How to Build Character in Your Classroom

The past couple of years, I have had quite the groups of students.  I teach in a low-income school and there are so many emotional and social issues that students bring to school each and every day.  Sometimes I feel like I’m putting out more fires and reacting to the social issues than I am actually teaching grade-level content.

As I reflect on the conversations I have with my five-year-old at home about life, integrity, and how to interact with others, I wonder how many of these conversations happen in my students’ homes.  I can see my students’ home life reflected in their behavior at school.  For some, it is nurturing, loving, and uplifting.  For others, not so much.

This year, I have spent quite a bit of time building students’ character and doing specific activities that require them to reflect on their behavior.  Unfortunately, there is no magic trick that works to fix all the little issues in my classroom.  I wish there was!  It’s been a constant focus and time of reflection all year long.  I try a few things, it works for a while, then I need to switch it up and do something differently.

Here are a few things I have done this year that have helped the overall culture in our classroom and build students’ character:

Set Behavior Goals

I’ve written blog posts before about goal setting.  At the beginning of the year, we did a lot of goal setting around behavior and how to be in the classroom.  There are a variety of ways to set behavior goals.  Students can set individual goals like I explained in this blog post or you can set class goals, Whole Brain Teaching style.  This works well when you have taught a particular character trait that you want students to practice or a particular skill you want them to develop.

The beauty of keeping a list of goals is that you can reflect on it all year long, adding to it as students’ behavior changes.  What were problems at the beginning of the year (above) aren’t much an issue now, but other things have come up.

Included in setting behavior goals is the use of a Behavior Chart.  This year, I switched up my behavior chart to include specific goals on it.  You can read about it in the linked blog post.

Behavior charts will work for some students, but not others.  It is a great communication tool to use with parents or outside counselors.  One commenter on a previous post mentioned having students fill out the rubric rather than the teacher.  That is another great way for students to take ownership of their behavior.

SPECIFICALLY Teach Character Traits

Our school this year is focusing on one character trait each month.  Admittedly, I’ve been a bit inconsistent in my teaching of character traits related to our school focus.  I started out strong but lost steam amid all the academic and content area teaching.  Here is an anchor chart we created on responsibility.

All month, we practiced the character trait and at the end of the month, as a class, we chose a student who we felt did a good job representing that character trait.  The example below is for Respect.  From the anchor chart (like the one for Responsible), students chose one student in the class and wrote down how that student represented that character trait.

I revealed the chosen student to the rest of the class by displaying a blank circle map.  I had the title in place and the circles drawn.  I explained that this chosen student listens to the teacher, helps others, raises her hand, etc.  These were all suggestions that the class had given me in their notes.  Then, I glued a picture of the student in the center as the reveal.

Doing this type of focus on the behavior that encompasses a character trait, really helps students see specific actions that it takes to be respectful, be responsible, etc.

Teach Through Literature

More recently, we have been reading books that deal with a particular problem, challenge, or behavior.  We read the book, talk about the characters, the events in the story, and do some activity with the book.

The key with the two books below is that I’m not as focused on the individual doing the bullying but on the others’ reactions to the bullying.  Both books provide the other students in the class with a voice and a sense of empowerment that they have choices.

The above is from The Juice Box Bully, which is a great book about bullying and being an upstander.

We have also focused on teasing or put-downs.  As I taught the teasing or put-downs book this week, I saw students’ light bulbs go off as they realized that they had the power to respond or not respond to others’ teasing.  Several of my kiddos who have been the brunt of teasing this year got really excited about now having clear choices.

I still had two of my students come up to me yesterday complaining about other students and I pointed to the wall and said, what are you going to choose to do?

It will take a lot of practice to translate the realization that students have choices into actions, but it’s a start.  The above examples are from the book Simon’s Hook.

Last year I had ordered quite a few books through a Donor’s Choose project and this year, I’ve written a few lessons to go along with them.

So far, I only have The Juice Box Bully and Simon’s Hook written.  We have so much work to do in our classroom and I need the resources!

These lessons can take as little as one day or can be stretched out over a couple of days, depending on how many activities you want to do.

Keep Moving Forward

The last thing that will make a world of difference is consistency.  If students know what to expect, know the boundaries, and have clear rules, they tend to follow through and work with those boundaries.  Most students, anyway.  If I’m consistent and clear with the whole class then I can better focus on the students who need a little more attention.

How do you build character in your classroom?  Any tips or tricks that you use throughout the year that helps students reflect on their behavior and practice the skills they need to make a positive change in the classroom?

Also, if you have a favorite book that you enjoy reading with your class that focuses on character development, I’d love to know what it is.  I’m always looking for good literature that will move my students!

I’ve pinned some ideas to this Pinterest board.  Let me know if you have ideas that I could pin to it!

Follow What I Have Learned’s board Classroom Character & Community Building on Pinterest.

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Are you interested in helping students manage their behavior in small chunks throughout the day?  A behavior chart is the perfect tool and it’s great for parent communication, too!