|
Courtesy |
Word of the Month
August |
| Definition and Color |
Behaving politely and being
considerate of others. Color:
Royal Blue
Important Day: First Day
of School How does courtesy help
in the first month of school? |
| Teaching Strategies from KDE |
While character education is not mandatory, this web site offers
additional instructional tools for teachers which could be used with their
existing curriculum. The purpose of this web site is for teachers to use
it to blend Character Education related teaching strategies into their
curriculum rather than creating a separate add-on curriculum. Decisions
about how to incorporate character education into the daily classroom
curriculum are local decisions best made by teachers, administrators,
school board members and parents at the school site. The links below will
help teachers find strategies on the word of the month on a level best
suited to the class they teach.
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| Suggested Reading |
Excuses, Excuses
The Value of Discipline
Pass the Peas Please
Please May I Have a Pencil
Everybody Takes Turns
Berenstain Bears Forget
Their Manners
What to do When Mom or Dad says, "What Should You Say Dear?"
Patience
The Value of Patience- The Story of the Wright Brothers
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln (Jean Fritz)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George, (Jean Fritz)
By the Dawn's Early Light (Steven Kroll)
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution (Jean Fritz) |
| Family Activities |
- Parents can talk to their children about how to behave when an
adult is talking to them.
- Play a game of "Twenty Questions" with your child. Write the
name of a person, place, or animal on a piece of paper and have your
child guess the name by asking "yes or no" questions.
- Encourage your children to ask you questions when they do not
understand something you tell them. Do not be upset if they ask
questions, it shows that they have been paying attention.
- Talk with your children about how to behave in a conversation
and how to politely end a conversation if they need to end the
conversation before the other person is ready for the conversation
to end.
- Parents can discuss with their children the importance
of always being polite and courteous to others, including
always saying the magic words "please" and "thank you."
- Have your children write thank you notes to people who
give them gifts or go out of their way to help them.
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| Class Activities |
- Teach your students to sit quietly when you are speaking to the
class.
- When one of your students is speaking make sure the other
students show courtesy by paying attention to the other students. Be especially careful
to pay close attention to him or her yourself.
- Show your students that you value their efforts by regularly
complimenting them for things they have said, done, or written.
HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY:
- When students give class presentations make it clear to the
class that they are expected to sit quietly and pay attention to the
presenter.
- Hand out an excerpt from a speech and have students write a
short paper discussing the importance of the ideas expressed by the
speaker and comment on why the speaker chose the words they did.
- Courtesy applies to the speaker as much a sit does the listener,
discuss ways speakers should be attentive to the needs of their
audiences.
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| Suggested Movies |
Finding Nemo
The Fox and the Hound
Simon Birch
Stand by Me
Milo and Otis
Homeward Bound
The Lion King
Remember the Titans |