6 weeks of free resources to support character education

 

Encourage character building with free SEL lessons and survey questions that support your character education curriculum

 

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Incorporating character education programs into your curriculum is encouraged by the Department for Education to promote holistic development. Keep reading to learn more about character education and then sign up for our resources to start implementing it.

Promote character building with these classroom-ready lessons

Enjoy a full half term of ready-to-teach lessons that will help your students develop vital skills and complement your character education programs. Here are the lessons you can expect: 

Character education curriculum

Lesson 1

Practising self control

Discuss ways to overcome challenges while controlling impulses

Virtues: Respect, Integrity, Courage

Character building

Lesson 2

Emotions and the body

Teach your students how to identify the physical feelings emotions cause

Virtues: Respect, Integrity, Courage

Holistic development

Lesson 3

Defining self discipline

Learn about what self discipline means and when we need to use it

Virtues: Courage

Character education programs

Lesson 4

Master self discipline

Explore healthy self discipline habits and techniques

Virtues: Courage

resilience skills students

Lesson 5

Overcoming failure

Help your students learn ways to overcome the feeling of failure

Virtues: Humility, Courage

encouraging organisation skills students

Lesson 6

The path we choose

Encourage your students to choose the pathway to success

Virtues: Humility, Courage

Character education survey questions 

Use our expert-created survey questions to gain valuable insights into your students’ self management skills, a CASEL competency with useful links to the character traits respect, courage, integrity, humility and honesty.

What is character education?

Character education is a purposeful and systematic initiative focused on nurturing positive character traits and values in individuals, promoting their holistic development for a happy and balanced life. It prioritises the cultivation of virtues, ethical principles and responsible behaviours to establish a sturdy foundation for personal character. Central to this philosophy is the concept of holistic development, addressing intellectual, emotional, social and moral dimensions to ensure students grow into well-rounded people. 

 

CASEL and character education

The Jubilee Centre Framework provides a great starting point for character education, defining a set of primary virtues to focus on and giving other useful information.

While Satchel Pulse may follow a different framework (CASEL), the two are absolutely complementary and can be visualised together in a graphic on the right. Schools also often choose to define their own set of virtues, so an example of how those might relate to the CASEL framework is also included. 

character-education-virtues-and-CASEL

The benefits of character education

Holistic development

Character education goes beyond academics, focusing on virtues like empathy, resilience and integrity, aiding in a well-rounded personality development.

Being social

Character education programs cultivate better interpersonal skills, fostering positive relationships and effective communication among students.

Making decisions

Students learn to make ethical decisions through character education, developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills within a moral framework.

Becoming resilient

Character building equips students with tools to handle challenges, stress, and setbacks more effectively, promoting mental health and resilience.

Learning environment

Implementing character education can create a more inclusive, respectful and supportive school culture, fostering a safer environment for learning.

5 strategies for implementing character education

1. Incorporate premade lessons

 

Start by using existing character education lesson plans and resources, like the ones of this page. These premade materials are designed to address specific character traits, making it easier to seamlessly integrate character education into your curriculum.

2. Integrate into existing subjects

 

Embed character education within regular subjects such as languages, arts, social studies and science for an interdisciplinary approach that allows students to see the relevance of character traits in various aspects of their education.

3. Establish a code of conduct

 

Develop a comprehensive code of conduct that reflects the school's values and expectations for positive behaviour. Ensure that students, teachers, and staff are familiar with and committed to upholding these principles by spreading awareness and discussing values regularly.

4. Promote service learning and community engagement

 

Encourage students to participate in service learning projects and community service where possible. Engaging in activities that contribute to the wellbeing of others fosters empathy, responsibility and a sense of citizenship, all while aiding cognitive development and reinforcing positive character traits in a real-world context.

5. Provide professional development for educators

 

Help your teachers reach their full potential and equip them with the skills needed to effectively implement character education using CPD. Professional development opportunities can include workshops, seminars and ongoing training sessions that empower educators to incorporate character-building activities into their daily lesson plans.

Why West Heath School chose Satchel Pulse Skills

 

The benefits of tracking your character education programs

Using a tool to track character education in schools can offer several benefits for both educators and students. Here are some of the advantages:

Assessment and monitoring

Character education compatible tools like Skills allow educators to assess and monitor the development of students' character traits over time, helping understand individual strengths and areas that need improvement. These tools can also provide insights into overall trends in character development within a class or whole school. 

Goal setting and planning

With data on individual character development, educators can set personalised goals for students, helping them focus on specific traits that may need attention. They know which areas need attention, have the data to back it up and can ensure a targeted approach to improving them.

Feedback and reflection

Regular tracking provides a feedback loop for both educators and students. It allows for reflection on experiences and actions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Students can also become more self-aware of their character strengths and areas for growth, leading to increased motivation for personal development.

Take a look at these other useful resources

The power of SEL Thumbnail-1

Guide | Social and Emotional Learning

The Power of SEL

Get started with SEL and get to the root of behavioural concerns with this handy guide to the Skills process and a pack of free, age-appropriate SEL lessons that you can use in your classroom.

Skills What to Expect

Research Paper | Social and Emotional Learning

Skills: What to Expect

This research paper by the world renowned Johns Hopkins School of Education dives deeper into the benefits of Satchel Pulse’s SEL tool and how effective it is at identifying students in need of extra support.

 

CASEL Jubilee Framework Skills Chart

Guide | Social and Emotional Learning

Skills and The Jubilee Centre Framework for Character Education

Looking to learn more about SEL? Discover the 5 core competencies of social emotional learning (SEL) and their subskills, used as the foundation of the Satchel Pulse Skills solution.

How Skills supports holistic development

Skills by Satchel Pulse makes strengthening your character education curriculum easy, with expert support recommendations, automatic intervention planning and heaps of targeted lessons that are ready to use instantly. 

Let us do the legwork for you and use the time and energy you save to make real change! 

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