high school ethics assignment

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Lesson Plan: Ethics in Business

Description.

In this lesson, students will learn about ethics, analyze actions for ethical dilemmas, and write a personal code of ethics for business and personal use.

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Scroll to the related items section at the bottom of this page for additional resources.

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Ethical & Moral Dilemmas for Classroom Discussion:

The daily dilemma archive.

This is an archive of moral & ethical dilemma discussion starters from the case files of Charis Denison, Prajna Consulting . It presents a variety of age-appropriate, real-life examples of ethical dilemmas to ignite intense student discussions. These are just synopses. When you see something that looks interesting (and they all are), just click on the number and you’ll get the full story, notes for the facilitator (that’s you), and challenging discussion questions.

Ethics Lesson Plan: Determining What is Right and Solving Conflicts

In this ethics lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 3-12, students will use BrainPOP resources to explore the basics of ethics and morality. They will reflect on how we determine what is right and wrong, and practice using two different strategies for making tough ethical decisions. Students will also practice conflict resolution skills and reaching compromises with others who hold different ethical beliefs.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:.

• Define ethics and explain how we decide what is right and wrong.
• Explore two different strategies for solving tough ethical dilemmas and evaluate each based on their effectiveness.
• Internet access for BrainPOP
• Class set of photocopies of the Graphic Organizer

Vocabulary:

Lesson procedure:.

• Display one of the ethics quotes from the Related Reading Quotables page or a quote of your own choosing. Alternatively, have students explore as essential question such as "How do we determine what is right and wrong?" As a warm-up activity, have students reflect in writing or orally on what the quote or essential question means to them.
• Talk with students about their responses. What are ethics? (The movie defines ethics as a set of guidelines for behaving morally.) Who determines the set of guidelines? Where do the guidelines originate? How do the guidelines change over time?
• Play the Ethics movie for the class. Allow students to talk about how their understanding of ethics evolved after viewing the movie.
• Ask a student volunteer to explain Tim's process for working through ethical dilemmas (making a pros-and-cons-style list.) Have students ever tried this method? How did it work?
• Project the Worksheet on your interactive whiteboard for students to see. Explain that they will choose one of the ethical dilemmas on the Related Reading In Depth page and pair up with a friend to choose sides in the dilemma. Each person will use a sheet of paper to write down arguments to support their side.
• Provide time for students to share their arguments with their partner. Remind students of Tim's suggestion to ask themselves, "What solution is fairest to all the people involved?" Encourage students to reach a compromise together and record it at the bottom of their papers.
• Ask for volunteers to share the compromise that they agreed to, and talk with students about how the decisions were made.
• Pose the following questions to students: How do you determine what is right and wrong? What is the foundation of your "moral compass"? Pass out photocopies of the Graphic Organizer and have students complete it based on an ethical dilemma from the BrainPOP movie, Related Reading page, or their own lives. This could be completed as a homework assignment if you want to give students additional time to reflect...
• Ask students to think about which decision-making tool was more helpful for them personally, the activity (pros/cons style list) or the graphic organizer. What strategies will students use to make tough ethical decisions in the future?

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• Ethics in Culture

For Educators

The Prindle Post  is the Prindle Institute’s online source for pieces that examine and explain the ethical dimensions of current events and culture. If you are an educator interested in incorporating  The Prindle Post  in your classroom, you can visit  prindlepost.org  every day to find new articles on ethics in the news and culture. We write thoughtful discussion questions and classroom activities for many of our articles, and have compiled them on our  educational resources page under four broad categories: Civics , Business , Science , and Culture . Below, we’ve also provided tips for leading discussion on these cases.

How to Talk about Ethics in the Classroom

Ethics is the study of right and wrong behavior. We can use this study to establish guidelines for understanding and assessing the correctness or incorrectness of people’s actions. But the study of ethics is not about simply memorizing a specific set of rules. By studying ethics we practice identifying, evaluating, and reforming our deeply-held beliefs about how we want the world to be.

The study of ethics gives us a specialized vocabulary we can use to communicate with one another. It allows us to critically evaluate the political, legal, and economic institutions that we share. Ultimately, ethics provides the tools to reshape the world around us—a language to define fairness, diagnose inequality, and correct injustice.

There are three common difficulties that arise when talking about ethics: 1) the relation between ethics and the law, 2) the difference between moral claims and descriptive facts (that is, descriptions about the way the world is), and 3) the worry that moral disputes are merely differences of opinion with no right or wrong answer.

What Is Ethical and What Is Legal

Ethics is not the same thing as law. When we consider whether a doctor  should  aid in physician-assisted suicide, we ask if it is the morally correct thing to do. Is such an action consistent with our moral beliefs and principles on the matter? This question cannot be answered by reference to our laws or previous court rulings.

While the prescriptions of law and morality often overlap (“murder is wrong”), this is not always the case (“breaking a promise is wrong”). Law is more permissive; it allows, or at least does not condemn, more actions than one’s moral or religious beliefs typically do (lying or cheating on a partner). Likewise, many of the duties prescribed by our moral or religious beliefs are not legally required (prayer, charity, being a good Samaritan).

Why is this the case? Why do our moral beliefs and our laws diverge? The law is intended to regulate everyone’s behavior regardless of the specific beliefs of any particular citizen. It offers basic guidelines to promote the general welfare of society. But the law tries not to take a stand on what citizens can personally believe. We maintain the priority of rights like freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, and freedom of religion, and so we expect the law to be more tolerant than individual moral and religious codes.

Despite this separation between legal fact and moral belief, we may observe some connection between what the law says and what our morals say in many cases. Moral reasons are often given in support of legislation, and laws can sometimes be seen as expressing our moral convictions. Because of this, law and morality appear deeply intertwined.

While the formation of any law may be influenced by moral beliefs, this should not be taken as proof that the moral dispute has been resolved. Just because we have a law permitting the death penalty or prohibiting felons from voting, does not mean that we cannot or should not examine the evidence and arguments on either side. In the end, the questions that we confront in the study of ethics cannot simply be answered by deferring to what the law says on the matter. In some ways, our question is more fundamental. We want to know  why  the law says what it says, or what the law  should  say.

[ Troubleshooting : We all have a tendency to sidestep difficult moral questions by focusing on whether an act is legal. When asked if it’s okay to test cosmetics on animals, or to administer lethal injections to inmates, or to engage in price-gouging, it’s easy to say that these actions are permissible because no law has been broken. When asked if it is wrong to drive a vehicle without a seatbelt, or to pay for organ donation, or to engage in civil disobedience, it’s easy to respond that these actions are forbidden because they violate the law. But all of these responses fail to address the underlying moral considerations; there is more going on here.

These questions might be helpful in getting to these deeper issues and moving the conversation from a legal debate to a moral one:

“ Imagine you were a lawmaker  …”

“ What do you think the law should say? ”

“ What do you think is fair? ”

“ Is the position justified? ”

Descriptive Facts and Normative Claims

The difference between legal facts and moral beliefs helps to highlight the distinction between a descriptive statement and a normative claim. Descriptive statements are things that are or are not true—for example, “All US presidents have been male” is a descriptive statement, a statement of fact. Here are some other descriptive statements: “Jaywalking is a crime.” “In 2016, Blacks represented 12% of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prison population. Whites accounted for 64% of adults but 30% of prisoners.” “The world is flat.”

Normative claims are different, because they express whether something should or shouldn’t be the case—for example, “All US presidents  should  be male” is a normative claim. So too are these claims: “Jaywalking should not be a crime.” “Incarceration rates between blacks and whites are unjust.” “Flat-earthers are treated unfairly.”

Normative claims make value judgments. When we make normative claims, we express opinions that are based on our principles and beliefs. These claims are very different from descriptive statements which are based on measurable, scientific facts that can be easily proven or disproven.

Instead, normative claims are assessed according to an argument’s merit. We want to see whether one’s starting principles and beliefs warrant the conclusion that is drawn. Think of a doctor who observes symptoms in order to come to a diagnosis. We want an explanation of the doctor’s reasoning. Why should we conclude that this is the flu rather than pneumonia? When we assess normative claims we are asking for a justification of one’s judgment. What evidence does one offer in support of the claim? What reasons are provided?

We sometimes confuse normative and descriptive claims. In philosophy, this is called the is-ought distinction. We often merge statements about  what is  with statements about  what should be . But the mere fact that something is, in fact, true (“human bodies have evolved to digest meat”), does not prove that something should be the case (“humans should eat animals”).

[ Troubleshooting : While statements of fact are often used to support moral arguments, the transition from reasons/evidence to implication/conclusion inevitably rests on value judgments. Even if we had all the scientific evidence in the world concerning humans’ contribution to global climate change, it could never settle the question of what, if any, obligations we have to combat the problem. It couldn’t even settle the question of whether humans are morally blameworthy for their role. Those normative claims would require further argument; they would require other kinds of reasoning and inference that are distinct from assertions of fact.

In separating descriptive facts from normative claims, it may be helpful to simultaneously distinguish between evidence and conclusions. These questions might be helpful in highlighting the difference between the two and moving class discussion from debates about the truth of different empirical claims to the reasonableness/plausibility of different normative claims (or arguments):

“ Assuming this descriptive claim is true  …”

“ Is there a way we could know this for sure? Or is the claim debatable? ”

“ What does this piece of evidence suggest? Could someone use it to argue the opposite? ”

“ Does this fact support the conclusion? Would it support other conclusions as well? ”

“ Is the argument well-supported? ”

Moral Disputes

We all experience the world very differently. We all grew up in different conditions, in different social cultures, and were exposed to different thoughts and ideas. We may or may not share the same values. Because of all of this, we might disagree on what the right thing to do is. But this conflict does not mean that ethics is merely subjective. Nor does it mean that what the “right” thing to do in a situation is simply a matter of opinion.

Some moral beliefs are more defensible than others. One way we judge this is on the basis of consistency: does this collection of moral beliefs fit together? Is it free from contradictions? Does it lead to unintended or harmful outcomes we find objectionable? We might also consider whether one’s moral beliefs are inclusive of others and tolerant of others’ beliefs. Do these beliefs violate our common, shared standards of fairness? Are they prejudicial or discriminatory in some way?

It might be a fact that different cultures have different moral beliefs. It may be that no single set of moral beliefs could be adopted by everyone. And it’s true that normative claims cannot be validated like descriptive claims can. But these concerns need not dissuade us from our search for some basic, foundational moral principles to judge our own and others’ behavior by. Ultimately, we all believe that certain practices are wrong in any context (such as slavery or genocide). So we are all committed to finding some shared standard of right and wrong to which we can hold ourselves and others accountable.

[ Troubleshooting : We sometimes wonder what right anyone has for imposing any obligations and duties onto others. By what right can my freedom or others’ freedom be restricted? In the absence of a universal moral code endorsed by all, any enforcement of a political policy or moral stance can feel arbitrary and unjustified. With so many competing moral theories and no single right answer, ethical debate can seem endless (with no real winners and losers) and pointless (with no tangible, practical benefit or goal).

These questions might be helpful in emphasizing the practical impact of moral debates and the necessity of assessing the relative merits of competing claims of what is “right”:

“ Are there reasons we might prefer one solution/conclusion over another? ”

“ Is this position tolerant of others? Does it treat everyone fairly or equally? ”

“ If you were in a position of authority (lawmaker, judge, superintendent, politician, bureaucrat) which policy would you endorse? ”

In-Class Ethics Bowl

Lesson Plan

Materials needed:

• A useful general description of ethics designed for High School Ethics Bowls – to use as supplement to in-class teaching (see Supplemental Materials below)
• Copies of cases (given to students to prepare) from the National High School Ethics Bowl archives (sample case provided below)
• Scoring criteria (available on the National High School Ethics Bowl website)
• Score sheet (available on the National High School Ethics Bowl website)

Introduction

This lesson can engage students in the process of dissecting and discussing ethical issues. In a philosophy course, this activity can be used several times throughout a unit about ethics/applied ethics or it can be a culminating activity for the whole unit. In addition, this activity can be modified to fit into other courses to facilitate full class or small group discussions related to specific ethical topics or issues. There are many cases available, so that the activity can be tailored to specific topics and/or levels of student knowledge or interest. The National High School Ethics Bowl case archive includes many useful cases: http://nhseb.unc.edu/nhseb-rules/case-archive/

General Description

Two cases will be distributed to two teams at least one week prior to the in-class Ethics Bowl. Each case will have “study” questions on the bottom to facilitate preparation, but those will not be the questions used in class. To prevent rote preparation, each team will not know which case they will be presenting and which they will be critiquing. Judges/note-takers should not get the cases until the day of the activity.

Sample Case (from the Regional High School Ethics Bowl 2015):

“Copying Homework”

Gabriella and Vivian have been friends for a long time and are now juniors in high school with aspirations to attend top universities. They have four classes together, including three AP classes. Two of their AP courses have tests scheduled the same day, and homework is assigned in their fourth common course the day before they must take the tests. It is just a simple worksheet, but it must be submitted for a grade. Gabriella is annoyed that she has to take time away from studying for the tests, but does the worksheet in 30 minutes. Vivian, however, studies all evening and the worksheet just slips her mind.

The next day, Vivian realizes that she has forgotten to complete the homework. She knows that getting a zero on an assignment will hurt her overall average and the teacher does not accept late homework. She asks Gabriella if she can copy her answers to the worksheet.

Gabriella is sympathetic and wants to help her friend, but she is worried that she could get in a great deal of trouble for letting Vivian copy her work — after all, it’s considered cheating. Gabriella is also frustrated because she took the time to complete the worksheet while Vivian did not. It seems unfair that Vivian will receive the same credit as all of the students in the class who did the homework. At the same time, it is just a menial worksheet and doesn’t seem the same as plagiarizing an essay. The benefits Vivian will receive if Gabriella lets her copy the worksheet seem to far outweigh the triviality of the rule being broken and she doesn’t want to see Vivian’s grade damaged over a silly worksheet. Moreover, if Gabriella says no, she knows that it will really hurt her friendship with Vivian.

Study Questions

(1) Would it be morally permissible for Gabriella to allow Vivian to copy the worksheet? Why or why not?

(2) Does the fact that Gabriella and Vivian are good friends influence the ethical analysis of whether copying is morally permissible? Explain.

(3) Is it ever morally permissible to break rules in order to help a friend? If so, what must the conditions be?

Preparation Prior to the Bowl

Students should discuss the case and develop a consensus about the right course of action for the two girls. Guidelines for discussion could include asking them to identify the stakeholders in this situation (all of the people involved), how each of the stakeholders is impacted, and what would constitute the moral actions of each stakeholder.

Prompting students to think about motives, short and long-term outcomes, and the relationships between different people involved will also help them develop a thorough answer.

Students can use outside research to enhance their presentation, but they should focus on the fundamental issues raised by the case. Direct students to think about and analyze the ethical decisions that need to be made in the situation presented.

• Seating should be arranged so that the two teams of five to six students are facing each other, but still able to communicate within the team between the separate parts of the presentations or during the judges’ questioning.
• Judges should be able to see both teams, but if space/numbers are an issue, then the judges/note-takers can form a circle around the two teams.
• At the start of the Ethics Bowl, flip a coin to determine which team will be Team A (presenting the first case). The team that wins the toss will decide to be either Team A or Team B, without knowing which case is going to be the first case.
• Distribute the case to all members of the class with the NEW question on the bottom. Read the question to be answered out loud to the class. This is a critical component because the students must adjust their preparation to specifically address this new question.
• Determining Team A/Team B and presentation of case/question – 3 minutes
• Prep time for presenting team – 2 minutes
• Presentation of case – 5 minutes
• Prep time for critiquing team – 2 minutes
• Critique of team that presented – 4 minutes
• Response to critique by presenting team – 4 minutes
• Questioning of presenting team by the judges – 10 minutes
• TOTAL time – 32 minutes (this allows for time to set up the circle, general directions, and some summary conversation if necessary/desired)
• This time frame will allow for one case to be presented, critiqued by the opposing team, and questioned by the judges in one forty-minute period. The other team will do the same on the following day.
• After providing the students with the case and the question, the presenting team should summarize their position. Their final position should include identifying all of the stakeholders, answering the question asked, providing reasons for their position and, perhaps most importantly, discussing other possible resolutions of the question and explaining why they did not choose those options. This part of their answer can also include any struggles or disagreements they had in reaching their group decision. For example, most groups will probably decide that cheating would be wrong, but they probably have done it themselves at some point during their school career (or been tempted).
• The other team will then respond to the presentation. They should NOT present their own opinions, but use their ideas to help the first team clarify their position. Posing questions and/or asking for more detailed support for the first team’s reasoning are encouraged.
• The first team will then respond to the constructive criticism. This response can include both clarification or more detail and incorporation of ideas or suggestions from the other team.
• The last part of the bowl focuses on the judges’ questions. These questions are only asked of the presenting team, and can serve to ask the team to clarify its position if the class feels this is necessary. Questions can also be asked about the applicability of the presentation team’s response in other similar (or different) hypothetical situations. Finally, if the students developed some moral rules in their presentation, questions can challenge the applicability of those rules. For example, is it ever morally permissible to break a rule to help a friend? Can you give a situation when this might be the case?
• Did they agree with the decisions reached by the class? Why or why not?
• What was the strongest argument used? Explain.
• Present an alternative solution and defend it.
• Personal reaction to the experience in general

Supplemental Materials

“Case Archive.” National High School Ethics Bowl . NHSEB, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. http://nhseb.unc.edu/nhseb-rules/case-archive/

Connolly, Peggy, et al. Ethics in Action: A Case-Based Approach . Malden: Wiley-Blackwell,, 2009.

Deaton, Matt. Ethics in a Nutshell: An Intro for Ethics Bowlers (2nd ed.). 2013. National High School Ethics Bowl . Web. 2 Feb. 2015. http://www.ethicsbowl.org/uploads/3/3/1/4/3314659/ethics_in_a_nutshell_an_intro_for_ethics_bowlers_deaton.pdf

Rachels, Stuart, and James Rachels. The Elements of Moral Philosophy (6th ed.). New York: McGraw, 2010.

This lesson plan, created by Mary Moran, is part of a series of lesson plans in Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools , by Jana Mohr Lone and Michael D. Burroughs (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) .

If you would like to change or adapt any of PLATO's work for public use, please feel free to contact us for permission at [email protected] .

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Business Ethics Lesson Ideas

Activities, discussion questions, and suggested readings.

We offer a growing list of lesson plan ideas and resources for high school and college students learning about business ethics.

Introduction to Business Ethics Beyond obedience to the law, what responsibility do corporations have to act ethically or in the social interest? This lesson introduces students to the concept of business ethics through the film "The Corporation." It includes discussion questions as well as suggested readings and additional resources.

What is the Role of the Corporation in Society? What is the best way to promote sustainable business practices and solve global problems? This lesson plan outlines an activity for students to create a business with a social goal. It also includes suggested reading and multimedia to learn more about best social business practices.

Ethics and Supply Chains How can multinational corporations effectively manage supply chains and promote sustainable practices throughout their operations? This lesson plan has a research activity for students, discussion questions, and accompanying resources.

Shell in Nigeria: Corporate Responsibility and the Ogoni Crisis ( Case Studies Series ) Using the response of Shell to the attacks on its record in Nigeria, this study examines the way in which one transnational corporation has reacted to demands that it accept responsibilities beyond maximizing profit.

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What Students Gain From Learning Ethics in School

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When Sophie Huttner was 16 years old, she labored over an ethical dilemma. Her small class at Kent Place School in New Jersey was discussing a case study that concerned a woman who was thinking of leaving her disabled husband; caring for his injuries was devouring the woman’s every moment, and the couple’s affection for each other had fizzled. Was it ethically wrong for her to leave him?

“The case made me realize that the value I placed on individual autonomy would often conflict with other values that I also thought important, like loyalty and integrity,” Huttner said. At the time, she was involved in her first serious relationship, and the case and ensuing discussion touched on the very questions she was mulling in her personal life.

“When you give kids and teenagers the space to explore ethical dilemmas, this can be very powerful for students,” said Jana M. Lone, director of the Center for Philosophy for Children at the University of Washington, which brings introductory philosophy to schoolkids in the Seattle area. Central to ethics education is teaching kids the skills to make sound decisions: to search for and evaluate their assumptions, to excavate the reasons behind those assumptions, to examine without prejudice another’s opinion and to make a thoughtful decision with confidence.

“There’s more hunger for this kind of training now,” Lone said. “The most recent political polarization, the shifting news cycle—which makes us less engaged with people who think differently—has made it more imperative,” she added. Kids, too, sense the ugly divisions in society. “Teenagers and kids recognize that they live in a fractured world, and it’s troubling to them,” Lone said.

Though sought after, ethics classes are largely absent from schools. Also, teachers’ freedom to migrate into wide-ranging conversations that might veer into ethics have been curbed by standardized testing and curriculum requirements. This is despite research that shows teenagers’ ability to make ethical decisions—to see problems from multiple view points, and to consider the potential harm to others that a decision can cause—is underdeveloped. In the most recent survey of teenage ethics done by the Josephson Institute, for example, just 49% percent of the 23,000 teenagers surveyed reported never cheating on a test in school. A 2014 analysis by the Making Caring Common Project at Harvard University found that a majority of teenagers value happiness and personal success more than concern for others.

Teaching ethics to children and teenagers

The Ethics Institute* at Kent Place School is devoted solely to teaching ethics to primary and secondary school students, said Karen Rezach, the institute’s director. “There are so many ethics institutes at the university level, but none at our level,” she said. Like Lone, Rezach thinks kids and teenagers long for ethical guidance. “We’re trying to teach them how to exist in this world,” she said.

Children at Kent Place are introduced to ethics in fifth grade, during what would otherwise be a health and wellness class. Rezach engages the students in simple case studies and invites them to consider the various points of view. She also acquaints them with the concept of right vs. right—the idea that ethical dilemmas often involve a contest between valid but conflicting values. “It’s really, really, really elementary,” she said.

In middle and upper school, the training is more structured and challenging. At the core of this education is a simple framework for ethical decision-making that Rezach underscores with all her classes, and which is captured on a poster board inside school. Paired with this framework is a collection of values that students are encouraged to study and explore. The values and framework for decision-making are the foundation of their ethics training.

Once a month, all middle school students grapple with an ethics case study during advisory that’s been written for their grade. Sixth-graders, for example, wrestled with a case about “Emma”, who wasn’t invited to Jane’s party but who saw pictures of the festivities on Instagram. The students then discussed various questions: How might Emma feel when she sees the Instagram photo? What is Jane’s responsibility in this case? What values influence the way you think about this scenario? Though the case studies reflect real-life problems the kids have encountered, the stories are told in the third person, which frees them to talk openly, Rezach said.

Two elective courses on ethics for seventh- and eighth-graders explore deeper quandaries while pressing students to understand the values reflected in those views. In one case study they discussed, “Allison” enters a coffee shop wearing a T-shirt with a swastika, which clearly offends other customers. What should the manager do? How does one balance the right to freedom of expression with the rights of the community? “In this situation, as in all ethical dilemmas, the students have to weigh the benefit and the harm,” Rezach said. She draws connections to books they’re reading in English class, brings up related news stories, and asks students to think of and share ethical quandaries they’ve encountered.

For homework, students study critical historical documents, like the Constitution and Bible, and identify the values that suffuse the work. In another assignment, they prepare a two-minute oral presentation on a principle that matters deeply to them. Some will read a poem, or sing a song, or produce a video that reflects that value. Once the presentations end, Rezach pairs up students with conflicting ideals—compassion versus justice, for example—and asks them to write a case study together.

High school students interested in ethics have other ways to learn. Fourteen kids meet weekly after school on an ethics bowl team, which competes nationally against other schools. In bioethics class, an elective, students explore a particular ethical problem related to a single theme—such as “Environment and Health,” this year’s subject—then present and defend their position at a spring symposium. The ethics club is launching an Instagram account, @ethicseverywhere , which will pose an idea or dilemma for all student followers to reflect on. And during the summer, students can apply for shorter programs, one on the ethical issues surrounding science and technology and the other on ethics in business.

Impact on students

Research suggests that ethics training improves academic performance. Children in Scotland who had been taught to think about ethical decision-making and the responsibilities of citizenship showed improved reasoning abilities. A study in Australia showed that young students who took part in a class on “dialogue-based ethical inquiry” were better able to evaluate and construct reasoned, ethical arguments. Standardized test scores for children who studied “collaborative philosophical enquiry”—a variant of ethics training— went up in verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative reasoning. And a small study conducted by researchers at Penn State revealed that even preschoolers can engage with and learn from simple ethical instruction.

Academic benefits aside, students at Kent Place involved in ethics training relish the open-ended conversations with peers along with the chance to reflect on what matters to them. “I love discussing these things with other people, and hearing other points of view, especially on controversial topics,” said Alexandra Grushkin, an eighth-grader. The value she selected that’s most dear to her is integrity. “I believe you’re a good person if you have integrity,” she explained. In her class presentation, she shared a quote by author Lynne Namka that reflected this value. Alexandra was matched with a student who chose loyalty, and the two crafted a case study that captured the tension between these principles: What does a student do when she spots her close friend cheating in a school competition?

Encouraged at home to listen to others’ opinions, Alexandra said that she’s better able now to understand the ideals that undergird beliefs and to articulate her own positions. “It has changed the way I approach conflict—and most things, actually,” she said. “With ethics, I’ve learned that there are a lot of different sides to everything.” What Alexandra’s mother, Trisha, welcomes in this training is the open-mindedness it provokes, as well as the instruction it provides in how to converse calmly. “There’s a humility that comes with this ethical framework that will serve them well for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Rezach believes that students benefit from an ethics education in many ways. “For the first time in their lives, they’re allowed to think for themselves—without someone telling them what to think,” she said, adding “It’s like you’ve taken the lid off the top of their minds.” For teenagers who often struggle with confidence and identity, these debates on ethics free them to test their values in an abstract, unthreatening way. Exploring conflicts from different points of view—and striving to understand the value behind an opinion—also makes them more empathetic to others. “I see them grow in their ability to see somebody else’s perspective,” Rezach said. Having to identify and defend their decision is also critical, she added. Ordinarily, students she encounters avoid making decisions because they fear they’ll get it wrong. “Being able to make a decision and articulate why—that’s huge!” she said. “And being respectful to a person who doesn’t agree—that’s huge.”

Rezach writes the case studies, teaches the classes and overseas all the extracurricular ethics programs. She has also consulted with about 100 other middle- and high schools that want to bring this discipline back to their communities. “It can’t be a one and done,” Rezach said about how to build an ethical student body. “You have to infuse it into current programs—in classes and after school,” she added.

Now a college freshman, Sophie Huttner said she continues to apply the analytical frameworks she absorbed in her ethics training to her studies at Yale. “My ethics education, above all, has functioned as a mirror, allowing me to reflect on my own values and those held by my community,” she said. “Because I have had the chance to consider at length the ethical concepts most important to me, I have become a better judge of my own actions.”

*Linda Flanagan serves on the  advisory board of the Ethics Institute, for which she receives no financial compensation.  

8 Fun Integrity Activities For High School Students

Integrity is an essential and valuable skill that students must possess if they want to flourish in life going ahead. It is a combination of values such as honesty, trustworthiness, respectfulness, fairness, being responsible, and the ability to demonstrate courage. Be it higher education or the workplace, students must show integrity to lead a good personal and civic life. Students must be aware to understand and evaluate integrity in day-to-day life. It is essential to teach students the difference between right and wrong and how to always choose to do the right thing no matter how difficult the situation is. 

Being morally right and standing and abiding by one’s own principles is well appreciated but may be difficult to follow at times. At thehighschooler , we aim to teach kids without compromising on the ‘fun’ factor which is why, we bring to you a list of 8 activities that you can conduct in your classroom to educate your students about the need for integrity. Most of these activities revolve around the rules of high school classrooms such as being polite to one another, being respectful, and more. 

Teach integrity with these cool activities!

Given the ethical scenarios , we shall thrive to help students build up their integrity. In our effort to help them through fun activities, we will ensure we start from the very basic – which is what integrity is. 

Here is a list of 8 awesome activities that you can conduct within your classroom. These activities will not only cultivate integrity but will also ensure that the students enjoy and get to know their peers better. 

1. The ‘Reflect-o-paper’ activity

In this activity, ask each student to bring out newspaper cuttings or clippings from magazines depicting some incidents involving people that showed integrity. You can ask the students to describe the incidents they have picked to the rest of the class and also give reasons as to why and how they think the incidents involve integrity. 

Besides, you can divide the class into two groups wherein the students from one group must bring in newspaper cuttings or clippings of incidents that demonstrate integrity while the other group brings in information about incidents that depict a lack of integrity. 

2. Journal-o-gram

In this activity, ask students to maintain a journal for a week/month. Ask them to note down and keep a record of day-to-day activities that they observe and categorize them into integrity-based and non-integrity based. 

In this way, students will keenly observe their surroundings day-to-day and learn better about integrity through real-life scenarios. If you want to keep a tab on whether or not they are doing it daily, you can pick one or two students random and ask them to narrate any of the events they have seen so far. 

3. Integrity bingo 

Who doesn’t love bingo? Since bingo counts as a popular game for everyone irrespective of their age, we could not miss it out here while trying to educate our young students. This is going to be quite a time-consuming activity, so you will need a good couple of hours to conduct this activity! Firstly, ask students to take a piece of paper and write down some incidents that they have witnessed in their life. In the end, ask them to highlight the integrity-based emotion associated with the incident. 

Now, based on the emotions highlighted, make a classic bingo grid but instead of numbers, write down the emotions. Pass on the bingo grids to the students and toss the piece of paper consisting of the emotions into a jar. Now pick one chit at a time and call out the emotion. Students must cross out the emotion if it is present in their chit. You can follow the rules of Bingo for this game as well. The student that wins must narrate an incident related to the emotion he or she resonated the most with. 

4. The ‘Random Appreciation’ activity

Not sure how many of you are aware but once upon a time, social media was fluttered with posts like ‘Random Appreciation Post’ where the Gen-Z posted pictures with cute appreciation for people they really wanted to take a moment to appreciate. 

We might be a little late to the trend but better late than never, because following something similar, in this activity, we will give each student a minute or two (or a little more based on convenience) to appreciate someone from their class or school, whom they genuinely want to thank for their integrity. These students must describe the incident that led them to think this. You can impose some boundary conditions such as the students can only talk about one of their classmates, senior, or junior, etc. 

5. The ‘Skit-o-mania’ activity

Role Plays or skits have often been regarded as one of the best ways to showcase a message to the general public. Implementing this into the formulation, you can divide the students into groups and ask them to pick up any story or incident – be it from movies, books, or their personal lives, which must depict integrity. 

To make things a little more challenging, you can give all the groups this particular scenario. 

•  What happens when someone who is trying to be honest and lead a life with integrity and dignity is pressured by a group that wants him or her to go against his own moral principles for a dangerous outcome that harms society?

This will leave the outcome very open-ended and it may happen that different groups may come up with different solutions for the same problem. All the students will get an idea on what could be the possible ways to deal with a scenario like this. 

6. Demographic Democratic

All of us love being in power, isn’t it? Sprinkling a little dosage of momentary reality into this, give students the scenario wherein they get elected into power and they decide the rules and reforms that govern the country that they have to run. This can be a group activity and will require students to brainstorm quite a lot. You can present the following scenario to them: 

• You are elected as the government/ruling party of country X. As you have come to power, you have to reform or introduce some policies that you think are of utmost importance for the citizens of X. 

Give the groups some time to come up with policies. Once they have, ask them to take turns and narrate the policies. While one group is narrating the policy, the other groups are allowed to pose questions to check the integrity behind imposing such a policy.

7. The classic scavenger hunt but with a twist

Who doesn’t enjoy a scavenger hunt? Finding and decoding hidden clues with time running out really gets the adrenaline hitting the roof. Keeping the fun alive but subjecting the students to some more challenges, here is a fun-filled scavenger hunt that also gives them a lesson or two about integrity. 

Hide some items within the classroom/school premises and mark each item with an identification mark. Now, divide the students into groups and tell them to find the items and set boundary conditions to limit them such as ‘You can only search within the cafeteria or within the library’ but hide the objects outside these areas. Now also tell them that whatever they find must have an identification mark on it else they will be disqualified. 

Tell them the group that finds the most number of objects wins and set a reward for them. Now, many will search and come up with nothing while some will go out of the said boundary and get you the hidden object. The students or group that brings in nothing is the winner because they obeyed the rules. There can be more than one group that is the winner, and you can split the reward. Once you have declared the winner(s) it is important to reason why they are the winners. 

8. The ‘write your heart out’ activity

In other words, this activity is as simple as essay writing. Unleash the creative bee within students by asking students to write whatever they think comes to their mind when they think about integrity. 

If you do not want to limit their creative ability, you can give them the freedom to come up with fictional stories with morals that relate to integrity. If you want to keep it specific, then give them a topic to write their essay. One of the topics that we can think of is: ‘What happens when one does not live with integrity in society? What are the consequences he or she faces?’

Some more tips on academic integrity for high schoolers

Here is a list of some pointers that students can use as a checklist to kick in the ability to display integrity in day-to-day life.

• Being honest in friendships.
• Living up to promises. 
• Standing up for what is right no matter how difficult
• Accepting your mistakes and apologizing for them
• Staying out of the blame game
• Avoiding gossipping.
• Not bullying yet not getting bullied as well. 
• Being polite with everyone irrespective of their social status. 
• Not cheating in tests and exams.
• Always speaking the truth
• Not breaking anybody’s trust
• Keeping secrets.

Tips to encourage integrity in the classroom

Here are four tips that teachers can implement to cultivate integrity among high schoolers. 

• Be their role model

No other way than to be a practical example of what you are preaching. It is a well-known fact that children tend to pick up a lot of things by observing their surroundings. The same goes for integrity and ethics. Be honest, be polite, be encouraging, and be everything that you urge your students to be.

• Use quotations

Display quotations within the classroom or write one positive quote each day. They are great writing prompts and icebreakers for conversations. Quotes will help bring in positivity and cultivate a positive classroom environment. They also have the potential to promote the positive and healthy emotional well-being of each student by suggesting to them to make the right decisions and be on the right path. 

• Organize a movie premier 

What is better than giving the students a break by showing them movies? Organize movie day for the students and showcase movies that have great morals related to integrity and the values associated with it. 

• Turn library hours into ‘integrity-specific learning’ hours

Encourage students to read books and novels based on integrity during library hours. You can also ask them to write book reviews later. 

Wrapping things up!

Keeping self-integrity in check is essential because it lets students be mindful of their behavior and keep their interpersonal skills in check. Considering the same, we curated a list of 8 unique activities to help you out! We hope with the aforementioned activities, you can successfully inculcate integrity in high schoolers.

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

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Keep Or Kill Last Lab Stocks Of Smallpox? Time To Decide, Says WHO

The World Health Organization is revisiting a question that's been the subject of intense debate for decades: whether to destroy the only known samples of the smallpox virus.

The World Health Assembly, the WHO's decision-making body, is set to convene May 19 to vote on a recommendation to destroy the stocks of smallpox virus held at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, and the State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology, in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, in Russia.

Smallpox is among the world's most feared diseases. By some estimates, the virus killed more people than every other infectious disease combined, and more than triple the number killed in every war in the 20th century.

"Smallpox was clearly the most serious infectious disease that mankind has endured over history," says Dr. D.A. Henderson , who led the international effort that eradicated smallpox in 1977.

The virus can spread easily from one person to the next. History shows it hides in the body for about a week before erupting in a burning fever, convulsions, throbbing pain and terrible blisters all over the body.

"What is particularly disturbing to the patient, certainly, is that they're inside of the mouth and over the tongue," Henderson says. "So he has trouble eating, and he has trouble drinking. It's probably the most horrible disease you can imagine."

About a third of victims die. Many survivors are left scarred and, sometimes, blind.

Over the years, the United States and Russia have resisted repeated calls to destroy the virus stocks, saying scientists have needed the pathogen for important research. And, once again, both countries want more time.

"We think that the stocks should be retained, at this point in time," says Dr. Inger Damon, who heads the CDC lab that has charge of the virus stocks, and recently co-authored an article that made the case for keeping them.

"Were this disease to re-emerge," Damon says, "it would have significant, severe consequences — both in terms of loss of human lives, and severe disease."

There's always the chance some terrorist or rogue nation has a stash of smallpox virus, she says, or could brew some up using genetic engineering. So scientists need the virus to make a better vaccine, to spur better tests to diagnose smallpox, and to create better drugs for treatment, Damon argues.

"We really have made considerable advances in all of these arenas," she says. "But there are additional needs. We aren't there yet."

As safe as a laboratory may be, there's always the risk that somehow or other there's going to be a possible escape. And if you don't have the virus, it just brings it — at least theoretically — to zero.

Henderson and others disagree. They point out that every independent panel that's looked at this question has concluded the world should get rid of the virus. There is an effective vaccine if it's needed, they say, and scientists have learned everything they'll ever need to learn from keeping live samples of virus around.

"The question is, why are we keeping it?" says Henderson, who recently published his argument for destroying the stocks of smallpox. "I don't see that there is a compelling reason to keep the virus."

Maintaining samples of the organism is risky, he says, given there could be an accident, and the risk that someone could steal a few vials.

"As safe as a laboratory may be, there's always the risk that somehow or other there's going to be a possible escape," Henderson says. "And if you don't have the virus, it just brings it — at least theoretically — to zero."

I think it's just a self-delusional act to think that by destroying the virus ... the world will be a safer place.

Incinerating the last of the virus would make even a terrorist think twice, he says. Once the stocks are destroyed, anyone found to possess the virus could be charged with "crimes against humanity."

"The general feeling has been that this would serve as a deterrent of significance," he says.

But others scoff at that notion. They argue that there's no way to know whether the Russians would even honor a pledge to get rid of their smallpox virus, let alone that a terrorist would.

"I think it's just a self-delusional act to think that by destroying the virus ... the world will be a safer place," says Peter Jahrling of the National Institutes of Health, who made his case for retaining the virus in another recent article . "I could say something snarky," Jahrling says, "and perhaps I will: If smallpox is outlawed, only outlaws will have smallpox."

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High school teacher forced young students to staple shut screaming cat’s open wound while it was awake in sick surgery

• Brandon Cruz , News Reporter
• Published : 0:56, 2 Sep 2024
• Updated : 9:51, 3 Sep 2024

A TEACHER reportedly made students staple a screaming cat's open wound in class sparking fury in the community.

Emily Marie Benner, an agriculture teacher, was arrested after her bizarre alleged lesson struck a nerve with her school.

Benner, who was seen smiling in her mugshot, was booked into an East Texas jail on Sunday and was released later that day on a $7,500 bond.

In footage obtained by KYTX-TV , Benner was seen instructing students to grab the cat and lay it down on a table.

Despite the cat being awake, crying, and resisting, the students -under Benner's guidance - held the animal down and turned it on its back.

The cat can be heard screaming as students proceed to staple an incision on the cat’s body, following Benner's instructions to do so.

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The video concludes with cheers from the students in the classroom after the procedure.

It is unclear what the lesson was supposed to be for the students.

According to the school district's website, Benner serves as the agriculture animal teacher for Westwood ISD in Palestine, Texas.

It has been confirmed that the cat survived and is currently under the care of a local veterinarian.

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Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.

Benner, who received her Texas Educator Certificate in 2022, is certified to teach agriculture, food, and natural resources for grades six through 12.

Her certification is currently valid until 2027.

However, after this latest incident, there may be a possibility that Brenner's license could be revoked.

THE SCHOOL RESPONDS

Westwood ISD Superintendent, Wade Stanford, issued a letter to parents, students, and the community, acknowledging the "deeply troubling incident" during the class.

The letter did not mention Benner by name.

However, Stanford emphasized that the behavior witnessed in the incident amounted to nothing more than animal cruelty.

"This behavior is not in line with the values and standards we uphold within our district," Stanford said.

"We are committed to taking immediate and decisive action to address this issue," he continued.

Westwood ISD's public relations coordinator, Britni Calzada, declined to comment, noting that the incident is an ongoing investigation being handled by the proper authorities.

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LIVE RADAR: Quiet across southeast Georgia, Soaking storms across Coastal northeast Florida

A warning and 10 advisories in effect for 6 regions in the area, keystone heights community unites to pray over students involved in tragedies.

Ariel Schiller , Reporter , Jacksonville

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – Dozens of people gathered on a somber Labor Day to pray for several students involved in incidents over the last week.

Community members packed the Keystone Heights Junior Senior High School parking lot for a vigil to cover four students and their families who were involved in the tragedies that have shaken the close-knit community.

“These are all like my family, my people, people like this raised me here in the community, and it is, it’s quite the sight to see just how Keystone pulls together,” Principal Laurie Burke said.

MORE | 2 elderly women walked every morning in the Hyde Park area. Then one was killed when they were hit by an SUV | Motorcyclist dead after being struck by pickup truck on Merrill Road

The week of heartache for this community included two students getting hurt in a car crash, a football player getting hurt during a game, and another student dying in a car crash in Gainesville over the weekend, while his mom and his friend are currently recovering.

News4JAX is working to learn more information about the injured football player and car crash victims.

Ryan Begue, pastor at the First Baptist Church in Keystone Heights, said the idea for a vigil came from a group of mothers who reached out to him and his wife on Sunday afternoon.

“We put it together,” Begue said. “And so as soon as we put a post on Facebook, it was as if, I don’t know, the entire area did about 4,000 shares in about 30 seconds because people do love each other. This place is something like nothing else I’ve really ever experienced.”

Clay County Schools is ensuring that students have support during this difficult time. Burke said five grief counselors would be at the school starting on Tuesday.

“You go where the need is tomorrow. Our students need us, the families, the friends need us, and everybody that is heartbroken, that are here and can provide that support has to be strong to handle that,” Burke said.

Begue said while sometimes tragedy brings out bitterness or anger, leaning on God with others can help the most.

“One of the things that I’ve always found in life is when we go through stuff like this, it helps us to realize the fragility of life and what’s really important and what matters. And so to me, it just pushes us closer to God,” he said.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ariel schiller.

Ariel Schiller joined the News4Jax team as an evening reporter in September of 2023. She comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee where she worked at ABC27 as a Weekend Anchor/Reporter for 10 months.

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Novosibirsk

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• Official Site of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia
• Official Tourism Site of Novosibirsk, Russia
• Novosibirsk - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Novosibirsk , city, administrative centre of Novosibirsk oblast (region) and the chief city of western Siberia , in south-central Russia . It lies along the Ob River where the latter is crossed by the Trans-Siberian Railroad . It developed after the village of Krivoshchekovo on the left bank was chosen as the crossing point of the Ob for the Trans-Siberian Railroad in 1893. The settlement was known variously as Gusevka or Aleksandrovsky, but in 1895 it was renamed Novonikolayevsk in honour of the accession of Tsar Nicholas II . The bridge was completed in 1897, and in 1903 town status was conferred .

The continued development of the town was based chiefly on its proximity to the Kuznetsk ( Kuzbass ) coalfield to the east and the establishment of important railway routes. In 1925 the town was renamed Novosibirsk (“New Siberia”). The city’s industry was especially stimulated in World War II , when many factories were evacuated from European Russia to the area. It is now the largest city in Siberia.

Novosibirsk is a major manufacturing centre. Although it has a wide range of industries, engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy, and food processing predominate. The old, pre-Revolutionary iron industry has been transformed into the modern Kuzmin steelworks, which has monopolized Russia’s production of special kinds of alloyed steel and small-diameter pipes. The city also has a large tin smelter and a highly specialized gold refinery. Engineering works produce heavy machinery, military aircraft , hydraulic presses, electrothermal equipment, ore-concentrating and mining machinery, and agricultural machinery. Precision- and light-engineering plants make machine tools, instruments, radios, and automatic looms. There are also ship and locomotive repair shops. The chemical industry has developed rapidly. Consumer products include furniture, pianos, shoes, textiles, knitwear, and foodstuffs. Power is provided by a dam and hydroelectric station above Novosibirsk and by several thermal stations in the city itself.

In addition to the trunk railway services via the Trans-Siberian, Kuzbass, and Turksib lines, local electric commuter trains link the suburbs to the city centre. There are two airports, a smaller one serving local air connections and a large main airport with direct flights to Moscow and other major cities of Russia. The Ob River is navigable. Transportation within the city is by bus, streetcar, and trolleybus.

Novosibirsk is the principal cultural and educational centre in Siberia. It has an opera and ballet theatre, botanical gardens, an art gallery, and museums, as well as a symphony orchestra .

There are some two dozen institutions of higher learning, including the Novosibirsk State University, founded in 1959; other higher-education establishments include railway engineering, electrotechnical, medical, agricultural, and teacher-training institutes. With the large number of educational institutions, the proportion of students enrolled in higher education in the city is among the highest in Russia. The university and a number of these institutes are located in the satellite town of Akademgorodok (“Academic Town”), south of the city. From the 1960s Akademgorodok has comprised Russia’s largest cluster of basic science research institutes and personnel outside Moscow and St. Petersburg . Most of these institutes belong to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences . During the 1990s many scientists left the area and relocated outside Russia, though some of these researchers remained affiliated with their home institutions. Pop. (2005 est.) 1,405,569.

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Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia

The capital city of Novosibirsk oblast: Novosibirsk .

Novosibirsk Oblast - Overview

Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, part of the Siberian Federal District. Novosibirsk is the capital city of the region.

The population of Novosibirsk Oblast is about 2,780,000 (2022), the area - 177,756 sq. km.

Novosibirsk oblast flag

Novosibirsk oblast coat of arms.

Novosibirsk oblast map, Russia

Novosibirsk oblast latest news and posts from our blog:.

29 November, 2020 / Novosibirsk Akademgorodok - the scientific center of Siberia .

25 December, 2018 / Chuya Highway - the Most Picturesque Road in Russia .

18 September, 2018 / Novosibirsk - the view from above .

10 December, 2014 / The night views of Novosibirsk .

17 July, 2014 / Novosibirsk hit by a heavy hailstorm .

More posts..

History of Novosibirsk Oblast

Over thousands of years, the territory of the Novosibirsk region, due to its location on the border of natural zones and cultural regions (the Siberian taiga and the Eurasian steppe), played the role of a buffer zone or border zone of different peoples.

In the 13th-15th centuries, this land was the eastern outskirts of the Golden Horde. Later, until the end of the 16th century, it was part of the Siberian Khanate. In the 18th century, the territory of the present Novosibirsk region became part of the Russian Empire.

Despite the relatively favorable climate, the Russians began to settle here relatively late. The Barabin Tatars were the indigenous people. Today, their total population is about 10,000 people living mainly in the western parts of the region.

The Barabin Tatars were subjected to constant attacks of the Kalmyks (the Oyrates and Teleuts). Russian villages were also under the threat. That’s why people preferred to settle in the north, near Tomsk. Only at the end of the 17th century, Novosibirsk province became attractive to settlers.

More Historical Facts…

The first settlement was founded by the boyar son Alexey Kruglik in 1695. Later, this settlement became the village of Kruglikovo. Today, it is located in Bolotninsky district. In the early 18th century, Berdsky stockaded town was built. Over time, the threat from the nomads decreased and the number of settlers increased.

In 1722, the Siberian line of fortresses along the Irtysh River was constructed. The locals were mainly engaged in soil tilling, fishing and hunting. In the early 19th century, the famous Ural manufacturer Akinfiy Demidov constructed two copper melting plants here - Kolyvansky and Barnaulsky.

In 1893, due to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the railway bridge across the Ob River, Alexandrovsky settlement was built (from 1895 - Novonikolayevsky). Thanks to its convenient geographical location (the Trans-Siberian Railway crossing the Ob River, transportation ways connecting Siberia with the European part of the Russian Empire), its trade importance grew rapidly. In 1909, Novonikolayevsk became a town. In 1925, it was renamed in Novosibirsk.

Before 1921, the territory of Novosibirsk oblast was part of Tomsk gubernia, from 1921 to 1925 - of Novonikolayevsk gubernia, from 1925 to 1930 - of Siberian krai, from 1930 to 1937 - of West Siberian krai. September 28, 1937, West Siberian krai was divided into Novosibirsk oblast and Altay krai. This date is considered the official date of the region formation.

Novosibirsk Oblast - Features

Novosibirsk Oblast is located in the south east of the East-Siberian Plain, in the steppe, forest-steppe and taiga zones, between the Ob and the Irtysh rivers. The length of the region from west to east - 642 km, from north to south - 444 km.

The southern part of Vasyugan swamp, the largest swamp in the world, occupies the territory in the north and north-west of the province. In the southwest, it borders with Pavlodar oblast of Kazakhstan.

There are about 3,000 lakes on the territory of the Novosibirsk region. The largest lakes are Chany, Ubinskoye, Sartlan. Novosibirsk Reservoir also known as “the Ob Sea” (1,082 sq. km.) was created for Novosibirsk Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The climate is continental. The average temperature in January ranges from minus 16 degrees Celsius in the south and minus 20 degrees Celsius in the north. The average temperature in July - plus 18-20 degrees Celsius.

The largest cities and towns are Novosibirsk (1,621,000), Berdsk (103,500), Iskitim (54,700), Kuybishev (43,000). Novosibirsk is one the largest industrial, transport, scientific, and cultural center of Russia, the third most populous city in the country after Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is also the capital of the Siberian Federal District.

In the historical part of Novosibirsk you can find a lot of preserved monuments of the Russian Empire times. The Soviet era is presented by numerous scientific and cultural attractions, as well as beautiful parks.

There are more than 500 deposits of various mineral resources in Novosibirsk Oblast (coal, refractory clay, peat, anthracite). Natural gas and oil fields are located in the north-western part of the region. There are significant reserves of underground thermal and mineral waters. Forests cover about 4 million hectares, more than 20% of the territory.

Novosibirsk Oblast is one of the most industrially developed regions in Siberia (metal processing and machine building, food, power engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy industries). Heavy industries are concentrated in Novosibirsk, Iskitim and Berdsk.

The regional agriculture specializes in the cultivation of grain, potatoes and vegetables. Dairy cattle breeding, poultry farming and beekeeping are developed. The production of flax plays an important role too. Agricultural development of the territory is not high (about 48%). In general, it has about 25% of all agricultural land in Western Siberia.

Novosibirsk oblast of Russia photos

Nature of novosibirsk oblast.

Novosibirsk Oblast nature

Author: Klemeshev

Novosibirsk Oblast scenery

Author: Mikhantiev Zhenya

Sunflower field in Novosibirsk Oblast

Author: Sergey Savchak

Pictures of the Novosibirsk region

Steppe landscape in Novosibirsk Oblast

Author: Alex Strekhletov

Orthodox church in the Novosibirsk region

Author: Sergey Bulanov

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