Overview For Teachers

DISCIPLINE: The ability to follow the chain of command; demonstrate good character; to be even tempered; behave appropriately; accept unavoidable interruptions and pressure; the ability to pay attention to details; display a high level of concentration even when assigned an unpleasant task; the ability to demonstrate grit and resilience.

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PURPOSE:
Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of being self-disciplined in the classroom and the workplace. In addition, the objectives listed below should be met.

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OBJECTIVES:
 Ability to recognize the importance of being disciplined in all aspects of life

 Ability to understand the importance of grit, resilience and perseverance

 Ability to demonstrate self-discipline in different situations

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OVERVIEW:
This module concentrates on teaching students to recognize and display self-discipline and how it affects their home, school and work life. The key to being disciplined is to understand what’s important, know the steps to take to complete certain tasks, as well as how to keep going when you want to give up. In addition, students will have an opportunity to gain an understanding of the importance of discipline by participating in various activities designed to stimulate thought and discussion.

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TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?
What does discipline 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 discipline look like in class?

2. How does discipline affect other students? Example: Student activities or sports or hallway/lunchroom interactions

3. What does discipline look like within your learning?

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RELEVANCY OF DISCIPLINE: Why is this important to your students?
Discipline is important to both personal and professional development and goals. Employers say that discipline is a very important attribute in employees and is considered a leadership trait in most organizations.

 

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LESSON:

10 Daily Habits to Teach Self - Discipline
Time Allocation: 20 minutes
Materials/Resources: computers/ tablets/ smartphones with internet access or printed copies of How to Discipline Yourself with 10 Habits paper, pens/ pencils, whiteboard, markers

 

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

 Share the following quote with the class:

     o “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” – Aristotle

 Have a short discussion about what habits students currently have and if those will help or hurt them in the future.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

 As a class, discuss the concepts of discipline and self-discipline:

     o How are they different?

     o How are they similar?

 Then, ask students: o Why is discipline important?

     o In what areas of life is discipline most important?

 Next, tell students that they all have habits that they’ve created over time and these habits may be good or bad. The goal of this lesson is to help them develop new daily habits that will teach them discipline.

 Give each student a printed copy of How to Discipline Yourself with 10 Habits or have them access it electronically. 

 As they read through the article, have them write down the 10 daily habits that are mentioned.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

 When the students have finished reading the article and writing down the 10 habits it mentions, ask them to write a plan of how to incorporate the 10 daily habits into their everyday lives.

     o For example, one of the daily habits mentioned is exercising. Students will figure out what time they will start exercises every day.  When they finish, they will find a partner , share their plan, and how they will fit these 10 daily habits into their everyday schedule.

 Then, have a few students share with the class how they will schedule these habits into their daily lives . Follow with a short class discussion on the importance of establishing good habits and developing discipline.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Survey: Create a short survey with Survey Monkey to check for understanding with the students that they will complete before they leave for the day.

 Non-Technology: Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down: Student s who need further clarification will show a “thumbs down” and students who understand will show a “thumbs up.”

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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: 

GIVING UP?

You are honored to be an important part of your sports team. However, it is also a LOT of hard work. The practices, the travel, the missing out on social events with your friends, the going to bed early because you have a game… all of it. You understand that it provides you with great teamwork and leadership skills and it is instilling good habits in many facets of your life, but it is just so hard ! You even have to watch what you eat because being in top shape improves your performance in the game. But you keep having these thoughts of quitting, just being a normal student .… If you do that, however, you will lose that college scholarship opportunity for sure .

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

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

2. What are positive or negative consequences / outcomes for you, depending on your decision?

3. Do you agree with the saying, “anything worth anything takes hard work?” Why or why not?

4. How do you think this scenario relates to discipline?

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 had a child, would you want YOUR child to quit in this situation?”

NOTE 3 : Another option 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 YOUR DECISION HAVE ON YOUR LONG -TERM ABILITY TO PERSEVERE?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

 Post the following quote on the whiteboard:

     o “By constant self -discipline and self -control, you can develop greatness of character.” – Grenville Kleiser

 Have students respond to this quote either on paper or verbally before they leave the classroom.

 

CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their ability to be disciplined. This lesson will give students the opportunity to evaluate how they are currently living their lives and what they can change to develop more discipline

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS
-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from having the important information written on the white board.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from having the directions read aloud as well as the class discussions.

-Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners could benefit by writing down any important information.

-ESL: ESL students would benefit from having a partner to assist them in the writing activity in case they have questions or need clarification.

-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from the interaction they have with their group to help keep them focused and on task.

-Advanced: Advanced learners could assist students whose current level of understanding is on a low level.

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