{"id":16518,"date":"2018-09-19T07:03:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T11:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=16518"},"modified":"2022-04-29T14:52:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T18:52:37","slug":"3-tools-for-exploring-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/3-tools-for-exploring-character\/","title":{"rendered":"3 tools for exploring character with middle schoolers"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h1>\n

Who am I and who do I want to be in the world?<\/h1>\n

\"tools<\/a>What do I stand for? What is the good life and how can I live it?<\/p>\n

These are questions that most middle schoolers (and adults)-hopefully- grapple with at some point. And this philosophizing usually\u00a0begins in middle school. Which means that middle school is prime time for guiding students through an exploration of their identity, values and character strengths. And spoiler alert:\u00a0 they think it’s pretty cool, too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
My students made visual representations of some of the character traits as we explored their meanings. Doesn’t he look curious?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My school year typically started off with a lot of community building and exploration of self<\/a>.\u00a0 We used things like learning style quizzes<\/a> and interest inventories<\/a> to gather data about ourselves. We shared our\u00a0data with each other and used it to understand who we were as a community and how we could support ourselves and each other in learning.<\/p>\n

This exploration laid the foundation for our personalized\u00a0learning environment: we all knew that Simon was more focused when he stood and that Ana needed to hear and<\/em> read something to really get it.<\/p>\n

As I’ve gathered resources and tools for this work, I’ve come across a few that are too good not to share!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Flexibility means moving in unexpected directions with grace. (And it can make your face red, but just go with it!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1.\u00a0Let It Ripple Film Studio’s Science of Character<\/a>\u00a0film<\/h2>\n

This little film is a GIFT!\u00a0 In 8 minutes it inspires, explains, and instigates discussion and curiosity about character.<\/p>\n

Don’t believe me?\u00a0 Check it out for yourself.<\/p>\n