Overview For Teachers

INTEGRITY: The ability to demonstrate moral, ethical, loyal, trustworthy, and honest behavior; to be accountable and dependable; play fair; maintain confidentiality; do the right thing even when no one is looking; the ability to produce quality work; work to fulfill the mission of the organization; the ability to define personal values versus what is valued.

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PURPOSE: Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of having integrity in the classroom as well as the workplace. In addition, the objectives listed below should be met.

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OBJECTIVES:

 Ability to define integrity and explain what it is

 Ability to realize how integrity plays a part in future success

 Ability to demonstrate integrity at home, at school, and at work

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OVERVIEW:

This module focuses on teaching students the importance of having integrity and how it plays a part in everyday life . Students will come to realize how integrity can affect their success in the future at school and at work. In addition, students will have an opportunity to gain an understanding of what integrity is by participating in various activities designed to stimulate thought and discussion.

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TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?

What does integrity look like in the classroom or in school in general? A great way to answer this and get things going is through engagement with the students. Ask your students these questions:

1. What does integrity look like in class?

2. How does your integrity affect other students? Example: Group projects, homework, collaboration in class, etc. 3. What does having integrity look like within your

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RELEVANCY OF INTEGRITY

Employers have stated that an individual’s integrity is the foundation of their success or failure in the workplace, especially long-term success. The Georgia Department of Labor statistics show that soft skills, like the lack of integrity, are what costs people the ir jobs, not their technical skills.

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LESSON:

Integrity Role Models
Time Allocation: 20  minutes
Materials/Resources: computers/ tablets/ smartphones with internet access, whiteboard, poster board, markers, tape, stapler, printer

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WATCH THE VIDEO:

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ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

Write the following names on the whiteboard:

     o John Cena

     o J.K. Rowling

     o Tim Tebow

     o Roger Federer

     o Russel Wilson

     o Peyton Manning

     o Serena Williams

 Have students explain who each person on the list is. For help, click here.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

Once the students have established who everyone is on the list on the whiteboard, ask them what all those people have in common.

 Have them take a few guesses and then write the word “integrity” on the whiteboard and tell students that all of the people listed are considered role models of the characteristic integrity. Have students come up with a definition for the word integrity and write that on the whiteboard as well.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

One group, will have the task of adding one more person to the list of Integrity role models, since only seven names are listed.

 Students will research their Integrity role model and find examples of things they have done to demonstrate their integrity. As they are researching and finding information, each group will create a poster of their Integrity role model. It will include a picture of the person and a short description of any example they find of that person demonstrating integrity.

 When students are finished, have them share their poster with the class and then hang them in the classroom for a daily reminder.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Obsurvery: Create a survey, poll, or questionnaire to send to the students that will give you immediate feedback about the student’s level of understanding.

 Non-Technology: Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down: Students will demonstrate their level of understanding by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down. Stu dents with thumbs down will need more clarification.

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ETHICAL SCENARIO--Optional (if not using, skip  to "review and closing")

The Ethical Choice Scenarios have been developed to provide teachers with the ability to make the material applicable to real-life and relevant to the students. Within this guide, directions and prompts for the teacher will be in BLUE for ease of facilitation.

 

READ THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO OUT LOUD TO THE STUDENTS: 

NEW FRIENDSHIP INITIATION

It’s the start of the school year and you recently started hanging out with a new group of friends, only because none of your old friends got scheduled into the same classes as you. So far, your new friendships are going great; you have a lot in common with your new friends and they seem to have a lot of fun . Your favorite place to hang out with them is at the local mall where you mostly just gossip and watch the other people shop. Today, your friends wanted to do something different and they decided that since you are the “newest member” to the group , you must be put through an “initiation”. So they grab you by the arm and pull you into the nearest clothing store . You aren’t really sure what to expect but you try to have an open mind, considering they are your friends and they wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble. Your friends inform you that to be considered part of the group, you must steal something from the store. They tell that it’s not a big deal and that they do it all the time. You know what consequences you could face for stealing but there are also consequences for not doing it. In this moment, you have to decide what is more important – friendships, reputation, honesty? What do you do?

ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (display them to the class if necessary)

1. How many of you have already been faced with a scenario like this in real life?

2. What are the possible options that you have in this situation?

3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

GUIDED DISCUSSION: ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION AND HOW THEY
ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS.

NOTE 1 : To help facilitate discussion, share any personal experiences you may have encountered with this same sort of issue.

NOTE 2 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ Are they really your friends if they put you in this situation?”

NOTE 3 : Another opt ion to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ What values do you think are in tension here, why is it an ethical dilemma?”

CLOSING DISCUSSION: ASK THE STUDENTS , “ WHAT IMPACTS COULD Y OUR DECISION HAVE ON YOUR OVERALL INTEGRITY AND YOUR FUTURE ?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

On a piece of paper, students will write down three things they learned today, two questions that they still have , and one goal they have for themselves concerning integrity .

 

CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their integrity. This lesson will give students the opportunity to get examples of how different celebrities exhibit integrity in their daily lives and will hopefully give students the inspiration to focus on their integrity as well.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS
-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from having the important information written on the whiteboard as well as having the posters hanging in the classroom.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the group work and also the class discussions.

-Kinesthetic: To benefit kinesthetic learners, you could allow them to move about the room as they brainstorm and think. They will also benefit from creating the posters.

-ESL: ESL students will benefit from working with a group in this activity in case they have questions or need clarification.

-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from working with a group and having constant interaction with their classmates to keep them engaged.

-Advanced: To benefit advanced learners, you could have them partner up with a student who rates their level of understanding with a thumbs -down so they can help them better understand.

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