GIRAFFE PROJECT

Is a non-profit literature project devoted to spreading the word about people who "stick their necks out for the common good". Its various programs include The Giraffe Heroes Program, a story-based curriculum that teaches "courage, compassion and active citizenship"; the Giraffe Heroes Training Program; and a variety of public information and awareness programs.

GOOD CHARACTER.COM

GoodCharacter.com offers free character education resources for K-12 teachers, coaches, and youth group leaders, all organized by topic and grade level. You'll find curriculum materials, discussion questions, writing assignments, group learning activities, opportunities for student action and lots of teacher support material.

HEARTWOOD

The Heartwood Institute is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote the understanding and practice of ethical values that are the foundation of community among all people, with particular emphasis on children and families. Heartwood offers pre-K and elementary ethics curriculums that use multi- cultural literature to help children understand seven universal attributes: Courage, Loyalty, Justice, Respect, Hope, Honesty, and Love.

INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL ETHICS

This organization has available curriculum materials for middle schools and high schools, and much more. The Institute is a nonsectarian, global research and educational organization which "supports public discourse and practical action around significant ethical issues".

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION

The International Center for Character Education (ICCE), housed at the University of San Diego, has as its purpose to "enable school personnel, parents, teacher educators, faith community members...to come together to study, discuss...the character education of children and youth." The ICCE offers the only Certificate and MA programs in Character Education.

LIVE WIRE MEDIA

LiveWireMedia.com offers a selection of classroom videos for character education, violence prevention, conflict resolution, and guidance. Created for grades K-12, these videos help young people become caring, respectful, responsible people who think critically, solve problems non-violently, and make choices based on what's right.

OPERATION RESPECT - DON'T LAUGH AT ME

Operation Respect is a non-profit organization working to transform schools, camps and organizations focused on children and youth, into more compassionate, safe and respectful environments. Founded by Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, the organization disseminates educational resources that are designed to establish a climate that reduces the emotional and physical cruelty some children inflict upon each other by behaviors such as ridicule, bullying and-in extreme cases-violence. It is a unique organization that provides a gateway to broad scale adoption of school-based character education as well as social and emotional learning programs.

PROJECT WISDOM

A for-profit organization which is "committed to providing schools with Character Education materials that encourage students to reflect" on values and their application. The centerpiece of the program is a collection of thought-provoking messages to be read over the PA system. The program also includes a reproducible set of weekly themes, weekly journals, classroom discussion guides and a booklet of quotations for the classroom. 

UTAH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: CHARACTER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP

Utah was one of the first states funded under the U.S. Department of Education's Character Education Partnership Grants. This web site describes the history of the project, its progress over two years, curriculum plans, evaluation of progress thus far, lesson plans, the theory and history of character education, and links to other related sites.

WISE SKILLS

WiseSkills is an innovative, interdisciplinary K-12 character education program that builds character by highlighting the words and lives of positive role models. Materials integrate easily into academic subject areas. The web site includes a variety of sample pages and free lesson ideas and reproducibles.

CHARACTER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP (CEP)

This is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to developing moral character and civic virtue in our nation's youth as one means of creating a more compassionate and responsible society.

CHARACTER EDUCATION INSTITUTE

The Character Education Institute (CEI) has developed a curriculum for kindergarten through the ninth grade which seeks to develop responsible citizens. Now taught in 50,000 classrooms across the country.

Character Education Resources