Character Education Lesson: Each is an Important Part of the Whole

Character education has in the past few years proven to be an important part of a child's educational experience. This project/lesson is one that emphasis' the importance of each and every individual within a group, their contributions to the group and shows how each fits (literally) into the make up of the group. Compassion, cooperation and caring also come into play with this interesting project.

This project is one that takes a bit of planning ahead. The time spent planning and working behind the scenes setting up this lesson may take a bit more time than usual for a project of this length, but suffice it to say the lesson learned within this project is one that will last far past the ringing of the bell signaling the end of the school day.

Supplies:


Prepare for this project by taking a group picture of the class with all members present in a group like setting. Take care to make sure there is space between each child's main features and that no child is hidden behind another child. Frame the group in the picture, leaving as little background as possible around the edges. The importance of the picture is to show each member of the group as individuals while negating any excess background noise. A solid colored background would be wonderful if possible for this. Look for a colored hall with no background noise if you can.

After taking the picture, download it onto your computer and enlarge it to fit a sheet of copy paper, choosing the largest size possible. Print two of these pictures.

Print one smaller picture of the same image (small enough to fit on the lid of the box you have set aside)

Sheet(s) of magnetic backing. This will by far be the most expensive part of the project but will prove to create a remembrance for the kids to use afterwards as well. It is an expense well worth spending. It is possible to find sheets of advertising magnets for free for this project. If you can, this works out great, if not, your local hobby store will sell these sheets.

One piece poster board of any color. (A brightly colored one would work great here)