WEBSITES

All About Respect http://www.allaboutrespect.net/
A program exploring respect and all of its ramifications from elementary level all the way through adult.

Character Counts http://www.charactercounts.org/
CHARACTER COUNTS! is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian coalition of schools, communities and nonprofit organizations working to advance character education by teaching the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Educational Resources http://midgefrazel.net/character.html
This site offers educational resources as part of a professional development workshop on Patriotism and Character Education

Heartwood Ethics http://www.heartwoodethics.org/
This site offers extensive materials on ethics and character education for schools, libraries and other interested parties.

Principles of Character Education http://www.character.org/principles/ElevenPrinciples.pdf
Nonprofit group called “Character Education Partnership” which offers these eleven principles of effective Character Education.

Teaching Values http://www.teachingvalues.com
Listed as one of the most extensive sources on the web for parents, teachers, and anyone involved with character education for children. Stories and activities are listed as well as links to other sites.

BOOKS

Gurian, Michael. What Stories Does My Son Need?: A Guide to Books and Movies That Build Character. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2000.
This book provides a listing of books and movies that are recommended for boys to reinforce positive characteristics. The entries are arranged by education level: Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, etc. Each title includes an annotation with an emphasis on the values content. Some entries have suggested “Discussion Starters.” Includes separate indexes for books and movies.

Hall, Susan. Using Picture Storybooks to Teach character Education. Oryx, 2000.
Defines character education, discusses various theories, criticisms, and means of implementation related to character education. There are sections of chapters devoted to individual positive character traits. Each chapter lists the trait, its common synonyms. There are examples of picture books that include treatment of the character trait. Other character traits included in the stories are noted as well. Includes bibliography and author and title indexes.

Norfolk, Bobby and Sherry Norfolk. The Moral of the Story: Folktales for Character Development. August House, Inc., 1999.
This book discusses character education and how storytelling may be used in conjunction with it. There is a sampling of stories with strategies for when, where, and how to present. The end of the volume includes a section, “Character-Building Stories Recommended by Educators and Storytellers.” Includes bibliographies.

Tillman, Diane and Hsu, Diana. Living Values Activities for Children Ages 3-7. Health Communications, Inc., 2000.
Each activity in this book contains symbols that denote: sharing and discussing, read a story, sing a song, artistic expression activity, action-oriented activity, teacher preparation and quietly being exercise. Very few lessons give a storybook to read and share. The appendix has several stories to use that go along with the themes.