Using reflective writing with stories that has a moral: Teaching Character Education District Learning Day Auditorium 9:15-10:15 August 6, 2015

Do Now Give an example of a Moral Did this moral have any affect on how you feel or what you believe?

Norms Be present and engaged. Be respectful of differences in perspective while challenging each other productively and respectively. Monitor “air time.” Make the most of the time we have. Stay focused on students.

Objectives The objective of this session is to introduce character education concepts through the use of Morals. Students will write reflections, use communication and musical creativity in portraying their responses.

Why Use Stories with Morals? Since the beginning of time, fables with morals have been used to educate children in right and wrong, good and bad, safe and unsafe. Too often these days, stories exist only for their entertainment value. As a result, parents rely too much on rules, incentives and coercion to coax good behavior from their children. Good behavior starts from within.

Objectives Review What will participants: Know: How to introduce Morals as a tool to highlight Character Education concepts Understand: How to use strategies such as reading, reflection journaling, communication and musical creativity to enhance one’s character Do : Students will read a moral, write, then read their reflection of the story and create a musical performance to the highlight the ending.

Section 1: “Reviewing the Story” Place yourselves into teams of 5’s Determine who will be the writer, reader and dancers/choreographer. Read the story and reflect on its meaning. Write the important points of the story Create a movement routine based on the story What are some key points to know about the characters in the story?

Section 2: “Presenting the Story Create a 2-minute movement routine that reflects the story’s interpretation Practice reading the interpretation to music Provide students with a scoring rubric for the presentation Sample Demonstrations

Rose for Mother A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.”

The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.

Moral: Life is Short. Spend much time as you can loving and caring people who love you. Enjoy each moment with them before it’s too late. There is nothing important than family.

Next steps and activities for follow up Practice allowing students the opportunity to bring in new stories for interpretation Video the presentation Use as a Health Nugget and for Movement and Locomotor skills development

Q-A of Activity What was easiest for you? What was most difficult? What else do you need to learn/do prior to applying to your students?

Objectives Review What will participants: Know: How to introduce Story Morals as a tool highlight Character Education Understand: How to use techniques such as reading, reflection journaling, communication and musical creativity can enhance character Do : Students will read a moral, write and read a reflection and create a musical performance to the highlight a story.

Reflection: One minute paper on post-it Jot down your “Take-Aways” Consider what you need to know and be able to do to successfully implement what you have learned in this session. – What is still unclear? – What professional development or additional resources do you need?

District Contact Contact Cassandra R. Turner, PhD