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 their jobs, not their technical skills.

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LESSON:

Having Integrity in Tough Situations
Time Allocation: 20  minutes
Materials/Resources: Materials: paper, pens/ pencils, Tough Situations Worksheet, computers/ laptops/ smartphones with internet access (students - optional) or printed copies Symbol of Integrity

 

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

 Have students read the Symbol of Integrity either by accessing it electronically or by handing out printed copies for each student.

 When they finish reading, ask students to share their thoughts on the article . Then ask them what characteristic the man portrayed in giving the backpack to authorities versus taking it and keeping it for himself.

     o Answer: Integrity

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

 Tell students that integrity is not only an attribute that plays a huge part in being a good person and having great character, but it’s also a highly desirable trait for employers when searching for new employees.

 Ask students to define integrity in their own words.

 To add on to the definitions that students share, summarize their thoughts by saying , “Integrity is doing what’s right, even when no one is watching.”

 Tell students that as they go through life, they will probably be faced with multiple difficult situations in which their integrity will be challenged. These situations will show what kind of character they have, even if no one is watching.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

 Put students into groups of 3 -4 and have them sit together with paper and a pen/ pencil.

 Using the Tough Situations Worksheet, read the first scenario out loud to the class.

 When you finish reading, have students discuss the scenario and then write down two possible ways to react – one portraying integrity and the other not.

 Read through all the scenarios on the paper before going back and discussing each one .

 Have students share their answers to the following questions for each of the scenarios :

     o What are the two possible reactions to this scenario?

     o Who all is affected by the path you choose to take? (If you portray integrity, how does that affect others? If you don’t portray

         integrity, how does that affect others?

     o Why is it important to portray integrity in this situation?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Create a survey on Survey Monkey to send to students.

 Non-Technology: Students will pair up with another student to share their thoughts on the lesson. Then, they will report out to the class during the discussion one thing they learned from their partner about the lesson.

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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: 

FAIR MONEY

You have always been very competitive. Your teacher has just announced a challenging assignment consisting of both an exam and a presentation. Your good friend has worked as a teacher’s assistant for most of the school year and has told you the y can get you a copy of the exam. However, this particular assignment has more than just a grade riding on it. The top scoring student will earn a $500 scholarship. You could really use that money. Having a copy of the exam early will give you the competitive advantage you need to win it. However, you also hear this voice in your head saying that is not playing fair… but when there is something on the line like this, should you play fair or do what you have to do to get ahead?

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 possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

3. What are possible consequences to your good friend?

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, “ If you were one of the other students trying for the scholarship, how would you react if you discovered that a classmate had cheated ?”

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, “ WHY IS YOUR INTEGRITY IMPORTANT ?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

 Share the following quote with the class so they can reflect on their current behaviors regarding integrity:

     o “Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.” -Unknown

 

CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their integrity and their ability to demonstrate moral, ethical, loyal, trustworthy, and honest behavior. This lesson will give students the opportunity to put themselves in real -life situations and will allow them to critically think about ways to react to situations and how their decision will affect others around them.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS
-Visual: Visual learners would benefit from having a printed copy of the scenarios so they could follow along as you read them out loud to the class.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the activity by hearing the directions and also from the class discussion.

-Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners will benefit from writing down important information.

-ESL: To benefit ESL students, you could provide them with a word bank of values (and definitions) for them to choose from..

-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from the constant interaction with the class to keep them engaged and focused.

-Advanced: Advanced learners could benefit by assisting students who rated their level of understanding on a low level.

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