“B E THE P OWER OF O NE ” B UILDING C HARACTER FOR S UCCESS “Oh, the Choices I’ll Make” Lesson K.11 Created By: Pam Gunter

P REPARATION Materials Needed: Cut out one red and one green circle made out of paper, for each student, about the size of a CD. Classroom Setup: The students may sit at their desks or on the floor.

C HALLENGE OF THE W EEK – F OLLOW U P Does anyone remember what the challenge of the week was? Would anyone like to share how they did listening to their teacher? Following family instructions and rules? Visiting with friends on the playground?

T HE A CTIVITY Start the lesson by explaining to the children that we make many choices each day. Ask the children what some of the choices they have made so far today. Possible answers could include: What clothes they wanted to wear; What they wanted to eat for breakfast; If they wanted to play a specific game, etc. Some choices are very simple, but other choices are very hard. Some choices we make are right choices, and sometimes we make poor choices that can hurt us or hurt other people.

T HE A CTIVITY - C ONTINUED Explain to the children that you are going to make some statements about children making choices. If they think the child made a good choice, have them hold up the green circle or square. If they think the child made a poor choice, have them hold up the red circle or square. When the answer is a poor choice, have the students offer suggestions what could have been done to make the choice a good one.

T HE A CTIVITY - C ONTINUED You choose to include another student in a game, even if they aren’t always good at it. (green) You choose to eat ice cream for breakfast because it is so yummy! (red) Ask for better choices. You choose to push another student because you want to be first in line. (red) Ask for better choices. You are in the lunch line and use your quiet voice. (green) You made your bed before you left for school. (green) You chose to do your school work last night before watching TV. (green) You remembered to say “thank you” when your teacher gave you a treat. (green) You forgot and used a bad word when you tripped on the playground. (red) Ask for better choices. You looked on someone else’s paper to find answers. (red) Ask for better choices. You picked up a piece of trash in the hallway of the school and threw it in the garbage. (green).

T HE O BJECT OF THE L ESSON Points instructor needs to bring out: Explain that each day we make choices. Many choices are very simple such as what clothes to wear, or if we should go to school. Other choices and decisions are more difficult to make. Sometimes we have more than one choice and still be right. Such as, did you have more than one right choice what to wear to school today? Sometimes however, the choices we make aren’t always the best. Just like when we played the game, when poor choices are made, often times we can make better choices the next time, or we can even correct wrong choices. Sometimes when we make poor choices we need to tell an adult, apologize if we hurt someone, and correct what we did wrong. For example, if we stole something, we need to tell the person, say you’re sorry, and then replace or return what you took. Making right choices helps build strong relationships and builds our character. Making right choices requires honesty, courage, respect for yourself and others, and helps us feel good about ourselves.

C HALLENGE OF THE W EEK Have the students work on making good and right choices this week. Since no one is perfect, if they make a poor choice, have them work on making it right.