Character for Life
Continue to support character building, one block at a time.
Character for Life™ is a high-impact character-development program that encourages career exploration for middle and high school students. It teaches the importance of 15 key character traits as presented in Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success™, which is based on his experience as a gifted teacher and coach.
Using videos as a powerful way to introduce the Pyramid, the program profiles interesting people who are successful in unique careers. This approach is engaging for students and provides a real-life example of necessary character traits.
Character for Life™ – Middle School
The Pyramid framework helps teens easily grasp, understand and apply essential character traits to be integrated into their own lives. Videos are age-appropriate–developed with a high cool-factor in mind for middle school students.
Middle school students gain insight on how good character traits transfer into the real-world. The videos showcase interesting and unique career opportunities and help introduce students to wide possibilities for their futures.
The program combines the planner and videos to prompt students to think about how the traits from the Pyramid are relevant to their own lives and career paths they might choose. Students are encouraged to develop critical-thinking and writing skills through various activities throughout the planner.
- August: Character for Life
Introduce students to the Pyramid through the planner and the video lesson, where they also meet Coach John Wooden and their video host, John.
- September: Industriousness & Enthusiasm
Students meet Sam Tamez, ranch foreman and see how he shows industriousness and enthusasium through hard work. Learn that that these character traits help you plan and prepare for the job so you are willing to give your best effort to get things done.
- October: Friendship
Loretta Seredni, owner and operator of Seredni Tire and Auto shares how friendship helps keep everyone in the shop safe. Friendship at work is about mutal respect—giving it and earning it—and making sure others feel understood and included.
- November: Loyalty & Cooperation
Figherfigher John Sandoval shares how being a loyal and cooperative person as a figherfighter can save lives. It's about finding the best way, and that may not always be your way.
- December: Self-Control
Students are introduced to Magnus Gervol, Deputy Sheriff and Tactical Marksman, who shares why he has to always be ready to stay in control of a situation. They learn that when you have self-control, you're in charge of yourself and your emotions.
- January: Alertness & Initiative
Architect Audrey O'Hagan shows students how altertness and initiative means more than just having a plan—it means seeing something through to completion. If you want to make a difference in life, you're going to need to take initiative and action.
- February: Intentness
Intentness means sticking with something, even when it is difficult. Students learn from Bryan Miller, composer, about staying focused when you really want something.
- March: Condition & Skill
TJ Storm, Martial Artist, shares that there is no shortcut to getting more skill in life. To be your best, you need to be fit, conditioned and ready and able to perform and compete to the best of your ability. That takes discipline, a plan of action and practice.
- April: Team Spirit
Learn the importance of teamwork from De Perrin and Rob Mangus, café restaurant chef and owner/operator. It's more than just working together, it's a collaborative spirit that makes striving and sacrificing for the team goal worth it.
- May: Poise & Confidence
Dr. Tiffany Wolters, Veterinarian, stays poised and confident in her field by staying on track, learning new procedures and remaining calm.
- June: Competitive Greatness
Coach John Wooden defined success as the peace of mind that is a direct result of the satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. Ultimately, all 14 building blocks of the Pyramid are necessary for competitive greatness, for achieving your personal best.
Specifications
Code: CHLM-M8
Size: 8.5" x 11"
Page Count: 128
Start Date: Aug. 6, 2012
End Date: June 24, 2013
Layout Format: Matrix
Watch Sample Video:
Take a Closer Look
Flexible format to meet any schedule.
Character for Life is ideally matched with a variety of schedules. It can be administrated daily over a nine-week period, two to three times per week over a semester, one or two times per week over the course of a school year, or at the teacher's discretion within a specified timeframe.
Accelerate student academic achievement.
Students' academic performance is reliant on a safe, supportive school climate that fosters a respectful, challenging and engaging learning community. When teachers are able to find and nurture students' strengths, they are able to offer them opportunities for further excellence every day, allowing students to contribute positively to the classroom, school and community.
Both teachers and students can take the lead.
This program is designed to be student self-directed or taught by a teacher. Students can work through the activity guide independently, viewing associated videos online. Or the themes can be introduced in class, and teachers can show the videos and lead the provided lesson activities–four lessons per theme video–followed by discussion topics.
Direction for career opportunities and life choices.
With the Character for Life planner program, students gain a solid understanding of each character block and how it plays out in the world of work. Students are introduced to some of the general responsibilities and challenges within the featured careers. Career options and ideas are presented that fit within students' areas of interest and strengths, as well as suggestions on how to build the 15 character traits into their daily lives.
Elevate social and emotional skills. Classroom time more valuable for everyone.
Help students avoid the academic downfalls of peer-pressure, bullying, disrespect, and a lack of desire to learn. When students have learned the Pyramid traits and how to incorporate them into their day-to-day lives, their confidence soars. Educators experience less student absenteeism, classroom interruptions and administrator discipline. Instructional time becomes more effective for all students.
Supported with educator tools.
To ensure our products are easy to use and provide the most impact possible, we provide extra resources that help educators integrate the program into the classroom. Learn more about our product support in the Online section above.
What's Included
Product support:
Character.schoolspecialty.com is a dedicated, password-protected resource. The website houses a variety of downloadable support items designed to help educators implement this program in their classroom. See the Online section above for details.
Pyramid of Success™:
Students are provided the 15 blocks of John Wooden's legendary Pyramid of Success™ and the concepts and character traits that align with each block of the Pyramid.
Videos:
Each new theme is introduced at the start of the month via an engaging and interesting video. There are 11 videos and corresponding lesson plans that walk students through concepts from the Pyramid, while exploring various career opportunities. The themes are reinforced throughout the monthly and weekly calendar pages pages as well.
Sample Video:
Monthly Theme Pages:
Each new theme is introduced at the start of the month with a correlating video. The themes are reinforced throughout the monthly and weekly calendar pages pages.
Monthly Calendars:
Opening with a quote or snippet of inspiration regarding the monthly theme and loaded with valuable information, this space allows students to take an overview, month-by-month approach for the upcoming weeks.
Weekly Calendars:
The weekly calendar pages feature bite-sized reinforcement of the monthly theme to help students engage with the material. Additional direction for extended learning and skill development is provided to students in the weekly section. Throughout the weeks, students are encouraged to reflect how the theme relates to them and their lives.
onTRAC® User Guide
This tool is integrated into the weekly calendars of the planner. The User Guide, coiled into the front of each onTRAC® student planner, provides valuable how-to information, as well as extra tips and support. onTRAC® is an intuitive, flexible system that helps students organize tasks, priorities and, most importantly, their time. Think, Record, Act and Check are the four basic steps that help students set and accomplish goals every day.
Resource Pages:
Academic content and reference pages are provided within the planner.
Cover:
Select a cover that matches the theme of your planner, such as Character Do, or choose from our wide selection of free covers.
onTRAC® Pagefinder
Let students find the current date easily with this helpful snap-into-place pagefinder. It also reinforces the onTRAC® process.
Online Educator Support Pieces
The included educator support pieces elevate the program's effectiveness without adding more work for busy teachers. That is why we created Character.schoolspecialty.com, a password-protected website where educators can download support pieces.
- Resource support package: Program overview, staff support guide, classroom teacher guide, and parent/family guide—all available for download to help teach the onTRAC® planning system.
- Lesson plans: These 22 ready-made lesson plans reinforce concepts introduced in the Character for Life™ planner. Extension activies are also included to help take specific lessons further.
- Video overview: Browse an overview of the Character for Life™ video lessons.
- Resources: Utilize various items relating to Coach John Wooden and the Pyramid of Success™.
- PDFs for use on interactive whiteboards: Download a reusable onTRAC® calendar PDF that helps educators model planner use and teach the onTRAC® planning system. Go one step further and order the full planner PDF to model the student planner in its entierty.
- Family newsletters: Send these already prepared newsletters to encourage home-to-school communication and address the same topics found in the Character for Life™ planners.
- Quarterly educator newsletters: These newsletters provide information and tips to administrators and educators about the resources available and how to utilize them effectively. Delivered four times per year: August, October, January and March.
All this support adds additional value and helps educators get the most from the Character for Life™ planner program.
Tribute to "The Coach"
Coach John Wooden: A Legendary Leader
"Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of being."John R. Wooden
October 14, 1910 - June 4, 2010
Coach John Wooden dedicated his life to helping others become their personal best. He coached countless players to become winners not only on the court, but in life. He taught students the true meaning of success.
John Wooden's Journey to Success began on October 14, 1910, in Hall, IN. When he was eight, his family moved to a farm in Centerton, IN—the home of the first basketball hoop that John would shoot a ball through. When he was fourteen, his family fell on hard times and had to leave the farm. The move brought many great things to him, including the love of John's life, Nell. While living in Martinsville, John met Nell. It was a relationship that would last sixty years, until Nell passed away in 1985. It was also in Martinsville that John's basketball career blossomed. He was a star player and team captain for Martinsville High School.
John's success was not limited to the court. He was a strong student who was honored for academic excellence. After high school, he enrolled at Purdue University, where he studied English and played ball. During his university career, he was a three-time All-American player and was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as an outstanding player. Later in life, he was inducted again for his coaching efforts. He is one of only two men to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
In September of 1932, John Wooden officially became "Coach" Wooden when he took his first teaching and coaching job. As he taught, he realized he wanted to help his students and players achieve personal success, and to do so he coined his definition of success and began to construct the Pyramid of Success®. Coach spent fourteen years refining and strengthening the Pyramid, completing it in 1948. Now, almost six decades later, these foundational behaviors have stood the test of time and are as rock-solid as the first day Coach established his two foundational cornerstones of hard work and enthusiasm.
After a brief military career during WWII, Coach Wooden began coaching at Indiana State University. He coached his team to many wins, including the Indiana State Conference title. His winning team was invited to play at the NAIA Tournament, but he turned the invitation down because African-Americans were not allowed to play. The following season he led his team to State Conference victory again, and this time the NAIA changed its policy to include African-American players. A proud moment for Coach was when he heard one of his African-American players tell a reporter, "Coach doesn't see color; he sees ball players."
In 1948, UCLA offered Coach Wooden a job that would change his coaching career. It was there that he coached his team to break numerous records—records that will probably never be broken. Just a few examples are:
- The most appearances in the Final Four (16 times).
- The most consecutive victories (88).
- Thirty-eight straight victories in NCAA tournaments.
Coach Wooden also coached several athletes who later became NBA stars. However, even though his players and teams were stars, he never focused on winning. He focused on teaching them to be the best people they could be.
Coach Wooden retired from coaching basketball in 1975. During his retirement, he focused on coaching people how to be their personal best through his Pyramid of Success©. He wrote many books, including a children's book, Inch and Miles: Journey to Success, which teaches young children about the Pyramid. Incredibly, the wisdom that made Coach Wooden a master of developing talent at the high school and college level many years ago is now being brought into elementary classrooms!
Coach Wooden was a man who dedicated his life to helping others reach their full potential. It is our company's honor to present his life's work in a form that helps youth set and achieve high goals.
Make it Your Own
Planners are great tools for your students, but why not have them work a little harder for you. Customize them with your school's information, and use them as a continual communication piece between administrators, teachers and students.
School Handbook:
The most efficient and cost-effective way to communicate school policies, schedules and events is to add your important school information right into your planners. Learn more about school handbooks.
Handbook Resource Pages:
Add additional academic resources to your handbook. Choose from more than 100 resource pages. Our extensive library of helpful resource pages can assist students in a number of subject areas. View our complete library of resource pages.
Content Supplements:
Put a spotlight on important issues relevant to your school by choosing from our vast library of supplements. Advance school priorities with resources tied to current curriculum and standards, critical life skills, health and wellness, and more.
Cover:
Design your own cover that reflects school spirit, or choose from one of our templates that align with the goals you've established for you school. Incorporate your school name front and center, right on the cover!
Enhancements:
Add a few more features to make your planners truly inspiring to students. Planning stickers, pagefinders, trackable hall passes, planner tabs, student ID/CD/Home-School pouches, two-hole ruler attachments – choose the enhancements that raise the cool factor.
Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 11:56am
