{"id":3655,"date":"2015-01-30T12:56:54","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T12:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andersons.com\/?p=3655"},"modified":"2023-01-26T15:00:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T15:00:39","slug":"3-ways-to-build-and-award-character-in-your-middle-school-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/3-ways-to-build-and-award-character-in-your-middle-school-students\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Build and Award Character in Your Middle School Students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What is your middle school doing to encourage and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/student-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reward<\/a> good character?<\/p>\n<p>This is a question many middle schools have to ponder and answer. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/special-events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Character education units<\/a> in a health or social studies class are one solution. Pledge murals may be another answer. Some schools hang banners in hallways with character attributes. We\u2019ve got a few new ideas your middle school can use to build and award character in your students.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/student-awards\/wristbands-and-beads\/stock-wristbands\/character-silicone-wristband-set\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-3656\" src=\"http:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Wristbands-300x272.jpg\" alt=\"middle school character wristbands\" width=\"211\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Wristbands-300x272.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Wristbands.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a>1. Character Wearables<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Handing out character awards or incentives is a popular idea in many middle schools. Try using character wristbands in your middle school classrooms or during <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/special-events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Character Week<\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/wearables\/wristbands-and-beads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wristbands<\/a> come in a variety of colors (to match your school colors) and stock character imprints. You can even order sets of wristbands that will help your budget. Students will love them because they are an easy way to show their character reward and be proud of their decisions and behavior.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/resources\/i-am-post-it-note \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3658\" src=\"http:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Screen-shot-2015-01-30-at-12.52.23-PM-297x300.png\" alt=\"Middle school character affirmation\" width=\"212\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Screen-shot-2015-01-30-at-12.52.23-PM-297x300.png 297w, https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Screen-shot-2015-01-30-at-12.52.23-PM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Screen-shot-2015-01-30-at-12.52.23-PM.png 522w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>2. Locker Affirmations<\/b><\/p>\n<p>We love this idea! \u00a0Download our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/resources\/i-am-post-it-note\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cI Am&#8230;.\u201d PDF<\/a>.\u00a0 This is a free downloadable that you can print and copy. It features six squares that say \u201cI Am\u201d and you can fill in things like \u201cterrific,\u201d \u201ckind,\u201d etc. All you have to do is print it, copy it, cut out the squares, complete the phrase, and attach the squares to student lockers with tape or a magnet. Students will love seeing these affirmations in the morning; it will give them a boost of confidence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/school-spirit\/drinkware\/water-bottles\/20-oz-chalkboard-tumbler\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-3662\" src=\"http:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Chalkboard-Tumbler-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Middle School anti-bully tumbler\" width=\"185\" height=\"185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Chalkboard-Tumbler-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Chalkboard-Tumbler-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Chalkboard-Tumbler.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 185px) 100vw, 185px\" \/><\/a>3. Special Causes and\/or Volunteering\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Nothing builds character more than getting involved with a special cause like illiteracy or breast cancer awareness. Volunteering is also something that is rife with character. During Character Week, choose a special cause that your middle school students can promote in your local community. If your school does not have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersonsmiddlezone.com\/special-events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Character Week<\/a>, approach a local charity about having students volunteer. Then make your students aware of the opportunity. Be sure to recognize middle school students who give back with character awards!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There are many more ways to build and award character. What does your middle school do? We\u2019d love to hear your ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is your middle school doing to encourage and reward good character? This is a question many middle schools have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,47,19,38],"tags":[121,122,327,332,444,508],"class_list":["post-3655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-recognition","category-character-building","category-middle-school","category-student-engagement-middle-school","tag-character","tag-character-building-2","tag-middle-school-2","tag-middle-school-students","tag-rewards","tag-student-awards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3655"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5854,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655\/revisions\/5854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}