to a variety of age groups.

Because I am a Christian, this series comes from a Christian perspective. I do believe this series is beneficial to all.

Looking at the traits presented, these are qualities that we all want for our kids and for our communities. Who doesn’t want to live in a society full of people striving for kindness, perseverance, love, honest, responsibility and thoughtfulness, just to name a few?

If you are here wanting to invest in the character education of your students or kids but don’t adhere to a Christian worldview, I encourage you to stick around. There is plenty available for you too. There will be parts you want to skip over, but I would also encourage you to read through things completely, considering what this character series has to offer.

What are the 104 Engaging Character Building Activities for Kids?

Like I mentioned, the resource I’m offering today is only a peek into what is available here. I am going to share my 52 traits, in the order in which I originally presented them to my kids. Then, I’ll offer two lessons for each trait.

If you want more, dig in. I want to make this resource rich and full. When I began blogging, I didn’t know what I was doing. When I had an idea, and I just presented it really basic. Some thoughts were a simple paragraph long, and many of the photos were pretty bad.

Now that I’ve been blogging for a while I realize more of what makes a high quality post. I want these to become fully comprehensive character lessons. Therefore, I am going to be re-vamping old posts and adding to my series in the coming months and probably years.

As mentioned, I have hundreds of posts to improve, so have patience with me as I make this series all that I hope. Here’s a peek into what I have available and the 52 character traits I believe will make this world a better place.

Character Building Lessons on Perseverance

Perseverance Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my perseverance tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Fun Challenge Activities that Teach Perseverance
Learning Perseverance through Activities with “The Little Engine that Could”

Patience Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my patience tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Play-doh Snails and the “Be Patient” Song
Teaching Kids Patience While You are on the Phone

Self Control Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my self control tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Self Control with the Mischel Psychology Experiment
A Bible Verse Activity for Learning Self Control

Thoughtfulness Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my thoughtfulness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Thoughtfulness and the Healing of the Paralytic Man
A Practical Application of Thoughtfulness

Respect Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my respect tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Children’s Books that Teach Respect
Teaching Kids to Respect our Planet

Love Character Building Activities (made to correspond with Valentine’s Day)

Here are all the lessons under my love tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

1 Corinthians 13 DIY Heart Garland
Teaching Kids About Love Languages

Character Building Object Lesson about Obedience with maze and blindfold

Obedience Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my obedience tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Following the Signs – A Lesson in Obedience
Blindfolded Maze Game Teaches Obedience

Joy Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my joy tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Joy Bean Bag Toss
Joy Filled Up Object Lesson

Kindness Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my kindness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Bucket Filler Activities for Kids
Kindness Toothpaste Object Lesson

Character Building Object Lesson with relay buckets

Orderliness Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my orderliness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Orderliness Relay
Books About Orderliness

Sensitivity and Empathy Character Building Activities

Here are all the lessons under my sensitivity tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Learning to Read Facial Expressions
Sensitivity Bible Verse Lesson

Virtue Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my virtue tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Virtue with a Celery Object Lesson
Virtue Treasure Hunt

Helpfulness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my helpfulness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Helpfulness Necklace
T he Greatest Model of Helpfulness

Grace Character Building Lessons (made to correspond with Easter)

Here are all the lessons under my grace tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

The Key is Grace Activity
Grace Found Through Jesus’ Blood

Cooperation Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my cooperation tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Cooperation Through Music
Cooperation in Leading the Blind

Peace Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my peace tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Peace on Earth?
Peace Among People Groups

Courage Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my courage tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Courage Through a Lesson on Esther
Courage Under Fire

Diligence Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my diligence tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Diligence with Thomas Edison
Diligence with he Ant and the Grasshopper

Courteous Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my courteous tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Being Courteous to Your Siblings
Mile High Manners Courteous Activity

Generosity Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my generosity tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Generosity Through the Rainbow Fish
T eaching Generosity Through Food Bank Donations

Wisdom Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my wisdom tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Wisdom with Owls
Magically Appearing Wisdom

Flexibility Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my flexibility tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Flexibility and a Hummingbird Craft
Flexibility and the Palm Tree

Honesty Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my honesty tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Honest with the Boy Who Cried Wolf
Books About Honesty

Faithfulness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my faithfulness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

The Faithfulness Shirt
Teaching Kids Faithfulness with the Parable of the Talents

character Object Lesson with Kids in pyramid

Responsibility Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my responsibility tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

“I Am Responsible for Me” Printable
Taking Responsibility for our Actions

Humility Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my humility tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Humility “I Will” Statements
Humility in Recognizing that We Need Help

Hospitality Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my hospitality tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Hospitality with Martha and Mary
Hospitality Collage

Attentiveness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my attentiveness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Attentiveness with the Command 3 Game
Attentiveness Challenge with the Object Game

Submissiveness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my submissiveness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Submissiveness with Noah’s Ark
Submissiveness with “Mother May I”

Leadership Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my leadership tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Inspiring Leadership Milk Object Lesson
Teaching Kids to Lead Others

Optimism Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my optimism tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Explosive Optimism Object Lesson
Teaching Optimism with the Turn Around Game

Contentment Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my contentment tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Contentment with the Complaining Game
Learning Contentment with Exposure to Reality

Thoroughness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my thoroughness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Thoroughness M&M Search
Thoroughness Missing Pieces Object Lesson

Sincerity Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my sincerity tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Sincerity Hearts
Real Vs. Fake Sincerity Test

Availability Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my availability tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Availability Object Lesson with Kinetic and Potential Energy
Mary and Martha Craft Teaches Availability

Purpose Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my purpose tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

We All Have Purpose Lesson
Purpose Statement

Creativity Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my creativity tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Garbage Art Teaches Creativity
Creativity with Tape Faces

Appreciation Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my appreciation tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Sibling Appreciation Craft
Appreciating the People in Your Life

Persuasiveness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my persuasiveness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Persuasiveness with the Serpent-Dove Technique
P ersuasiveness and Learning to Listen

Curiosity Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my curiosity tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Pop Rocks and Soda Experiment Teaches Curiosity
C uriosity and Learning to Ask Questions

Consistency Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my consistency tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Toy Boat Craft Teaches Consistency
Working with Kids on Consistency in Attitude

Friendliness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my friendliness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Friendliness Lesson with Magnet Object Lesson
Friendliness and the Good Samaritan

Worshipful Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my woshipful tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Kids to Worship God Because of His Character
Ways to Worship

Gentleness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my gentleness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Gentleness with Noodles and Buttons
Gentleness and the Deer

Efficiency Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my efficiency tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Efficiency with a Lesson on Nutrition
Efficiency with Problem Solving

Fairness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my fairness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Fairness for All People
Fairness Test

Thankfulness Character Building Lessons (Made to Correspond with Thanksgiving)

Here are all the lessons under my thankfulness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Thankfulness Luminaries
Thankfulness Tag

Risk Taker Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my risk taker tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Risk Taking – Good or Bad?
Risk Taking in Action

Compassionate Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my compassionate tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes
10 Role Playing Situations that Teach Compassion

Forgiveness Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my forgiveness tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Forgiveness Lesson with the Parable of the Lost Son
The Weight Lifted By Forgiveness

Pleasant Character Building Lessons

Here are all the lessons under my pleasant tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Pleasant or Unpleasant Feelings
Being Pleasant at Dinner Time

Hopeful Character Building Lessons (Made to Correspond with Christmas)

Here are all the lessons under my hopeful tab. Let’s get a peek into two of these lessons:

Teaching Hope with a Nativity Craft
Hope in Scripture

Phew! That’s a lot. I know! And there is so much more. There is so much more content already available on my site and so many more ideas swirling around in my brain.

I hope you will follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram so you know when more education lessons and activities become available.

Wife of the perfect partner for me. Mother of Three. Lover of fun, creativity, cooking, adventure, puzzles, games, family but most importantly Jesus. I run the blog Meaningful Mama. The heart of my blog is the character development series for teaching kids. The icing on the top consists of parenting tips, crafts, recipes, cakes and more. Read more...

100% yes!!! Love these character building activities – look forward to doing them with my kids!

Thank you! I have loved being able to engage with my kids in this way to talk about some pretty important stuff. 🙂

Wow! The organization and information here are so super helpful! I am pinning this so I have it for always. Thank you!

Thanks so much! I hope it becomes a great resource for you.

This is amazing! Absolutely love this and can’t wait to try some of these out. Thank you for this incredible resource!

Thank you so much. Hoping it will be helpful to you!

Wow! Exactly what I needed! Thank you for these, Jodi. Your ideas are amazing 😉

So glad to help. I am really working on cleaning all of my character building content up and adding more to make it better, so stick around. You can sign up for my newsletter if you want updates on the new content that gets posted. Thanks so much for commenting!

I found your page as I was searching for Bible lessons for my kids. We started teaching them ourselves from home when the pandemic started. Now we are doing the character traits study with them every week on Sundays from home. We incorporate a bible story that drives the lesson home. It’s made a great impact in our home and brought us a lot of laughs while creating fond memories that we’ll cherish forever. I just wanted to share what an impact your work has had on our family during this difficult time. Thank you for creating this invaluable resource.

Oh my word! What encouragement. I needed that today. I have a daunting task of really wanting to refine it, re-vamp old posts and possibly even turn it into a curriculum. I really, really appreciate it!

Hi!! Wow! I can’t believe I came across your page with so many character building activites….for FREE!!!! So many times you have to pay for things these days! So I truly appreciate you offering us all these amazing plans for FREE!!

I can’t wait to get started with them!! My kids need these badly!! I’ve been thrown into homeschooling this year, like so many others! And realize I need to be teaching my kids character building! I’m super excited to get started on these ideas! Love your idea of teaching on a trait everyday for 1 year! That’s my goal! (Perseverance-I will…set goals! 😉 This is what I’m starting with!

I also signed up for the text messages as I can use those encouraging words too! I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve created here!! Thank you! Thank you!!

Yay! So glad you found me. These resources will always be on my site free. I do need to say that right now I’m working on really cleaning up the series. It was originally created in 2012, so it is a bit rough around the edges. My hope is to make it into a curriculum that I can sell with added content and more lesson-plan format, but it doesn’t mean the original works won’t be available. I am so so glad that you are going to find this resource helpful as you raise your family. Blessings on your homeschool experience.

Do you have a file to purchase with all thr lessons?

I don’t yet. I am working toward developing a curriculum for purchase. It’s a big goal for this year. There is so much content and so much of that content needs updating to be worthy of purchasing, so it is a daunting task that I just need to prioritize.

A Note on Copyright

Feel free to use ideas in your home and community. If you wish to share any posts or photographs from this site on your blog or website, you may use one picture with a link to the original post. Please do not repost, duplicate or re-write the whole tutorial or distribute printed content without written permission from the original author. Thank you!

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You are a character educator. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, custodian, or school bus driver, you are helping to shape the character and the social education of the kids you come in contact with…

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Ready-to-use character education and sel (social emotional learning) lesson plans.

Based on popular read aloud books, each lesson focuses on a character building trait and includes discussion questions, writing assignments, and student activities for building life skills such as diversity, trustworthiness, self-esteem, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship.

Teaching Not Judging with The Hungry Coat Lesson Objective: To understand that you cannot tell what type of person someone is just by looking at what they are wearing.

Teaching Not Judging with Big Al Lesson Objective: To understand that you cannot tell what type of person someone is just by looking at them.

Teaching Determination: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers Lesson Objective: To understand what determination is and what to do when you feel determined to do something.

Teaching Determination with Flight School Lesson Objective: To understand what determination is and how to identify it.

Teaching Kindness: Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed Lesson Objective: To discuss different ways to show kindness and understand the impact of random acts of kindness.

Teaching Kindness with The Invisible Boy Lesson Objective: To discuss different ways to show kindness and understand the importance of showing kindness.

Teaching Honesty with A Day’s Work Lesson Objective: To understand why honesty is important and how other people respect honesty.

Teaching Honesty with The Wolf Who Cried Boy Lesson Objective: To understand what honesty is and why it is important. Teaching Honesty with The Wolf Who Cried Boy.

Teaching Individuality with The Big Orange Splot Lesson Objective: To understand what individuality is and how to express their own.

Teaching Gratitude with All the World Lesson Objective: To understand what gratitude is and identify things for which they are grateful

Teaching Generosity: The Quiltmaker’s Gift Lesson Objective: To understand what generosity is and the benefits of being generous

Teaching Courage: The Dandelion Seed Lesson Objective: To understand what courage is and identify ways to be courageous

Teaching Courage: Brave Charlotte and the Wolves Lesson Objective: To understand what courage is and how to demonstrate it

Teaching Diversity with Smoky Night Lesson Objective: To understand that people may look different and come from different backgrounds, but that everyone can live, work and learn together

Teach About Sharing with The Mine-O-Saur Lesson Objective: To understand why sharing is important and how much fun it can be

Teaching Self-esteem: Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon Lesson Objective: To understand what self-esteem is and identify what each student is good at

Teaching Empathy with Stand in My Shoes Lesson Objective: To understand what empathy is and identify ways to demonstrate empathy to others in a variety of different situations

Teaching Creativity with Elephants Can Paint Too! Lesson Objective: To understand what creativity is and how to express it

Teaching Self-esteem With Zero Lesson Objective: To understand what self-esteem is and identify positive qualities about themselves as well as activities that provide positive feelings

Teaching Diversity: All the Colors of the Earth Lesson Objective: To understand and appreciate that people look different, but that everyone can work and learn together

Elmer the Elephant - Accepting Differences Lesson Objective: To identify external and internal traits and recognize how differences make each person unique and special

Teaching Compassion with Angelo Lesson Objective: To identify ways to show compassion to others

Teaching Compassion with How to Heal a Broken Wing - Lesson Objective: To understand what compassion is and identify ways to show compassion

Learning About Anxiety: Wilma Jean the Worry Machine Lesson Objective: To identify worries and how to deal with them

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

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Character Education Toolkit

20 printable activities to build integrity, fairness & kindness.

Looking for fun, effective ways to help kids build character?

Our Character Education Toolkit has the answer.

Inside, you'll find 20 printable activities to grow big hearts and strong values.

From interactive worksheets, to brain-teasing puzzles, dynamic challenges and calming coloring sheets, each activity is designed to reinforce character education.

It's more than just fun and games. It's a structured approach to help kids of all ages become a compassionate, responsible, and respectful individual .

Best of all, it's 100% digital and ready to print. So you can download the PDFs, print as many copies as you need and start empowering your students today!

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20 Printable Activities for Practicing Positive Actions

Packed with interactive worksheets, puzzles, challenges and coloring pages. Equip your kids with essential life skills, nurture social emotional growth and pave the way for lifelong success!

Here's What's Included

So many fun ways to use.

Perfect for teachers, school counselors, parents, coaches, after-school program leaders, or anyone who works with kids.

SEL Integration

Easily integrates with your existing Social Emotional Learning program. Or use the sheets on their own!

Team Building

Assign worksheets and puzzles as group activities, fostering teamwork and collective problem-solving skills.

Morning Kickstart

Incorporate with your morning routine, setting a positive tone for the day.

Early Arrivers & Fast Finishers

Assign projects to students to keep them engaged during downtime.

Classroom Conversations

Use the activities as a jump-off point for discussions on overcoming challenges and embracing mistakes.

Homework Assignments

Hand out the worksheets to do at home, promoting learning and development outside the classroom.

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Character Education

Collaboration, self-esteem, and social skills are critical aspects of children’s education. These printable lesson plans, worksheets, activities, writing prompts, mini-plays, myths and folktales, bulletin board ideas, and recognition awards focus on themes to build character, class community, kindness, and respect.

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How to Build Outstanding Character with Easy Back to School Activities

Character Building Back to School Activities

Kick off your back to school season with a fun, character building unit including fun back to school activities. These 12 character building exercises are perfect for ANY elementary classroom and address various important character building topics. Welcome your students back to the classroom and build a strong classroom community by trying the fun back to school activities below. Typically, I do one of these back to school activities a day for the first few weeks of school during our science/social studies time.

I Wish My Teacher Knew…

At the beginning of the year, vulnerability can be a difficult thing. Before talking about character, it is important to get to know your students on a more personal level. One way to let students open up anonymously is by completing an “I Wish My Teacher Knew” activity. During this time, students can tell you ANYTHING about them. It can be silly things, serious things, simple facts and more. You will be so surprised what students will tell you and it is a great way to get them to open up at the beginning of the year.

Taking Turns

Teach students to show respect to others by pairing this fun volcano activity with My Mouth is a Volcano . Students will learn about why interrupting can hurt the feelings of other students or kids, and then will reflect on what they can do if they feel like their “volcano” is about to explode and they are NOT able to wait for their own turn. This can make a great individual craft or a cute bulletin board for your classroom to keep on display.

Manner Sort

Manners at school are so important. Students need to know what POSITIVE choices and what NEGATIVE choices at school look like. I love to read the book He’s Been a Monster All Day to my class and then talk about monster manners. We simply look at various things that can happen at school, and decide if it is or is not acceptable for school. This is another great bulletin board to keep on display, but also is a great reinforcement lesson that can be broken out throughout the year as needed.

Back to school Character Building Activities - letter to crayons activity for day the crayons quit

Showing Respect to School Supplies

Showing respect extends beyond classmates. Respecting property is important too. I love to pair The Day the Crayons Quit with talking about respecting our school supplies. We read the text, write a letter to our crayons (and other school supplies) and talk about how we are going to take care of our supplies throughout the year. This is also a great time to write a “class contract” that can be put on display for the year. We do this as a shared writing piece, in which we talk about all of the ways we are going to show respect at school. I write for the class, then have the whole class sign it at the end.

Back to school Character Building Activities - 10 ways to make friends billy bully

Showing Character at Recess

Have you ever met Mean Jean the Recess Queen ? She is NOT pleasant and stomps around ruining everyone’s time. Not the type of queen you are expecting, until someone finally stands up to her. I love to pair this read aloud with an activity in which we talk about how real kings and queens would act on the playground. Students get to make their own crowns and wear them all day while also committing to one way that they will make the playground a better place this year.

Back to school Character Building Activities - my kissing hand craft and activity

Showing Love – Kissing Hands

Students that show character are students who show love. The start of the school year can be hard for ALL students, but especially those who might be missing someone at home. One way to make students feel more comfortable at school is to make kissing hands for someone at home. This can be a parent or another loved one. This helps students know that they are not alone in missing someone at home, but that they can also have independence at school as well.

Ways to Make Friends

Billy Bully is really good at chasing all of his friends away on the playground. He is not always kind, he doesn’t always remember his manners, and he slowly loses his friends. He has to think of ways to get his friends back when he ends up with none. This might be a similar situation to some of your students, who might for one reason or another, struggle to make new friends. In groups, I love to have students make posters of 10 ways that they can come up with to make new friends during the school year. Ideas can be as simple as saying hello to new people at recess, or as kind as helping someone who seems to be having a difficult day.

Back to school Character Building Activities - bucket craft for how full is your bucket

Giving Compliments – Being Bucket Fillers

Being a good person is important, but so is being a bucket filler to others. After reading How Full is Your Bucket? , I love to have my students make compliment buckets. We create a bucket craft and then write about how we would fill other people’s buckets either at home or at school. This makes a great bulletin board and a great reminder for the year on how we can be bucket fillers!

Make Your Mark

Character is not only about being a good citizen. It is also about being creative and finding your own voice. One book that does a great job teaching this is The Dot . I love to read this text, then give my students a paper with a dot in which they can create their own fun image using the dot. This teaches students about creativity, but also allows students to see that every student is going to come at this with their own unique point of view. Students learn to appreciate other students’ special skills and unique takes.

Back to school Character Building Activities - inside vs outside for ruby the copycat

Individuality on the Inside and Outside

Speaking of special skills and unique takes, it is important for students to understand the importance of BEING THEMSELVES. I like to read aloud Ruby the Copycat in which Ruby finds a friend at school and begins copying everything the friend is doing. It irritates the friend and she changes who she is. Ruby gets sad, but then learns a lesson that we are all unique in our own ways, inside and out. We use this lesson to help us come up with ways that WE are unique and special both on the inside and on the outside.

Back to school Character Building Activities - Talents stand tall molly lou melon

Showing Off Talents

Another text about independence is Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon . In this text, a little girl is picked on for things that she typically loves about herself. She learns to speak up for herself and be proud of who she is. One way we can celebrate students is by highlighting their talents in our classroom. I love to do this fun and quick craft in which students share their talents with their classmates. This allows students to learn unique facts about one another while also being able to be proud of their own talents.

Our Giving Trees

Finally, we wrap up our character building back to school activities by reading aloud a classic, The Giving Tree . Every single person has at least one thing that they can share with the world. We make our trees and write the things we want to share with others. Once again, this can make a great bulletin board or can be a great project to display in a portfolio.

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Welcome to CHARACTER COUNTS!

Strategies and resources to help improve students’ character, social-emotional, and academic skills and improve school culture.

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CHARACTER COUNTS! focuses on building students’ character, social-emotional, and academic skills, while shaping a positive school culture. Our flexible PK-12 framework is based on:

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Home » Games » 29 Awesome Character Building Activities

29 Awesome Character Building Activities

Character building activities foster the development of ethical and responsible behavior by teaching individuals about the good values they should have.

It teaches the values associated with:

Caring about other people
Responsibility
Other important traits necessary for upstanding citizens

Table of Contents

In this article, we have character education building games and activities for every age. Each activity tells you what character trait will be learned and/or enforced. Consider the age and personality of those you are serving when you choose your activity or game. Some of the benefits of character building activities are that participants:

May be more committed to democratic values
May be more concerned about others
May be more skilled at resolving interpersonal conflicts
May engage in more pro-social behavior, such as being helpful and cooperative

Schools and communities also experience the benefits of character education, often seeing:

Less discipline referrals
Better academic performance
Less absenteeism
A reduction in vandalism
Fewer incidences of violent behavior

Character Building Activities for Children

With young children, we must constantly mold behavior and teach acceptable attitudes and actions. However, doing so often must be done for older children as well. Teachers and parents must work together to assure that young people develop character traits capable of making them productive and self-confident adults. Doing so helps the achieve success in all areas of their lives, now and in the future.

Character Building Activities for Young Children

Teachers must fill school days with so much “required” learning and it can be difficult to find the time for character building activities. However, as mentioned above, character education improves the lives and learning capabilities of children. Since fun activities are motivational for young children , we have included character building activities that teach character traits while providing entertainment. The activities below do not take a tremendous amount of time and can often be incorporated into recess, snack, or lunch times.

Boost Up Exercise

Children need to learn how to encourage one another. Once a week, use circle time to have kids give compliments to each other. You can direct them to say, “What I like about ______ is . . .” Another idea for older students is to have students write complimentary or thank you notes to each other.

Don’t Push Buttons!

It is important for children to learn to avoid making each other angry, upset, or intentionally causing stress. Help your students identify situations and trigger words defined as button pushing and avoid them. Teach them to verbalize, “You are pushing my buttons.” when necessary.

Growing Grateful

Teach gratefulness with a bulletin board or door decoration with a flower or paper tree. Have students add petals or leaves with jottings about what they are grateful for. You can make this a daily or weekly activity.

Classroom Character Notebook

Create a classroom character notebook with ideas for how to handle anger and maintain a positive outlook. You can also add suggestions for how to build respect for others, show kindness, and display other good character traits. Occasionally review the notebook to reinforce good behavior.

Character Stars

Have kids define good character traits in their own words and then vote on a classmate that displays the positive trait. Each child can only win once and wears a star on their shirt for the school day or week. Additionally, you can create a bulletin board with the stars after the students wear them.

Puppet Show Conflict Resolution

Puppet play is an excellent way to allow students to act out conflicts and how to resolve them. You can also discover interpersonal relationship problems your students are facing and help them resolve them. Let them make their own puppets to enhance this activity.

Walk in My Shoes

Have the children trace their feet on pieces of construction paper. Then have them walk a path composed of the cut footprints while discussing examples of empathy.

Caring in the Classroom

Children benefit from knowing what is expected of them in the classroom environment. Talk about good student character and classroom ethics such as doing your own work, no cheating, and taking turns. Learning such behavior now can translate into good workplace ethics in the future.

Pre-teen Character Building Activities

Middle schoolers often struggle with identifying with their peer group while avoiding peer pressure. This is a time when a young person begins to identify who they are, what they like, and what choices they will make. They also need to begin to understand where they fit in the world socially and politically. Our pre-teen character building activities build both positive values and self-esteem.

Good Citizenship

Most schools require some sort of civics class for middle school students . Pairing what they learn about government, their role in society, and responsibilities and morals helps grow global citizens.

Taking It Back

Provide each student with a small packet of salt, pepper, or sugar and a paper to dump it out on. Then direct them to put all of the contents back into the packet. Explain that just as the contents are hard to put back in the packet, so our words are hard to take back once they are said.

Door to Integrity

Post a reminder on doors that we must use integrity when we leave the classroom. You can list the character traits students should use in one of two words, such as “Honesty,” “Kindness,” and “Others First.”

Help or Hurt

Share a selection of magazines that talk about entertainers or look at social media posts. Talk about what words inspire others and what words have hurtful connotations. You can have them rewrite negative posts and sentences to make them more positive and encouraging.

Pay It Forward

Paying it forward is passing on a kind act done for you to someone else. Discuss with students how this shows an “attitude of gratitude” for what others do for us. Have them look for opportunities to help others.

To encourage an attitude of service and teach empathy, have students pair with those who have special needs or tutor a classmate in a subject. Switch partners occasionally to keep this activity fresh and interesting. You might want the whole class to work with students in a lower grade on reading or math.

Show and Tell

Set aside a special time to have students share items conveying their culture, individuality, and unique interests and experience. Students learn both diversity and empathy as well as what is truly important to them and to their classmates.

Middle schoolers often struggle with wondering what others think of them and peer pressure. Teach them to stay true to themselves by letting them emphasize and demonstrate their individual strengths in a positive manner.

Teen Character Building Activities

When young people reach high school , it is important to help them make wise choices about who they will choose as friends, what activities they will participate in, and how they can serve others.

Welcome to the Real World

It is important for teens to understand what their responsibilities are compared to a teacher’s so that they can respond appropriately to authority when they work in the real world. In college and on the job, not being able to differentiate between your responsibilities and those of others can cause one many problems. Have students make a list of what they must take care of and what you, the teacher must do, i.e. do homework vs. assign homework.

Bust That Bullying

Bullying is dealt with during the elementary years, but sometimes we forget that it also occurs for teens. Frequently it moves to the digital world. Have students share negative comments they have seen on social media and talk about better ways to share feelings. Set some guidelines, such as not using names so that it doesn’t turn into a bashing and gossiping session.

Make a Difference

Schools and communities have many opportunities for service. Teach teens to help others by finding learning-service opportunities where they can use their talents and interests on a daily or weekly basis. Helping in the cafeteria, washing the front of lockers, painting over graffiti, help improve the appearance of the school and instill pride. Serving food in a homeless shelter or sorting used clothing for a service organization teaches caring for others.

Do the Right Thing

Teens encounter some big problems themselves and also must deal with their peer groups problems, such as depression, abuse, substance abuse, and many others. Help students learn to navigate using role playing in various scenarios. Also help them know when to report and who to report to.

First Impressions

Teach teens one-minute lessons on social skills such as proper etiquette, appropriate and inappropriate touch, and the importance of facial expressions and body language. This will help them in their professional lives and in college, as people often judge us by how we look and act.

What’s My Personality Type

There are many personality quizzes online. Have students work alone to determine their personality types, and then place them in groups so that they can work on these skills. Offer a variety of projects and/or websites to help them.

Talk It Out

Teens spend a great deal of time on their phones and computers and texting has taken the place of verbal communication. Challenge teens to have real-world conversations explaining their points of view and opinions about character traits and social issues. It is important teens learn how to dialog thoughtfully and without being overly emotional.

On Time or Spin the Wheel

Tardiness continues to be an educational and workplace challenge. Encourage teens to be on time to class and create a wheel with consequences. If they are tardy they must spin the wheel. Choices such as telling the class a joke that will make them laugh, reading a love poem, or writing on the board for part of class can teach a lesson in a lighthearted way.

Character Building Games

Games help build character and self-esteem when played in groups as children and teens win and lose and learn how to take turns. Choose one of the following or find one on-line that fits with the needs and ages of your group.

This inexpensive block-stacking game uses 54 stacked blocks. Players take turns removing a block from the base of the tower and placing it on top. As the tower becomes more unsteady, you can discuss how life can sometimes become difficult and how we need extra help and/or support from family and friends to keep going. Help participants identify who can help them in times of trouble.

Card Playing

Any card game teaches players how to win and lose and build confidence with increased skill. Additionally, taking turns, strategizing, and rule following are additional skills needed for life and good character learned through card playing.

Triangle Tagging

Three people hold hands to make a triangle consisting of one Captain, two bodyguards keeping the Captain safe. “It” goes around the circle trying to tag the Captain, however, “It” cannot go under or through the joined hands. Play the first round for ten seconds, and then make the time in each round a few seconds longer. If the Captain gets tagged, everyone switches places so that all players have a chance to play all three roles. After playing, discuss what it felt like to play each role and how this is like relationships and friendships in real life.

Chutes and Ladders

One of the first and simplest childhood games, Chutes and Ladders teaches young children how good choices result in moving up a ladder and bad choices sliding down a chute. This game is the first of many played by children to build self-esteem and confidence. Make sure children see this as a metaphor for life, where good choices lead up and bad choices hold one back. Make sure they understand that the dice and spinner in games determine where you land, but life is for real and based upon good choices.

Friend and Foe

This fun, but chaotic game and the lesson it teaches will be remembered by players. This game works best in a group of twelve or more players. Each person chooses a friend and a foe in the group without telling who they are. When the game begins, the goal is to keep one’s friend between oneself and one’s foe. Play for a while and then explain that in our lives, we meet people who care about us and people who do not. The moves they make in their lives affect ours. Identify the foes as those who may use drugs and encourage us to do so, bullies, and those who abuse us in some way. Have them identify people or groups that act as protectors. This game can serve to prepare them for future challenges to their character.

Activities for building student character in the school community enhance not only a student’s life, but also the entire school environment. Many of our character education activity ideas can be worked seamlessly in to class time, making character education a part of daily classroom participation. Planned character education activities and games shape students’ behavior and can make a difference in the years to come both in the lives of students and those with whom they work and live. Make a commitment to use one of more of our character building activities with your students or peers.

Susan majored in English with a double minor in Humanities and Business at Arizona State University and earned a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Liberty University. She taught grades four through twelve in both public and private schools. Subjects included English, U.S. and world history and geography, math, earth and physical science, Bible, information technologies, and creative writing.

Susan has been freelance writing for over ten years, during which time she has written and edited books, newspaper articles, biographies, book reviews, guidelines, neighborhood descriptions for realtors, Power Point presentations, resumes, and numerous other projects.

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Impactful character education development videos and activities for students

August 5, 2024
Flocabulary Team
Lessons and Ideas , Social and Emotional Learning

Why is character education important in schools?

Character education is important in schools as it shapes students’ academic journey, personal growth, and future contributions to society. It’s especially important for students not receiving strong character guidance at home. To become successful, every child needs to develop a sense of integrity, responsibility, respect, self-motivation, and empathy. Character education equips students with the ethical compass necessary to make thoughtful decisions, fostering an inclusive and positive school and classroom culture . Whether you teach elementary, middle school, or high school, it’s important that student learn core ethical values to support their personal development and academic performance.

New to Flocabulary ? Sign up for an account to access the video lessons and resources mentioned in this article.

10 Impactful character education development videos and activities for students

Flocabulary has a series of songs and videos that teach important social and emotional skills while also building vocabulary knowledge. The songs and videos were designed to not only improve students’ vocabulary and reading ability but also to develop the traits that will help them excel in school and in life. Focusing on the pillars of character through well-structured lesson plans is an effective way to promote a character education program.

Interested in more character building video lessons and activities for students? Check out the following posts:

Teaching trust and honesty
Responsibility and decision making skills
Teaching about anti-bullying
Impactful goal setting

1. Building empathy

The Building Empathy video lesson is a great resource to start teaching character education examples. Students understand the significance of understanding diverse perspectives and emotions through relatable scenarios. The video’s characters model empathetic behavior by recognizing friends’ emotions and taking action to support them.

By integrating this lesson, educators can nurture empathy, emotional intelligence, and compassionate interactions among students. This video effectively cultivates a culture of empathy, preparing students to become empathetic and responsible members of society.

The full video is available for free on YouTube! To access the assessments and activities accompanying the video, visit the Building Empathy lesson page on Flocabulary.

Our Respect lesson introduces the concept of respect and practical ways to demonstrate it towards family, friends, classmates, neighbors, and the community. This is essential when exploring ways of how to teach character development. The video’s relatable examples emphasize respect’s role in fostering positive relationships and harmonious interactions. By incorporating this resource into your character education lessons, educators can instill the value of respect, nurturing empathy, and consideration in students.

3. Goal Setting

This video explains Goal Setting using the SMART acronym. It highlights the significance of setting specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-based goals. Teaching students to create well-defined and achievable goals equips them with essential life skills beyond academics. Integrating this video-based lesson into your character development instruction empowers students to cultivate traits such as perseverance, determination, and organization. Explore more goal setting video lessons .

4. Bullying

This video addresses the critical issue of Bullying , including physical, verbal, social, and cyberbullying. By emphasizing the importance of treating others with respect and kindness, this lesson encourages empathy, compassion, and assertiveness in students. Provide students with the strategies needed to take action as either victims or bystanders. Explore more lessons related to bullying.

5. Joining In & Including Others

This Joining In & Including Others video lesson addresses the essential skill of social inclusion by demonstrating positive behaviors for asking to join a group and including friends in play. It incorporates relatable scenarios that demonstrate respectful communication, empathy, and the significance of valuing everyone. Use this video and its character building activities to teach inclusive values and encourage students to create a welcoming environment for all.

6. Diversity

Flocabulary’s Diversity video prompts students to reflect on the diversity within their community and the significance of embracing differences. The video helps teachers educate students to value diversity and treat everyone with respect. Encourage students to recognize that diversity encompasses more than just visible differences, fostering an understanding of the importance of varied backgrounds, interests, and cultures.

7. Self-Compassion

Our Self-Compassion video lesson tackles the vital concept of self-compassion, emphasizing the significance of respecting, loving, and accepting oneself. It also includes character education activities that highlight the positive impact of self-compassion for students. This resource helps students develop a positive relationship with themselves to confidently navigate life’s challenges and build mental resilience.

8. Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset is an inspiring video lesson emphasizing the value of learning from mistakes and believing in one’s potential. It equips students with a powerful mindset for personal and academic growth. Integrating this lesson can nurture character developmental traits such as perseverance, resilience, and optimism.

9. Managing Worry

Our Managing Worry video lesson addresses the shared experience of worry and equips students with practical strategies to manage those anxious feelings. By introducing techniques like deep breathing and positive thinking, this lesson empowers students to develop emotional resilience and coping skills. Teach students about self-awareness, emotional regulation, and empathy for others facing similar challenges.

10. Word Up

We made sure to include elements of character education in many of our “Word Up” vocabulary songs . Whether the morals are obvious or more subtly woven into the songs’ high-interest stories, teachers can use these units to foster the strong character traits that will serve students throughout their lives while teaching vocabulary .

Fostering character education through Flocabulary

School districts can see an improvement in academic achievement through implementing a character education curriculum. Recognizing the value of character building, Flocabulary provides a suite of engaging videos and lessons that can contribute to the development of essential life skills. These video lessons and activities offer educators the tools to nurture students into compassionate, resilient, and proactive members of society.

New to Flocabulary? Sign up for an account to access the video lessons and resources mentioned in this article.

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I this love website it has lot of great vidoe’s

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Top 10 effective classroom behavior management strategies
Impactful goal setting video lessons for teaching students

List of Free Character Education Activities Sources

Best of the web collection for character education.

Character education activities for elementary aged children

Free Character Education Activities- Elementary

Character education activities are becoming ever more important in our classrooms and homes. After all, having strong, positive character traits has been shown to increase academic performance, decrease depression, and increase pro-social behaviors. But finding good, free character education activities for elementary students can be a challenge. Fear not. We’ve done the work for you and searched the internet for some of the best free* elementary character education activities and curriculum resources from leading organizations. These free printable and online activities will help you easily integrate character education activities into your classroom. Whether you want a quick interactive activity or a full character education lesson, you’ll find lots of great ideas in our "Best of the Web" list of character ed lessons. Note, these links lead to sites outside of Talking with Trees.

Free Character Education Activites List

Character Ed Activities from Talking with Trees

Talking with Trees Character Education Teaching

Discover a collection of free character education resources including worksheets, posters, quotes, coloring pages, and lesson plans. Topics include honesty, respect, responsibility, caring, empathy.

GoodCharacter.com

Collection of free teacher's guides and lesson plans for grades K-12 covering dozens of topics for Character Education, Social Skills, and Social-Emotional Learning. Includes discussion questions, writing assignments, and student group activities.

Share My Lesson

Searchable database of free character education activities and lessons from various providers.

Find character building activities to help kids connect with others, to treat others with respect and caring, and to cooperate and resolve conflict. Search a database of free activities or try this article on Twelve games for social / emotional learning.

Character Education Activities from Morningside Center

Morningside Center Teachable Moments

Free character building activities that promote social responsibility and social emotional learning. Timely resources help teachers quickly address the character building moments that come from current events.

Learning for Justice

LearningforJustice.org offers a variety of free activities and other resources that teach kids to appreciate diversity, respect others, and to develop empathy and a sense of fairness. They have lessons about immigration, putting historical events into context, bullying, and more that can be adapted to your character education goals.

Moments A Day

Chelsea Lee Smith, author of 100+ Hands-on Activities to Learn Positive Character traits, offers for free quite a few of her character building activities for pre-k and toddlers. Ideas like “5 Activities to Help Children Develop Emotional Control” help you start teaching character to young children through play.

Learning to Give

Searchable database of free lessons and activities that integrate lessons on good character traits into other curriculum topics including history, language arts and science.

Random Acts of Kindness

Free kindness activities, posters, inspiration, and lessons that are easy to implement. Random Acts of Kindness Week is in February-- these lesson plans are a great way to celebrate with a character building activity.

Collection of Character Education Teaching Resources

Character Development Activities for the Classroom

Student high-fiving his teacher in a classroom

15 Character Building Classroom Activities for Teachers

As an educator, you are able to impact all facets of a student’s development: their intellect, their spirit, and also their character. Unfortunately, not a lot of time is spent helping teachers prepare for character development activities that enrich their classrooms and their school communities. Many educators find themselves trying to include character-centered lessons in their traditional academic curriculum, which can work, but may not be as effective.

To help, the team at USD has put together a list of easy-to-install character building classroom games and activities, broken down by grade level to help positively impact students at all stages of their development.

What is Character Building in the Classroom?

The U.S. Department of Education defines character building and character education as “a learning process that enables students and adults in a school community to understand, care about and act on core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility for self and others. Upon such core values, we form the attitudes and actions that are the hallmark of safe, healthy and informed communities that serve as the foundation of our society.”

Government experts recommend that teachers, administrators and school community leaders approach character education in a way that “offers multiple opportunities for students to learn about, discuss and enact positive social behaviors.” At its core, character building is intended to focus on emotional, intellectual and moral education.

What Benefits Can Character Building Achieve?

Teaching character education in schools has been proven to improve performance in a number of important areas. The top benefits include:

Higher academic performance among students
Improved overall student attendance
Improved student self esteem
Students and educators grow healthier relationships
Everyone becomes more skilled at resolving interpersonal conflicts
Reduction in school violence and disciplinary issues
Better prepares students to handle challenges and obstacles in the real world

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TEMPLATE [FREE TEACHING TOOL]

Use our handy 3-page Classroom Management Template to create a plan for everything that goes into successfully operating a classroom.

Many teachers, schools and school districts have turned to education nonprofit Character.org to help steer their character building efforts. Based on the extensive works of educators, researchers, business and civic leaders, the 11 Principles Framework for Schools: A Guide to Cultivating a Culture of Character acts as a foundation for all other school-based character education. The 11 Principles are as follows:

A set of core values are identified and embedded into the culture of the family, school, sports team or organization.
Character involves understanding, caring about and practicing your culture’s core values.
Your character development approach is proactive and comprehensive.
Caring attachments and relationships foster a sense of belonging and connection.
There are ample opportunities for everyone to live their core values, especially opportunities to serve others.
Your culture of character strives to develop everyone’s “best self,” including the four areas of character (moral civic, performance and intellectual).
A culture of character emphasizes intrinsic motivation rather than recognition or material rewards.
Everyone shares the responsibility to model, practice and uphold the core values.
All stakeholders are encouraged to take a leadership role and suggest ways to embed and practice the core values.
Your character initiative engages a range of partners (family members, parents, community members, etc.).
Core values are reaffirmed or revised each year to ensure that your character initiative is always improving and growing.

Using these as your guide, here is a list of specific educational activities and practices designed to enrich student character and the school as a whole.

Elementary School

Create a decorative bulletin board that allows students to add things that they are grateful for. Design the board like a tree or field of flowers, and each student’s contribution can be a petal or leaf. The result will be a board full of gratitude, a trait that is key in positive character building.
Working with your students, decide as a class what positive classroom behavior looks like. Things like how to handle anger, how to tackle challenges and how to work through conflict can all be included in a book. This helps students to understand what is expected of them and to reinforce good behavior.
Assign a buddy or buddies to everyone in the classroom and have each partner take turns giving positive encouragement to each other. This can be verbally or in the form of a note in their cubby. Giving peers compliments is a great way to help students build character and good social skills.
Work with students to define positive character traits. These things can be thought of as “ingredients” in the recipe of what good character looks like. By taking this perspective students can both contribute and reflect on their own “ingredients” and define their own personal recipe for good character.
As a written exercise, have students identify someone that they think has good character traits. This way they can explain things in their own words, and you can work with them to make sure they understand good character qualities.

Middle School

To help middle school students who are struggling with peer pressure, try this exercise: have students brainstorm a list of “great escapes.” These are simple strategies students can use in situations they aren’t comfortable with. They can take the form of direct refusal (saying “I don’t want to do that”) to more subtle strategies that are distracting or funny.
Define your classroom’s moral code by outlining the character traits and behaviors that are expected of everyone in that classroom community. Then, nominate a Citizen of (Your Class Name) to recognize students who live up to and further those positive character traits. This can be recognized by you, but better yet, can be voted on by the class.
Leave good character reminders on and around the doorway heading in and out of the classroom. Things like integrity, honesty and kindness are all easy, one-word reminders and can help keep all students focused on what matters in your classroom and school community.
Use current examples from social media and pop culture to help students see and understand positive character traits in action. Talk about the words used to describe different people and the connotations that go with those characterizations. Then, have students rewrite the example posts to use positive language and make them more encouraging.
Implement the well-known practice of paying it forward in your classroom. In a school setting this can look like one student carrying the extra books for another, or helping someone who is taking a little longer on an assignment. Paying it forward helps students show positive, gracious attitudes and create a more positive environment for all.

High School

Make giving back a part of your classroom curriculum in the form of volunteer work or community service. Find service-learning opportunities or projects that students can take on for a semester or even school year. This empowers kids to use their talents and skills in a positive way and helps teach them to care for others and demonstrate empathy.
Let students practice both their debate skills in an exercise many call Talk It Out. Have your class break up into small groups and have students discuss their points of view and opinions about character traits and social issues. Let them define and defend their understanding of positive traits and how they impact communities, but in a way that is still thoughtful and polite.
Build lessons around a handful of inspirational TED Talks. Use talks that emphasize good character traits or times where the speaker faced a challenge. Using that as inspiration, have students put together their own TED Talk to present to the class that highlights a time where they persevered or demonstrated good character.
Start by having students take a personality test like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Use the test results to help students learn more about themselves and see how their personality types align with what they feel are their strengths and weaknesses. Then have students work in groups based on their results to figure out ways to improve upon their weaker abilities.
Try implementing one-minute etiquette or manners lessons into your daily routine. Not only will these skills benefit them immediately, they will prove to be valuable when students leave high school. Cover topics like how facial expressions affect professional relationships to the proper basic table manners at a business lunch.

Resources for Character Building Activities

There are also a number of free resources available to educators to help them shape their character building activities and lessons. Here are some of the most notable from reputable organizations:

U.S. Department of Education
Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center
What Works Clearinghouse
Character.org
USD Character Education Certificate Program : Educators who are interested in a more formal opportunity to improve their character building skills should consider the online USD Character Building Certificate. Through this multi-course program, teachers and school leaders will learn how to help students develop good character habits and good citizenship and deploy best practices and instructional strategies for teaching positive social skills.

FAQs About Character Building for Students

What is character education.

Character education is “a learning process that enables students and adults in a school community to understand, care about and act on core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility for self and others. Upon such core values, we form the attitudes and actions that are the hallmark of safe, healthy and informed communities that serve as the foundation of our society.”

Why are the benefits of character building for students?

Research shows that character building, or character education, can have the following positive results on students and school communities:

Higher academic performance amongst students

What are some free character building resources?

Try any one of these free resources to help you get started teaching character education in your classroom:

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Bits of Positivity

Inspiration | Quotes | Parenting | Character Education

20+ Free Character Education Printables

October 17, 2014 By Deb Chitwood 4 Comments

The third week in October is Character Counts! Week . In honor of Character Counts! Week October 19-25, I’m sharing 20+ free character education printables. These are great for Character Counts! Week, but can be used throughout the year to encourage good character in your children and/or students.

I’m especially focusing here on character education activities, posters, and bookmarks.

Free Character Education Printables for a Variety of Ages

Downloadable Resources for Character Count! Week from Josephson Institute (I especially like the “Tips for Parents” and “Seven Days of Character: One Idea for Each Day of Character Counts! Week”)

Character Trait Comic Strips by Savvy School Counselor at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character education printables from ABC Teach

Character education printables from Talking with Trees

Character Counts {Character Trait Posters} by Andi Webb at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Counts Pillar Freebie by Miss King’s Classroom at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Education Activity Pack by Marla Weinstein at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Education Activity Pack #2 by Marla Weinstein at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Building Bookmarks by Marla Weinstein at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Building Cards by Marla Weinstein at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Building Cards #2 by Marla Weinstein at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Counts Character Education Activity by Have Fun Teaching at Teachers Pay Teachers

Camping Theme Character Education Matching Card Game Activity by Teacher Tom at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character Signs (plus more educational signs) at Technology Rocks

Character Ed Posters by Scotts Scoop at Teachers Notebook

Be Kind Poster by Whimsy Workshop Teaching at Teachers Pay Teachers

26 Random Acts of Kindness by The Kinder Project at Teachers Pay Teachers

{Homemade Place-Mat Printable} Encourage Respectful Behavior At The Table from Moments a Day

Free Montessori-Inspired Character Education Printables

Free Peaceful Character Printables from Montessori Print Shop

Manners and Character Building Fishing Game and Stepping Stones to Good Character Game by Just Montessori

Random Acts of Kindness Freebie by Finding Montessori at Teachers Pay Teachers

Character-Based Word Art Freebies and Other Character Education Resources

I have a category of quotation word-art freebies with lots of printables that can be used to encourage good character.

You’ll find many more character education resources in my character category .

While you’re here, please check out “Getting Kids Involved in Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

ALL THE POSTS IN THE FREE CHARACTER EDUCATION SONGS SERIES HERE AT MY BITS OF POSITIVITY BLOG

Free Bucket-Filling Videos for Character Education
Free Manners Songs for Home or Classroom
Free Thank-You Songs and Rhymes for Home or School
Free Gratitude Songs and Rhymes for Home or School
Free Patience Songs and Rhymes for Home or School {Character Education Resources}
Free Kindness Songs and Rhymes for Home or School {Character Education Resources}
Free Responsibility Songs and Rhymes for Home or School {Character Education Resources}
Free Respect Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources} – Respect is one of the core Olympic values.
Free Cooperation Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources}
Free Excellence Songs and Resources {Character Education} – Excellence is one of the core Olympic values.
Free Friendship Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources} – Friendship is one of the core Olympic values.
Free Songs about Virtues {with Character Education Themes and Unit Studies}
Free Determination Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources} – Determination is one of the Paralympic values.
Free Courage Songs {Character Education Resources} – Courage is one of the Paralympic values.
Free Equality and Fairness Songs {Character Education Resources} – Equality is one of the Paralympic values.
Free Inspirational Songs {Character Education Resources} – Inspiration is one of the Paralympic values.
Free Taking Turns and Sharing Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources}
Free Helping Hand and Helpfulness Songs {Character Education Resources}
Free Anti-Bullying Songs {Character Education Resources}
Free Conservation Songs for Home or School {Character Education Resources}
Free Relaxing Music for Studying and Concentration for Kids
Free Curiosity Songs {Character Education Resources}

Note: I have lots of word-art inspiration at the Bits of Positivity Facebook page and on Pinterest !

Background Photo at Top of Post by Olga Poltavskaya .

May be linked to Afterschool Express , Thoughtful Spot , Tuesday Tots , The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions , Mom’s Library , A Little Bird Told Me Linky Party , The Weekly Kid’s Co-op , Homeschool Link-up , Learn & Link , TGIF Linky Party , Preschool Corner , Ultimate Homeschool Pinterest Party , Sharing Saturday , Share It Saturday , Show-and-Share Saturday , The Sunday Showcase , Link & Learn , KLP Linky Party .

Free Bucket-Filling Videos for Character Education

Reader Interactions

October 21, 2014 at 4:34 pm

Love these ideas! So glad I found them- pinned it for later. Found the post on the Show and Share link party and started following on Pinterest.

Erin http://theeveryday-mom.blogspot.com/

October 21, 2014 at 11:51 pm

What a great list of resources, thank you! Pinning for later.

October 22, 2014 at 7:08 pm

Thank you so much for linking this post up to The Sunday Showcase!

November 16, 2014 at 11:49 am

Thank you! I’m a school counselor K -6.

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Character Education Curriculum for Elementary Schools

Get your free anti-bullying poster, character education and leadership development, what is characterleads®.

CharacterLeads® is a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, fully downloadable character education curriculum for public elementary schools that develops tomorrow's leaders by building character in children today.

Developed by two PhD's, one with a PhD in Leadership and one with a PhD in Education, CharacterLeads® starts with the end in mind: transformational adult leaders . It then works backward to identify the character qualities children need to develop in order to become effective leaders as adults.

What is included?

A full year* of character education curriculum for your elementary schools!

Each downloadable unit includes...

A Printable Unit Guide**
SEL visualized through video from a multi-award winning TV show
Printable Character Word Definition Poster

CharacterLeads® meets the requirements of laws

in Texas, Florida, and other states that require

character education in public schools.

*18 units / 36 weeks of curriculum

Are you ready to develop the next generation of leaders?

Each printable characterleads® unit guide** includes, leadership connection.

Character education curriculum is required in many elementary schools across the country. This part of the curriculum connects the dots to understand why the character trait is an integral part of becoming a transformational adult leader.

Assembly Guide

Gather your students and watch plug-and-play video excerpts of the Beach Club® Kids as they explore the character word. Discuss the video using grade-appropriate questions included in the character education curriculum, designed for elementary schools.

Classroom Lesson

Character connection.

CharacterLeads® character education curriculum for Elementary schools comes complete with learning objectives, conversation starters, and relevant quotes.

Reinforcement Activities

CharacterLeads® Character Education Curriculum for Elementary Schools engages students in discovering what the character trait looks like when it's lived out in real life. Introduce students to a historical character who exemplified the character trait. The segment can be closed with students expressing how they can apply the character word in their lives.

Elementary Schools can reinforce this character education curriculum and the character concept through conversation prompts, followed by the Make it Stick Review Game.

CharacterLeads® Character Education Curriculum for Elementary Schools comes complete with additional game ideas, projects, and writing prompts.

Student Worksheets

Parent reinforcement letter.

CharacterLeads® Character Education Curriculum for Elementary Schools also includes printable worksheets for students to use during daily warm-up times.

Book Suggestions

Elementary Schools can encourage reading that reinforces character through the recommended reading list found in each unit of the CharacterLeads® Character Education Curriculum.

CharacterLeads® Character Education Curriculum for Elementary Schools engages parents through this printable parent letter, complete with tips on how to reinforce the character word at home.

Ready to use CharacterLeads® to train tomorrow's leaders?

Use in schools & districts, use in co-ops & small groups, use in the home, school & district licensing agreement.

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21 Character Building Activities for Kids to Learn Values

Aubrey Freitas is a former Registered Behavioral Therapist (RBT) who has two Bachelor of Arts degrees from UCLA in Psychology and English. She is a Certified Resilience Peer through her work with the Depression Grand Challenge, and a lifelong mental health advocate.

Learn about our Editorial Policy .

Raising children of good character may seem like a no-brainer, but in practice, it can actually be quite challenging. Parents today compete with distractions from social media, their children's peers, teachers, and other media sources. Making a few character-building activities part of your regular routine can help teach children essential skills that will help them interact with others successfully. These character development games for kids work equally well in a family or school setting.

What Is Character Building?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, character-building is defined as "helping to make someone emotionally stronger, more independent, and better at dealing with problems." Practicing character-building games can help your child develop skills, such as communication and teamwork, that will help set them up for success in the world.

20+ Fun Ways to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten
14 Volleyball Games for Kids to Bump to the Top of Your List

That's What I Like About You

This activity can help children see what their strengths are and build self-esteem . According to Kids Health , children who understand their "strengths and weaknesses and feel good about themselves seem to have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures." Character-building games like this one can help.

Permanent markers

Instructions

Have everyone in the group sit in a circle.
For smaller groups, pass out the same number of balloons to each person as the total number in the group minus one. So, if there are six people in the group, each person gets five balloons (one for each person aside from themself). For larger groups of 10 or more, pass out two balloons to each person and ask group members to pick one person of their choice and one person they don't know well. As the leader, you should also take balloons and choose kids you think might not be chosen as readily as others.
Instruct group members to blow up a balloon with a particular person in mind, tie it and add a ribbon.
They should then write the person's name and a positive trait of that person on the balloon with the sharpie.
Repeat the process with subsequent balloons.
Once everyone has finished blowing up and writing on their balloons, have group members take the balloon to the person that balloon is for. Each person should have several balloons with positive sayings on them.

Role-Playing Respect

Teaching children the concept of respecting others can be a vital skill when they are adults. Respect can translate into the workplace or the community. Imagine a worker who does not respect their boss when they are asked to complete a task. They probably won't have their job for very long. Now, you can probably see why this skill is an essential character trait you'll want your child to develop.

For this activity, you need two volunteers. (Alternatively, you can do this activity with your two children at home). If the group has more than two children, the others can observe.
Instruct your volunteers to act out two scenarios. In the first scenario, two friends are talking on the bus. They are being very rude to each other (saying unkind things, interrupting each other, pushing, etc.).
Pause after this skit and ask the kids what the two were doing that wasn't respectful. Allow and facilitate discussion.
Have the same two volunteers act out the same scene, but tell them to be respectful to each other and not do any of the things that weren't respectful. Tell them to be kind, not interrupt one another, not push, etc. Afterward, continue a discussion on the differences between the two scenarios.

Seeing behaviors acted out makes it clear to children what behaviors are unacceptable.

How to Be a Hero

Good citizenship involves many things, from helping others to caring for those we interact with and showing a personal interest in them. According to Marilyn Price-Mitchell, Ph.D., in an article for Psychology Today , when children develop good citizenship skills , they make a "greater mark on the world."

Crayons or markers
Gather your children or class and start a discussion on heroes. Ask the kids to name traits of a good hero. Guide them to words such as helpful, kind, and brave.
Now, ask them to name some heroes they know both from movies or television and from real life. Kids may come up with superheroes as well as civil servants such as doctors and firefighters. Encourage them to look more deeply at other people who might not appear to be heroes at first glance but who perform heroic/selfless acts, such as the neighbor who mows another's lawn when their father had surgery or the parent who gives up sleep to get up early to take them to a soccer game.
For the second part of the activity, ask the students to draw a picture of themselves, but to turn themselves into a superhero with all the traits a hero has.
End with a discussion on how they can be good citizens by using some of these positive traits every day. Suggest scenarios like helping feed the cat when a parent is tired after a long day or clearing the dishes without being asked.

Conflict Ladder

The Conflict Ladder offers some building blocks that children can be taught to help them learn to deal with the inevitable conflicts they'll experience throughout life. The skills include staying calm, listening to the other person, and getting ideas to solve the problem. Not only will you want to discuss these, but you'll also want to model them in your behavior.

Photocopies of a ladder with six rungs

In this character-building activity, you're going to use the concept of a ladder to teach children how to solve conflicts with others. Provide each child with a drawing of a ladder that has six rungs. As you go through each rung, the children will color it in with the color you state, and this will help them remember the concept of resolving conflict. Tell children they must climb the rungs in order, because if they skip one, they might slip and fall back into conflict.

Blue : The color blue stands for calm. Take some deep breaths to overcome your anger and stay calm when you have a conflict with someone else.
Red : The color red stands for stop. Stop and take a minute to listen to what the other person is saying. Repeat what they've said back to them to make sure you really understand the problem.
Yellow : The color yellow stands for caution. Proceed carefully and use "I" statements so you don't accuse the other person. For example, instead of saying, "You're mean!" say, "I feel like I'm being treated unfairly." Put the focus on you and or your feelings.
Red : Use red again because you need to remember to stop and listen after you've made your "I" statement. Let the other person respond. Some conflicts are due to misunderstandings. For example, your friend might say, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. This is what I meant."
Green : Green stands for "go!" Go and get other people to help you solve the problem. Gathering ideas from others usually results in a resolution of the problem.
Blue : Blue again to remind you to stay calm, even if the resolution isn't what you wanted or you are unable to solve the conflict.

Character Building Topics for Kids

Character development games for kids include many topics, ideas, and age-appropriate phrases. Build lessons and activities around topics such as:

Trustworthy
Dependability
Perseverance
Strengths and weaknesses
Problem-solving
Self-confidence
Cooperation

Simple Character Development Activities

Common word games and activities can easily be adapted to include these character development traits and topics. Start with these examples, then create your own character-building twist on a classic game.

Guess Who - Play Guess Who by describing the traits of a person in a common civil servant job, such as a police officer, and have kids guess who you're talking about.
Traveling Together - Set up a basic team-building exercise by challenging small groups of kids to get from one location to another using only a few materials like hula hoops. Discuss the different topics/traits they displayed while working together.
Strengths I Spy - Take the classic game I Spy and give it a twist by having kids take turns naming off all the strengths of one person in the room while others try to guess who the mystery person is.
Blindfolded Obstacles - Set up objects on the ground, such as string, pillows, shoes, or whatever you can find. Then, pair groups into teams of two. have one teammate wear a blindfold and have the other give them instructions on how to get through the obstacles without seeing them, to practice trust and leadership.
All Hands on Deck - Place a step stool, flat piece of wood, or a piece of paper on the floor. Make sure it is small enough so each person in the group could only fit one foot on it. Then, have the group practice problem solving and teamwork by figuring out how to have all members standing on the stool at the same time without touching the ground.
Tug of War - Find a rope and split your group into two teams. Have the members work together to find their unique strengths against their opponents, and use problem-solving strategies to manage their weaknesses.
Cross the Road - Use two platforms and a long piece of wood that can be used as a road between them. Have all members of the group stand on one platform, and then instruct them to find a way to cross to the other side. The team must come together to help each member cross and use problem-solving strategies.
Card Connection - Give each member of the group a card from a deck and have them stick it to their forehead without looking at it. Tell the group that the goal of the game is to partner up with a person with the highest value card. After, discuss how different card values felt and how they were treated differently than people with high-value cards.
Gathering Rice - Spread out rice on a table and split the group members into teams. Assign each team an instrument to use in order to pick up the rice, such as tweezers, spoons, or cups. Tell them that they can only use their tool and not their hands and that whoever gathers the most rice wins. After, discuss fairness and how different tools made the game easier or more difficult to play.
Red Light, Green Light - Have all members of the group line up at one point in the room. Then, select certain members to take a variety of steps forward, such as five steps for a few members, and ten steps for others. Play a game of red light, green light, and afterward discuss fairness and how members that took steps ahead had an unfair advantage.
No Talking - Use a card deck and give each member of the group a card. Tell them to stick the card to their forehead without looking at it. Then, announce that no one can talk to cards of a certain color or number. You can change the number or color throughout the game to give others a chance to experience isolation. After, discuss how it made others feel when they were being rejected or ignored for their color/number.
Two on One - Split up your group into threes, so that two people will be on the same team and one person will be competing against them. They can play a game of basketball, tag, collecting objects, or anything that would be easier for a two-person team to accomplish. Discuss perseverance and fairness after everyone has taken a turn being a one and two-person team.
Words for Friends - Give your group a scenario about how their friend is feeling upset with themselves because they didn't do very well on a test, or lost the game-winning shot. Have your group write down a list of things they would say to their friend. Next, have them write down the thoughts they would have about themselves if they were in the situation. Talk about the differences between the lists and how it's important to have respect for ourselves and talk to ourselves the way one would a friend.
Out on You - Have your team play a game of basketball, balloon volleyball, four square, or any game where a ball can go out of bounds. While the team plays, be the referee, and occasionally call the ball out on the wrong team. See if the members of the group practice honesty and good sportsmanship. After each play, discuss how members of both teams feel and react.
Citizenship Bingo - Create a bingo-style card with elements such as citizenship, honesty, and fairness in the squares. See who can get five characteristics in a row and be named a model citizen. Have the winners give examples of the characteristics before they claim their prize.
Talent Show and Tell - Have each member of your group think of a special talent they have, anything from playing soccer to painting. Then, allow each member of the group to showcase their talent in front of others. Discuss how everyone's talents are unique and help kids experience self-confidence.
I Need You - Print out a coloring sheet and give one to each member of your group, along with a different item to work with, such as crayons, scissors, glue, etc. Tell them they need to figure out a way to color, cut, and glue their images. Discuss sharing, cooperation, and generosity as they swap tools to get the job done.

Activities Are Stepping Stones

These character-building activities will get you started in teaching children character values. However, keep in mind that learning good character is a lifelong process, especially learning how to deal with issues like conflict management and sticking to your principles in sticky situations. Start with the activities and continue to reinforce the concepts on a day-to-day basis, and eventually you'll see natural character development occur.

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About Dublin Dublin is a suburban city in the East (San Francisco) Bay Area and Tri-Valley regions of Alameda County, California. The city, with a population of approximately 73,000, is located along the north side of the Interstate 580/680 intersection. About the Dublin Unified School District The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) serves nearly 13,000 students, from preschool through adult education, in a diverse suburban environment. The district is comprised of seven elementary schools, two middle schools, one TK-8 school, one continuation high school, and two comprehensive high schools. DUSD's mission is to educate every student to become a lifelong learner by providing a safe and supportive environment that fosters collective responsibility for each student’s success. The District is ranked as one of the "Best School Districts in California" and its schools have been recognized with numerous accolades, including Advanced Placement Honor Roll, National Blue Ribbon School, Gold Ribbon Award, Project Lead The Way Distinguished School, California School of Character, National School of Character, Educational Results Partnership Honor Roll, California Distinguished School, and Title 1 Academic Achievement Award School.

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Elementary character education activities

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Back to School Goal Setting Activities Students Worksheets First Day of School

Calm Down Techniques - Calm Down Corner, Books, Posters, and Supports

STEM Bins® Teambuilders for Back to School - Team Building STEM Activities

Social Emotional Learning Activities, Social Skills, Kindness SEL Curriculum K-2

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KinderSocialSkills: Social Skill Curriculum | GOOGLE™ READY | Distance Learning

Social Skills (SEL) Classroom Management Routines Bundle Preschool PreK Kinder

Feelings Emotions Unit (SEL) for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten

Fire Drill Routine, Book, & Posters - School Safety, Back to School

Morning Meeting Slides - Morning Meeting Activities + Greetings Bundle for K-2

All About My Family for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten

Classroom Rules and Expectations GOOGLE SLIDES compatible slideshow School rules

Classroom Job Chart & Management System - Editable Student Jobs & Class Roles

Friendship Unit - How to Make Friends Conflicts Social Skills Compliments SEL

Healthy Friendships Group Counseling Curriculum and Friendship Skills Activities

Rainbow Classroom Job Chart - Classroom Decor

Morning Meeting Slides - Morning Meeting for 3rd 4th 5th - Upper Elementary

Kindness Coloring Pages | Kindness Activities | Kindness Posters

Playground & Recess Rules Book, Posters, & Student Certificates

Morning Meeting for First Grade | YEAR-LONG BUNDLE | Google Slides

Growth Mindset Activities, Lessons & Posters for K-2 - Social Emotional Learning

End of the Year Awards l Editable Classroom Awards l Certificates

Bucket Filling Filler Back to School Activities, Ideas, Craft, & Bulletin Board

Butterfly Spring May Bulletin Board Mindfulness Craft: Mindful Monarchs

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IMAGES

Character Worksheet For Kids
Character Education Workbook/Worksheets for Elementary School
Kindness & Character Education Activities by Curriculum Castle
Free Printable Character Education Worksheets
Free Character Education Printables
Character Education Activities by The Teaching Rabbit

COMMENTS

104 Engaging Character Building Activities for Kids
These 104 engaging character building activities for kids represent a small percentage of the resources I have available for character education. Building character is an essential part of raising and teaching kids. For many, values and morals are not being taught in the home. Whether you are a school teacher, care giver or a parent ready to ...
30 Character-Building Ideas and Activities for School
Character-building Activities: Elementary . Bucket-filler Friday - Take time once a week to have students encourage each other. This could be via written notes or circle time to give each other compliments. Recipe for Success - Students post "ingredients" for the recipe of what good character looks like. You could do a group brainstorming session or have children write and draw their recipes.
Elementary School
For grades K-3 (en español) News and developments in character education and helpful tips and ideas that you can use with your own program! Elementary School teaching guides for Social Emotional Learning and Character Education. Includes lesson plans, writing assignments, student activities.
PDF How to Build a 36-Week Character Education Curriculum
ssWillingness36 Suggested Activities and ProjectsSuggested activities can be adapted for various grade levels. and address multiple learning styles and preferences. These. ctivities may encompass one or more character traits. Individual and small group activities are included.
Character Education & Social Emotional (SEL) Learning Resources
News and developments in character education and helpful tips and ideas that you can use with your own program! Free Character Education and Social Emotional Learning resources for teachers, counselors, coaches, youth leaders. Lesson Plans and Teaching Guides.
Character Education Lesson Plans
Ready-to-use Character Education and SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Lesson Plans. Based on popular read aloud books, each lesson focuses on a character building trait and includes discussion questions, writing assignments, and student activities for building life skills such as diversity, trustworthiness, self-esteem, respect, responsibility ...
50+ Free Character Education Curriculum Resources
Character Education Posters. Keep the lesson going with these bright, printable posters. Ideal for character education curriculums around character counts week when the school is decorated with good character reminders. 1. What If Poster Teaching responsibility, self control and respect. (From What if, Talking with Trees Book 3.) 3.
Character Education Toolkit: 20 Printable Worksheets
Character Education Toolkit 20 Printable Activities to Build Integrity, Fairness & Kindness Looking for fun, effective ways to help kids build character? Our Character Education Toolkit has the answer. Inside, you'll find 20 printable activities to grow big hearts and strong values. From interactive worksheets, to brain-teasing puzzles, dynamic challenges and calming coloring sheets, each […]
Character Education
Character Education. Collaboration, self-esteem, and social skills are critical aspects of children's education. These printable lesson plans, worksheets, activities, writing prompts, mini-plays, myths and folktales, bulletin board ideas, and recognition awards focus on themes to build character, class community, kindness, and respect.
How to Build Outstanding Character with Easy Back to School Activities
Our Giving Trees. Finally, we wrap up our character building back to school activities by reading aloud a classic, The Giving Tree. Every single person has at least one thing that they can share with the world. We make our trees and write the things we want to share with others. Once again, this can make a great bulletin board or can be a great ...
Character Counts!
What We Do. CHARACTER COUNTS! focuses on building students' character, social-emotional, and academic skills, while shaping a positive school culture. Our flexible PK-12 framework is based on: the Six Pillars of Character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship), our TEAM approach to character ...
29 Awesome Character Building Activities
On Time or Spin the Wheel. Character Building Games. Jenga. Card Playing. Triangle Tagging. Chutes and Ladders. Friend and Foe. In this article, we have character education building games and activities for every age. Each activity tells you what character trait will be learned and/or enforced.
Character Education Worksheets
Help elementary aged students build good character traits with this collection of colorful, quality character education worksheets. Find worksheets on topics like honesty, respect, repsonsibility, caring and perseverance. Our elementary character education worksheets dig deeper, helping children understand the real meaning of good traits while ...
Character education development videos and activities for students
Growth Mindset is an inspiring video lesson emphasizing the value of learning from mistakes and believing in one's potential. It equips students with a powerful mindset for personal and academic growth. Integrating this lesson can nurture character developmental traits such as perseverance, resilience, and optimism. 9.
List of Character Education Activities
Free Character Education Activities- Elementary. Character education activities are becoming ever more important in our classrooms and homes. After all, having strong, positive character traits has been shown to increase academic performance, decrease depression, and increase pro-social behaviors.
Character Education Ideas, Tips and Programs
Ideas for Classroom Character Programs. Classroom Meetings - These are a great starting point to teach taking turns, establishing goals and solving problems. Kindness Matters - This one theme can springboard into lessons on apologizing, showing respect, laughing inappropriately, taking care of the classroom and more.
Character Development Activities for the Classroom
The 11 Principles are as follows: A set of core values are identified and embedded into the culture of the family, school, sports team or organization. Character involves understanding, caring about and practicing your culture's core values. Your character development approach is proactive and comprehensive. Caring attachments and ...
Elementary character education activities
Create a Calm Down Corner and teach calm down techniques to help your students develop self-regulation and manage their big emotions. It includes a class read-aloud, calm down pos
20+ Free Character Education Printables
The third week in October is Character Counts! Week. In honor of Character Counts! Week October 19-25, I'm sharing 20+ free character education printables. These are great for Character Counts! Week, but can be used throughout the year to encourage good character in your children and/or students. I'm especially focusing here on character education activities, posters, and bookmarks.
Character Education Curriculum, Elementary Schools
CharacterLeads® is a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, fully downloadable character education curriculum for public elementary schools that develops tomorrow's leaders by building character in children today. Developed by two PhD's, one with a PhD in Leadership and one with a PhD in Education, CharacterLeads® starts with the end in mind ...
Evidence-Based Character Education Programs, Curriculum & Lessons
Positive Action offers lessons for preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school levels, thus students will expand their character education in a healthy manner from an early age. Most importantly, educators must have confidence in the content they are teaching to their students.
21 Character Building Activities for Kids to Learn Values
Activities Are Stepping Stones. These character-building activities will get you started in teaching children character values. However, keep in mind that learning good character is a lifelong process, especially learning how to deal with issues like conflict management and sticking to your principles in sticky situations.
Daybreak Health Free Family Education Webinar August 24th
Clubs and Activities Show submenu for Clubs and Activities Media Center Show ... Daybreak Health Free Family Education Webinar August 24th Kelsey Ledford August 2, 2024 It can be hard to understand what your child might be ... Ida Freeman Elementary School 501 W. Hurd Edmond, OK 73003 Phone: (405) 340-2965 Fax: (405) 330-3347. Email Websmaster ;
Behavior Specialist
About Dublin Dublin is a suburban city in the East (San Francisco) Bay Area and Tri-Valley regions of Alameda County, California. The city, with a population of approximately 73,000, is located along the north side of the Interstate 580/680 intersection. About the Dublin Unified School District The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) serves nearly 13,000 students, from preschool through ...
Elementary character education activities
Help your students keep a growth mindset and set meaningful goals this back to school as you launch into the new school year. As a new school year begins, it's a great opportunity