Providence Spring Elementary's Character Trait of OCTOBER is…
Responsibility
3rd Grade Level
STEP ONE / OPENING
Reacquaint yourself with the students and tell them which trait you will be discussing
today. Ask the following questions and call on different students for answers. Below each
question are examples of responses.
You may need to rephrase students’ answers or guide them along.
(Ask) What is responsibility?
1. Being accountable for what you do, for your actions and behavior.
2. Doing the right thing at the right time, so others can trust and depend on you.
(Ask) What are ways you can show responsibility?
1. Complete your homework and chores on time without being reminded.
2. Follow through on your commitments, even when you don't feel like it.
3. Accept responsibility for your mistakes. Don't make excuses or blame others.
4. Take care of your things and those of other people. Return items you borrow.
5. Find out what needs to be done and do it.
6. Make smart choices, such as choosing to eat healthy and wearing a helmet.
7. Always do your very best. Others are counting on you!
It is our responsibilty to treat others, the way we would like to be treated, therefore,
If we want to be cared about, then it is our responsibilty to show we care for others.
If we want to be treated with respect, then it our responsibility to treat others in respectful ways.
(Ask) How would you demonstrate responsibility if…
1. You broke the wheel off your brother's new skateboard?
2. Your friend asks you to play and you haven't finished your homework?
3. You're playing a really fun game at your friend's house and it's time to go home?
4. You promised your mom you would clean your room but you just don't feel like it?
5. It's time to go to bed and you just remembered that your book report is due tomorrow?
6. You agreed to take care of your neighbor's dog while she is away, but now a friend has invited
to a sleep over?
7. Your mom is not feeling well and could really use some extra help around the house?
8. You forgot to bring your homework home from school, including the book you need to study for
tomorrow's test?
(Ask) What are some other situations where we can demonstrate responsibility?
(Encourage students to come up with a few more situations to discuss together as a class.)
STEP TWO / READ A BOOK TO THE CLASSROOM
Read and discuss a book that teaches a lesson about respect.
Before your classroom time, choose your book in our Character Education Library in the Media Center.
There is a Master List on the website you can reference before you go into the Media Center.
You can reserve your time-slot by writing the date and time you need the book on a post-it
and placing the post-it on the book so other volunteers can see.
- Please remember to always check the book out at the front desk.
- Please do not read a book from a tablet or Ipad.
- Please stay within your grade level.
STEP THREE / ACTIVITY
Choose an activity from the list on the next page.
STEP FOUR / CLOSING COMMENTS / HAND OUT BOOKMARKS
Remember you have the ability to show great responsibility.
Be a person others can trust and count on to do the right thing!
Read and discuss the below quote and then give a bookmark to each student. :)
Bookmarks template later in this doc.
Make copies as needed on colored or plain paper or card stock.
You can cut them using the paper cutter in the media center's workroom if you like.
Quote this month:
Each of us is responsible for our own actions. (H.L. Hunt)
ACTIVITY CHOICES:
ACROSTIC POEM
Materials: A copy of the Acrostoc Poem Template on last page of this lesson plan for each student.
Responsibility means having jobs or important duties – it also means to be trustworthy and reliable
student, friend, daughter, son. Other ways are taking responsibility for your actions are doing what’s
right, helping others, and caring for nature.
Write sentence or words about responsibility beginning with each letter.
Encourage them to color in the bubble letters to make it look nice.
Ask for some volunteers to stand and share examples of what they wrote in.
JAR: Large Rocks and small rocks
Materials: A clear jar/bucket with large rocks and small ones. Demo materials available in the media
center Character Ed Library. Recomended to practice before you show the class.
Explain that the bucket is like our life. The inside of the jar is like the amount of time we have with our
days.
What are we going to fill our time with? Big, important responsibilites, or little fun things to do?... Both?
The big rocks represent our BIG, IMPORTANT responsibilites. Ex: Homework, Reading, Helping around
the house, Good health, cleanliness)
The small pebbles represent fun little things we enjoy. Playing video games, watching TV, going out for
ice cream, playing with Barbie's, going to the movies, etc.
If we push our big responsibilities until after we've done all our fun things, well lets see what happens.
Lets go ahead and have all our fun… (pour the small pebbles in first)
Now, whoops it's getting late, better get to our important bigger responsibilities.
(Try to put the big rocks in. They won't fit) Uh-oh!
Remove everything from the bucket.
Now, lets start with our important responsibilities. Put the big rocks in first now.
They all fit. Now let's see if we have time for the small, fun things.
Pour in the small pebbles. They all fit!
So you see if we start with the most important, responsibilities, the rest falls into place.
Take care of your important responsibilities FIRST!
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
Each of us is responsible for our own actions.
(H.L. Hunt)
RESPONSIBILITY ACROSTIC POEM
Things I am Responsible for.
Name:
Date:
RESPONSIBILITY ACROSTIC POEM
Things I am Responsible for.
Name:
Date:
is for _________________________________________
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