The LSU AgCenter is glad to provide the Leap Into Character Lessons as another tool to enable schools to become a school of character. Please copy these as needed to provide them to your teachers. These lessons provide teachers with an instructional tool that integrates the content standards and benchmarks into character building weekly lessons for grade 4.

Each week, a lesson is provided that teachers can use anytime during the week. All lessons focus around one of the six character pillars: Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

The format is simple, one concept, one page, one time a week. Weekly, one of six core character-building values presents real life application through a concise content that reinforces key skill areas appropriate for students in grade 4.

Each lesson requires no teacher preparation. Depending on the teacher, each lesson could take as few as 10 minutes but could be expanded and built upon if the teacher so desires.

The reference to the State Content Standards (www.lcet.state.la.us/conn) that the activities reinforce is located in the upper right corner of each lesson. The lessons follow the same topics and character pillars outlined in the Character Counts program. Each age appropriate lesson is numbered by lesson week and the grade level is clearly visible in the upper right corner.

The lessons were developed to teach higher order thinking skills through relevant application to each student’s life. A home activity is included in every lesson that connects the school activity to the home.

It is our hope that these lessons not only provide each teacher with a meaningful easy-to-execute lesson, but also deliver a tool that will enrich each students life through character building.