Classroom Curriculum Overview

Purpose of the Character Development and Leadership Curriculum for High School and Middle School Students

The Character Development & Leadership Curriculum for High School and Middle School changes students, changes schools and changes communities. It improves students' understanding of what character and leadership mean and naturally translates into more effective behavior in school and in life. It is used in more than 3,500 schools across the United States.

To provide a deeper understanding, we are providing you with lesson plans from an entire unit. This is Unit 15 on Responsibility, which is paired with the topic of Employability and Workplace Skills.

Unit 15 Sample Unit – Online Platform


Unit 15 Sample Unit – Traditional Version

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Curriculum Format

The Character Development & Leadership Curriculum for High School and Middle School utilizes a consistent set of 14 lesson plans to teach each of the 18 character trait units. This is both the simplicity and the beauty of this curriculum. It’s what the teachers love and the students come to rely on. Once the students understand the 14 lesson plans, they know what to expect, which provides consistency. At the same time, one ethical dilemma (for example) doesn’t look like the next, so each lesson plan is unique and fresh.

Below you will find the format for the high school and middle school lesson plans. Each lesson plan is aligned with the common core standards for English and ties into a specific learning style.

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To receive more information on this program (pricing, samples of curriculum, samples of Role Models textbook, research reports, common core alignment) call Dr. Joe Hoedel (231) 938-4140, Email jhoedel@characterandleadership.com, call  or complete the form below.Fields marked with an * are a required field.

The 14 lesson plans (listed above) are repeated over and over about a different character trait that is paired with a different topic (listed below).

18 Character Traits/Unit Topics Chart

Unit TopicsCharacter Traits
Foundational TraitsWho Am I?Positive Attitude
Developing Goals & PrioritiesPreparation
The Importance of EducationPerseverance
Showing Respect to OthersRespect
Building a Positive ReputationHonesty
Developing Personal ValuesIntegrity
You in Relation to OthersHandling Peer PressureCourage
The Importance of Role ModelsAppreciation
Managing Anger & AggressionComposure
Positive Communication SkillsEmpathy
Addressing Bullying at Your SchoolCompassion
Cultural CompetenceTolerance
The Future YouCitizenship in the CommunityService
Sustaining Long-term RelationshipsLoyalty
Employability & Workplace SkillsResponsibility
Personal Branding & Social MediaInitiative
Becoming a Strong LeaderLeadership
Being a Strong Role ModelCharacter
Students and teachers rely on this format since it provides consistent and stable learning.

To learn more about potential methods of implementation of the Character Development and Leadership Curriculum for High School and Middle School Students, click one of the buttons below.

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What separates this curriculum from other Social-Emotional Learning curricula is an emphasis on reading and writing. For each unit, students write a two-page essay and read at least one chapter from the Role Models textbook. The literature is clear that all curricula needs to be rigorous and academically challenging. There are high expectations placed on each child – students can’t just show up and get an A in this course.

We also designed the topics to be relevant and meaningful to a child’s life. It is very important that every student understands how each lesson plan will impact their future. Detailed lesson plans, an online blog, virtual lectures on leadership, overheads, PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, final exams, a syllabus, grading scales and everything necessary to teach this course is included with this curriculum.

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Online Classroom Curriculum

For schools with 1:1 laptop/ipad programs

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Traditional Classroom Curriculum

Includes teacher binders, textbooks and workbooks

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