This character education mini-lesson is not intended to be a service learning lesson or to meet the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. The character education units will be most effective when taught in conjunction with a student-designed service project that provides a real world setting in which students can develop and practice good character and leadership skills. For ideas and suggestions for organizing service events go to www.generationon.org.

Anticipatory Set:

Ask the students to look again at their Personal Self-Discipline Survey from the previous lesson. Tell them to think about why a person might need to choose "Disagree" or "Strongly Disagree."  Ask the students to brainstorm a list of the excuses or rationales people use for not using self-discipline.

Teacher: What is the wildest excuse you have ever heard or used? (Does anyone know a dog that actually eats homework?)

Write the list in a display area.

• Teacher: You have developed a good picture of what self-discipline doesn't look like. Now let's brainstorm what it does look like, feel like, and sound like.
  
  Organize the class into three groups. Lay the prepared chart papers (see Materials) in three different locations in the classroom. Give each group a different colored marker and assign them a chart location. Tell the groups they are to read the chart title and legibly write their ideas in response to the title. After about 3 minutes, ask the groups to rotate to the next chart, taking their same colored marker with them. They should read the title, the comments from the previous group, and add any additional ideas. After about 3 minutes, ask the groups to again rotate to a new chart and repeat the same procedure. Rotate the groups one more time so that they can read all the ideas on their original chart.

• Post and keep the charts for future lessons.
• Assign the students to observe and record at least three incidents of people using self-discipline. Tell them to bring three examples to the next lesson.