Classroom discussions help children to use critical thinking skills as they consider hypothetical scenarios. Utilizing the Socratic Method, teachers create a problematic situation accompanied by a series of questions for older elementary children. Examples of questions include "What would you do if you found a lost kitten," and "What would you do if you saw your friend slip a video game into his pocket at a department store" that enable children to examine their personal values. Teachers use puppets or videos for younger children who require visual prompts.
Teachers support their children in selecting a project, blending it into the curriculum and clarifying the steps for completion of the project. Projects such as peer tutoring are completed within the school. Many other projects take place within the school's community. Examples include raising money for a selected charity, collecting clothes for a homeless shelter and providing social contacts for senior citizens. Children review the significance of the project through journal writing, classroom discussions, posters and essays.
Teachers who use explicit instruction design lesson plans to teach character education as a separate subject. The topics of instruction can be selected by teachers and parents who tailor the program to meet the priorities of a school district. Other school districts choose commercially designed character education programs. Introducing a new character trait to children each week is an example of explicit instruction. Teachers and children discuss the specific behaviors associated with the trait. Children are instructed to find classmates exhibiting the trait during the week. Teachers use a poster to list each time a child recognizes a classmate displaying the trait.
Teachers who integrate character education into the curriculum ask their children questions pertaining to the people and circumstances surrounding a subject. The animals presented as characters in children's fables face social and moral dilemmas. Teachers ask children to place themselves in the character's situation and talk about the choices available to the character. Children cannot only recognize character traits in stories but also understand the role that making good choices has played in history and science.