eds 35 activity

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ETHICAL VALUES AND OTHER

KINDS OF VALUES

PURPOSE

To help students begin to understand what ethicsmeans

To distinguishethical valuesfrom other kinds of values

PREPARATION AND MATERIALS

Photocopy the Ethical Values and Other Kinds of Values handout. Photocopy the Ethical

Values and Other Kinds of Values worksheet. Arrange your classroom so students canwork in small groups on this activity.

PROCESS

Read the text together as a whole class, or in small groups if that seems moreappropriate. Discuss the ideas in the text and the different terms targeted.

Next, break your class into small groups, if you have not already done so. Pass outcopies of the Ethical Values and Other Kinds of Values worksheet. Ask students towork together in their small groups to determine the ethical and nonethical valuesin each example. Ask them to mark E over the ethical and N over the nonethi-cal values, as per the directions at the top of the sheet.

Then, as an extension to the worksheet, invite each group to choose a scenario toperform for the class (or assign one to each group). Give students time to preparetheir skits.

After each group presents to the class, use the opportunity to firm up the differ-ence between ethical values and other kinds of values through discussion aboutthe skit.

INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL ETHICS

Elementary Decision Ski lls 3. Defini ng Ethical V a l u e s

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Elementary Decision Ski ll s


ETHICAL VALUES AND OTHER

KINDS OF VALUES

The wordethicshas to do with good or doing the right thing. Anethical decisionis the kind of decision that has to do with making agood choice. When people talk about values, they are oftenreferring to ethicalvaluesthe kind of values that have to dowith being good or doing the right thing. They mean the values

that are good for a family.

There are lots of values, however, that have nothing to do withethics. It is important to be able to tell the difference betweenethical values and nonethical values if you want to get at themost basic ideas about goodness or doing the right thing. In thescenarios on the worksheet, youll be exploring the differencebetween ethical and nonethical values.

If you feel some confusion about the difference, try this test. Askyourself, Is this value about goodness, or doing the right thing?Would you consider a person with this value to be a better per-son than someone without this value?


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Elementary Decision Ski lls

ETHICAL VALUESAND OTHER

KINDS OF VALUES

In each of the following examples, the ethical values and thenonethical values are underlined. Write an E over the ethicalvalues. Write an N over the nonethical values. The first one isdone for you.

SCENARIO #1:Jeff is very athleticand he plays on the basketballteam. What I like most about the way he plays is that hes such ateam player. He would never keep the ball just to make a fancyplay. Hes considerateof everybody else on his team.

NIs being athleticabout goodness or doing the right thing?

EIs considerate?

SCENARIO #2: Sheila is one of the most responsiblepeople Iknow. She is very adventurousand likes to challenge herself inall sorts of ways, but she doesnt forget to be sensible. Once

some of us climbed a really tall tree together, and then I hadtrouble getting down. Sheila didnt just run off, but helped mefind a way to the ground. She knew I could have hurt myself ifshe hadnt stayed to help.


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Is being responsibleabout goodness or doing the right thing?

Is adventurous?

SCENARIO #3: I like visiting Rakeshs family because theyre sohospitable. Theyre pretty wealthy, but they never make me feeluncomfortable at their home. Just the opposite is true. Theymake me feel like a part of the family and we always have lots

of fun.

Is being hospitableabout goodness or doing the right thing?

Is wealthy?

SCENARIO #4: I like Samantha because shes respectful of every-body, even though she can be really funny. Some kids tell jokesthat are hurtful and mean. Samantha knows how to make every-body laugh, and nobody gets hurt.

Is being respectful about goodness or doing the right thing?

Is funny?


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SCENARIO #5: Barry is very musical, and sometimes I wish Icould play the guitar as well as he can. I also admire his honesty.The other day, when band practice didnt go very well, he wasthe first to admit that he hadnt really practiced the way hedpromised.

Is being musical about goodness or doing the right thing?

Is honesty?

SCENARIO #6:Jill is very creativeand will probably become anartist someday. Shes a great help when we work on group proj-ects because she always has good ideas about what we shoulddo. She also is cooperativewith everyone else. When we worktogether, I never feel like shes bossing me around, even though

she usually knows the best way to go about getting the jobdone.

Is being creativeabout goodness or doing the right thing?

Is cooperative?


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CATEGORIZING VALUES

PURPOSE

To continue exploration of ethical values and other types of values


Photocopy the Which is It? worksheet. You can make a copy for each student, to fill outindependently, or enough copies for students to work with in small groups (one copy pergroup). Or, if you think this would benefit your class more, transcribe the worksheetsvalues list onto chart paper and work as a whole group. Have chart paper and markers

ready to make a class poster.

TIP:You can use this activity to assess students understanding of the concept of ethicalvalues.

PROCESS

Have your students work through the worksheet individually, in pairs, or as awhole class.

Once the worksheet is complete, check answers and make sure the meaning ofeth-ical valueis clear.

Now use the students work to make a poster. List Ethical Values in one columnon the poster. List Nonethical Values in another column.

Leave space in the Ethical Values column for more words. Throughout literature,history, science, and other content area studies, you will come across more exam-ples of ethical values. Add to the list as your students discover new words, helpingthem to make connections to ethics from a variety of subject matter.


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WHICH IS IT?

All the words listed below represent values. Circle the wordsthat represent ethicalvalues.

Honest Playful Serious

Smart Gentle Considerate

Careful Kind Adventurous

Outgoing Genuine Witty

Athletic Responsible Artistic

Reserved Creative Respectful

Attentive Hospitable Open

Fair Ambitious Brave


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CHARACTER TRAITS :

FAMOUS PEOPLE

PURPOSE

To further explore ethical values and how they differ from other kinds of values


Arrange reading groups as you deem appropriate. (Some teachers like to mix readingabilities and personalities; others prefer to arrange the reading groups according to profi-

ciency.) Find level-appropriate biographies or passages from biographies of respectedpeople in history. You will need chart paper and some simple guidelines for studentresearch. Students will need time to research and carry out the assignment.

PROCESS

Provide students with the opportunity to read about respected people in history.As they read, ask them to look for character traits that seem to represent impor-tant values.

Have the students list these traits on chart paper.

After they are finished reading and listing character traits, ask them to test eachtrait as was done for them in the Ethical Values and Other Kinds of Valuesactivity.

Have each group present their findings to the class. Post the lists of values in theclassroom.

As an extension to the research, invite each reading group to write an imaginaryinterview with the famous person they have studied. Or, they might act out themost interesting event from their reading.


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CHARACTER TRAITS IN

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

PURPOSE

To discover the role that values play in different genres of childrens literature


Gather examples of fables, fairy tales, folk tales, myths, and/or any other literature genrewith which your students are already familiar. Arrange your class in reading groups (see

the Character Traits: Famous People activity).

PROCESS

Ask each group to explore four or five stories from each genre. As they read thestories, have the students list the character traits of the heroes or sympatheticcharacters in each story. (Villains have character traits too, but they are usuallynegative. Focus on the positive ones.)

After they are finished reading and listing the character traits, ask them to testeach trait as was done in the Ethical Values and Other Kinds of Values activity.

Then have each group present their findings to the class. Post their lists of valuesin the classroom. Use extension activities like the ones described in the CharacterTraits: Famous People activity, if time allows.


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Elementary Decision Ski l ls 3. Def in in g Eth ical V a l u e s

A NOTE TO PARENTS

All of us have different kinds of values. Ourethical values define what we think of as goodor right. This week in school we are workingon identifying ethical values and other kinds of

values.

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eds 35 activity

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