Character Education at Laurel Park Elementary “The Heartwood Curriculum”

Character Education in WCPSS 1993 – Wake County adopts the following eight character traits to promote the importance of character education in the classroom and to help create a positive learning environment: 1993 – Wake County adopts the following eight character traits to promote the importance of character education in the classroom and to help create a positive learning environment: Courage Courage Good Judgment Good Judgment Integrity Integrity Kindness Kindness Perseverance Perseverance Respect Respect Responsibility Responsibility Self-Discipline Self-Discipline April 5, 2005 – the Board of Education puts into policy what has been practice in the classroom for more than 10 years. The result: Character Education Policy April 5, 2005 – the Board of Education puts into policy what has been practice in the classroom for more than 10 years. The result: Character Education Policy 5130.

Character Education in Year-Round Schools Different schools have different approaches, i.e. adding additional character traits, spreading the 8 character traits to cover the year. Different schools have different approaches, i.e. adding additional character traits, spreading the 8 character traits to cover the year. At Laurel Park, we are going to spread the traits out over the course of the school year. At Laurel Park, we are going to spread the traits out over the course of the school year.

The Heartwood Curriculum “Teaching Life Lessons through Literature” A literature based approach to teaching character and ethics. A literature based approach to teaching character and ethics. Focuses on 7 attributes: Focuses on 7 attributes: Courage Courage Loyalty Loyalty Justice Justice Respect Respect Hope Hope Honesty Honesty Love Love The stories have ethical themes that are positively presented. At the point of the story when the problem arises, the ethical theme is introduced and the problem resolved in a positive manner. The stories have ethical themes that are positively presented. At the point of the story when the problem arises, the ethical theme is introduced and the problem resolved in a positive manner.

Aligning WCPSS Character Traits with Heartwood’s Curriculum WCPSS Character Trait Heartwood Attribute RespectRespect CourageCourage KindnessLove Self-DisciplineLoyalty IntegrityHonesty PerseveranceHope Good Judgment Justice Where’s Responsibility? It’s Everywhere! Responsibility is woven into all the books, as well as, a daily focus in all classrooms.

Delivery of the Heartwood Curriculum Seven blocks (see schedule) Seven blocks (see schedule) Parent volunteers Parent volunteers 30 minute visit – Read story and discussion questions 30 minute visit – Read story and discussion questions Volunteer will directly contact teacher to schedule day/time of visit beginning with Block 1 - Respect. Volunteer will directly contact teacher to schedule day/time of visit beginning with Block 1 - Respect.

Structure of Lesson Introduction of character trait – write trait on board – discuss with students the trait and its meaning Introduction of character trait – write trait on board – discuss with students the trait and its meaning Say, “Today I want to read a story to you. Afterwards, see if you can tell me why we talked about this word.” Say, “Today I want to read a story to you. Afterwards, see if you can tell me why we talked about this word.” After the story, ask the discussion questions listed on card. After the story, ask the discussion questions listed on card. Thank students for their contributions, and accept all ideas except obvious errors that must be corrected for the sake of clarity. Thank students for their contributions, and accept all ideas except obvious errors that must be corrected for the sake of clarity.

Volunteer Instructions Parents must be a registered volunteer. You can access the online registration system in the Laurel Park Media Center between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Volunteers will receive a Master Schedule that lists all the Character Ed blocks and the associated dates. These are the dates that will guide you as to when you should schedule your class visits. If there are two parents assigned to a classroom, please work out with the other parent to determine how you are going to split the blocks Contact the classroom teacher that you have been assigned to… Introduce yourself as the character ed. volunteer(s) Discuss with the teacher about preferred times for you to visit the class for the lessons (let the teacher know if there are day/time restrictions on your end) Note: Some teachers prefer to schedule ahead several months or even for the whole year and others prefer month to month.

Volunteer Instructions continued It is always recommended that you preview the book before visiting the class so you will be familiar with the story and concept. You may preview the book at Laurel Park by doing one of the following: Check the online calendar (instructions for using the online calendar are provided on a later slide) and see if anyone has it checked out. If not, you can reserve it for a brief preview, or Allow yourself minutes of preview time right before your class visit. There are 2 folders of Character Ed books for this program. You may choose the book from either folder. A list of questions is already provided in the file with the book. Feel free to either ask questions as you go through the book or wait until the end to elicit discussion from the questions.

Where do I find the books and materials for my class visits? ->Please sign in as a volunteer in the main office. ->All the Heartwood materials are easily located at Laurel Park. in This room is located on the first floor across from the elevator and one of the stairwells that lead upstairs. You can find it by following these steps: After completing the sign in process in the main office, you will walk toward the Media Center. As you get closer, you will see a hallway on the right – turn there. There will be a doorway on the right hand side – that is where you find the materials. Once inside, the automatic light “should” turn on however, that is not always the case (a bit temperamental!). If the light does not turn on, you may need to wave your arms to signal the motion light to turn on (I know, this does sound a bit silly!) OR flip the light switch on the interior wall and see if that will turn it on OR, last but not least, prop the door open to allow light into the room. There is a shelf on the right hand side that has the yellow Heartwood Curriculum boxes. There is a box for each grade level. Please sign the materials check-out sheet with your name, grade, teacher and time that you took and returned the materials. This check-out sheet can be found on the table next to the Heartwood boxes. Please be mindful of returning all of the materials to their proper location.

Using the Online Scheduling Calendar When you have a date set, the next step is access our online Character Ed calendar. This helps us to avoid “double booking” a grade level set of materials. Go to: User login: heartwoodcharactered Password: character Enter in your first name and last initial. Enter the grade, teacher, and character trait for that particular lesson. Note 1: Please allow extra time for previewing and returning the materials. (i.e. you may want to give yourself 15 minutes before the class visit to preview and then 15 minutes after the forecasted end of the lesson. So, if the lesson is 30 minutes+15 for preview+15 for return. Total time listed on calendar is 1 hour.) Note 2: If someone else is already listed on the calendar for the same grade level materials during the time that you wanted to reserve, you can reschedule or you can contact the other parent to coordinate who will use which of the two book options for their visits.

If you have any questions, you may contact one of the following people: Character Education Parent Coordinator: Kathleen Neff - Laurel Park School Counselor: Caren MacEntee –