Student Resources

• Primary Source Analysis handout

Teacher Resources

• Analysis Questions 
• Virtue in Action  
• Journal Activity

• Courage: The ability to take constructive action in the face of fear or danger. To stand firm as a person of character and do what is right, especially when it is unpopular or puts one at risk.
• Honor: Demonstrating good character and being trustworthy.
• Humility: A recognition that one’s ignorance is far greater than one’s knowledge. Putting others ahead of ourselves in thought, word, and deed. A willingness to give others credit and to admit when we are wrong.
• Integrity: To tell the truth, expose untruths, and keep one’s promises.
• Justice: Upholding of what is fair and right. Respecting the rights and dignity of all.
• Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes.
• Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern right courses of action in specific situations.
• Respect: Regard for and defending the equal rights and inherent dignity of all human beings, including oneself.
• Responsibility: Acting on good judgment about what is right or wrong even when it is not popular. Individuals must take care of themselves, their families, and their fellow citizens/others in civil society and a republic and be vigilant to preserve their own liberty and the liberty of others.

Procedures

• You may use this lesson as a supplement to the Student Introduction lesson, Defining Civic Virtues. This lesson continues exploring civic virtues and practicing them as a habit. 
• In this lesson, students analyze a primary source from Benjamin Franklin to understand his method for developing and practicing virtues. Through analysis, a creative activity, and reflection students can identify ways they can make being virtuous a habit.   

Engage

• Scaffolding Note: You may use this activity to engage and introduce your students to this lesson. 
• As you prepare to teach this primary source activity, review the list of civic virtues and their definitions (listed below). You can select the virtues you believe are either well-reflected or absent from your school’s culture. Post your selected list on the board for reference as you read with your students.
  • Courage: The ability to take constructive action in the face of fear or danger. To stand firm as a person of character and do what is right, especially when it is unpopular or puts one at risk.
  • Honor: Demonstrating good character and being trustworthy.
  • Humility: A recognition that one’s ignorance is far greater than one’s knowledge. Putting others ahead of ourselves in thought, word, and deed. A willingness to give others credit and to admit when we are wrong.
  • Integrity: To tell the truth, expose untruths, and keep one’s promises.
  • Justice: Upholding of what is fair and right. Respecting the rights and dignity of all.
  • Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes.
  • Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern right courses of action in specific situations.
  • Respect: Regard for and defending the equal rights and inherent dignity of all human beings, including oneself.
  • Responsibility: Acting on good judgment about what is right or wrong even when it is not popular. Individuals must take care of themselves, their families, and their fellow citizens/others in civil society and a republic and be vigilant to preserve their own liberty and the liberty of others.
• As students enter, instruct them to: 
  • Read the posted list, identifying the one trait they believe is particularly strong within your school’s culture. 
  • Identify what they believe are the “top three” they believe are weak or absent in your school’s culture. 
  • Write a definition for each of the four that they selected. 
• Lead a brief discussion of the traits the students listed as strong as well as those they listed as absent or weak. 
• Follow up by asking, what might be some solutions to improving their school’s weakness? What can you learn from our school’s strengths that would improve our weaknesses?  

Explore

• Transition: Introduce Benjamin Franklin’s excerpts by distributing the Primary Source Analysis handout. Read the directions and building context together section as a class. 
• Scaffolding Note: It may be helpful to instruct students to do a close reading of the text. Close reading asks students to read and reread a text purposefully to ensure students understand and make connections. For more detailed instructions on how to use close reading in your classroom, use these directions. Additional reading strategies are provided for other options that may meet your students’ needs. 

• Essential Vocabulary: 
  • Conceived: To form or devise (a plan or idea) in the mind. 
  • Arduous: Involving or requiring strenuous effort.
  • Inclination: A person’s natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way.
  • Rectitude: Morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness.
  • Enumerations: The action of mentioning a number of things one by one.
  • Annexed: Append or add as an extra or subordinate part, especially to a document.
  • Precept: A general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.
  • Eradicate: To destroy completely; put an end to.
  • Endeavor: To try hard to do or achieve something. 

• Transition to the analysis questions. Have students work individually, with partners, or as a whole class to answer the questions. 
• Scaffolding Note: If there are questions that are not necessary to your students’ learning or time restraints, then you can remove those questions. 
• Analysis Questions
  • How does Benjamin Franklin understand virtue? How does he define, use, and refine the term? How are Franklin’s virtues different and similar to the list of virtues we chose to work on at our school? 
  • How did Franklin incorporate the virtues he wrote about into his project to embody them?
  • How does Franklin describe his struggle to live virtuously? Do you believe moral perfection is possible? Is so, how? If not, what motivates an individual to act virtuously? Is it better to aim for perfection and fail than to not try at all?
  • Did Franklin believe he succeeded in his ultimate goal? Why or why not?
  • What value did Franklin find in the project?
  • What most impresses you about Franklin’s project?
  • How could you borrow some of Franklin’s ideas and strategies to help you work on just one or two character traits you would like to improve?

Assess & Reflect

There’s An App For That Activity

• Instruct students to design an app to help people improve their character. Something like, the 21st century version of Franklin’s journaling project, as described in his autobiography. 
• Scaffolding Note: Students can work individually, in small groups, or with partners. 
• Ask students to write a description of how their app will work. You may use the following questions and prompts to help students get started. 
  • How will goals and progress be measured? 
  • Will it interface with any existing apps? Will it require any accessories? 
  • Give the app a name, as well as a description that would accompany its listing in the App Store. 
• Optional Extension: Display the students’ App Store descriptions, and devise a system for students to “browse” the App Store, then select two or three apps for which to write a review and to rate on a five-star system.

AND/OR

Journal Reflection

• Have students self-reflect and answer the following questions in their journal: 
  • Should you try to be “the best,” or even perfect, at every endeavor? If perfection is unattainable, then what is the purpose of striving, every day, to do better than you did the day before? Identify an area of your life in which you, like Ben Franklin, work to improve, and explain why you do so.