GOAL/OBJECTIVE: Students will develop appreciation of trustworthiness. Students will understand that genuine sincerity; personal morality and trust in deeds and words must be realized in order to demonstrate trustworthiness.


THEME / CONTENT

/

STATE

NATIONAL
STANDARDS /

ACTIVITIES

EXAMPLES OF THE TYPE OF WORK STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO TO MEET THE STANDARDS AND CUMULATIVE PROGRESS INDICATORS / REFERENCES FOR CROSS CONTENT CONNECTIONS/
TEACHER’S NOTES
TRUSTWORTHINESS
  • I keep my promises; I am a person of my word.
  • I am reliable; I follow through on commitments.
  • I am honest.
  • I keep secrets; I never betray a confidence or a trust.
  • I have integrity; I don't cave in to temptation.
  • I am loyal when loyalty is appropriate
  • I stand up for what is right, even if I stand alone.
  • I don't cave in to negative peer pressure.
  • Fear of failure does not prevent me from trying things.
  • I am not afraid to express myself just because some people might disapprove.
  • Stand up for your beliefs
  • Follow your conscience
  • Be honorable and upright
  • Live by your principles no matter what others say
  • Have the courage to do what is right and to try new things even when it is hard or costly
  • Build and guard your reputation
  • Tell the truth and nothing but the truth
  • Be sincere
  • Be forthright and candid
/ State
6.3 Political ideas,
6.4 Societal ideas
National
Era V Intensified Hemispheric Interactions
Std 2B 7-12 Feudal relationships found new political orders
NCSS
Theme VI
Power, Authority and Governance / "Knights of the Middle Ages"
The story provides insight into the individual knight's motivations and experiences and help students to discover the social system that allowed them to function interdependently. Trustworthiness became the lifeblood of a knight. After reading the story ask students to compare and contrast the chivalric code in the story to the bold faced terms in column one. Ask students to comment on whether it would be difficult to live by such chivalric codes at school.
Then have students write a brief response to the following questions:
1. Why do you think chivalry was necessary? Do you think it is out of fashion today? Why or why not?
2. What suggests that becoming a knight was a religious act? What ceremonies do we witness today that are similar to those acts? Compare and contrast the symbols used in these ceremonies.
3. How did knights regard women in general and how does that compare to how we view women today?
4.. If you want someone to trust you, who has most of the responsibility— you or the other person? Why?
5. Once trust has been broken, what can you do to get it back? Have you ever lost someone's trust? Has someone lost your trust? Explain.
What does it mean to have principles? What are some of your principles? How much are you willing to risk for your principles? Would you risk being criticized or losing popularity?
8. What do you think stops people from taking a stand against something they know is wrong?
Are there kids in your school who pick on others? How do you feel about it? Why do people allow that to happen? What could you do about it?
"It is more shameful to distrust one’s friends than to be deceived by them." — François duc de la Rochefoucauld, 17th-century French memoirist and philosopher
"How many times do you get to lie before you are a liar?” — Michael Josephson, 20th/21st-century American ethicist
"Honesty isn’t a policy at all; it’s a state of mind or it isn’t honesty." — Eugene L’Hote
“The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in.” — A.E. Housman
“When somebody lies, somebody loses.” — Stephanie Ericsson
Thomas Jefferson said that one person with courage is a majority. What does that mean to you? /

Language Arts 3.3.7

Language Arts 3.3.4
Write to inform
Have students trace the etymology of the term chivalry. Then ask them to write a paragraph about one of the highlighted historical figures in the story. Women figures include Queen Pilipapa, Jeanne de Montfort and Joan of Arc.
The Chief's Daughter"
historical fiction
Develop two graphic webs for "Sir Dana a Knight" and "The Chiefs Daughter" to illustrate historical fiction using the following characteristics for each part of the web"
Plot, set in a real place, theme, based on real events, conflict, and prose.
. Write an essay about a historical event in which courage played a major role. (The civil rights movement offers many good examples.)
. What does it take to stand up against negative peer pressure? As a class, discuss the kinds of peer pressure that exist at your school. What makes it difficult to resist these pressures? Develop some good strategies for standing up to them. Compile this into a written report for the students in your school.
2. Profiles in Courage: Have the students, either individually or in groups, identify acts of courage by people in the news or by people in your school or community. Then have each individual or group make a presentation to the class and conduct a discussion. What do these selections have in common? What are their differences? What can the students learn about themselves from the selections they made? What have they learned from the people they selected?

THE PLAINFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLSCHARACTER EDUCATION GUIDE GRADE 7