Lesson plans that focus on memorizing information such as vocabulary, dates and other important pieces of information are examples of intellectually-focused activities. For example, students need to know that World War I started in 1914 to give them a frame of reference and to learn from the lessons from the past. This information is processed intellectually. However, approaching the lesson by looking at the values held by the soldiers and leaders and characteristics such as courage and bravery, provide students with a moral lesson.
Intellectual lessons require that students use their cognitive skills -- memory, reasoning and judgment -- to processes information. These skills are especially relevant for assignments that call for debating, interpreting information to create a summary, evaluating the importance of information and its effect and understanding a concept such as math equation. Being able to draw logical conclusions based on facts and information provided are also important parts of intellectual education.
The elements of moral education focus on values taught by studying both good and bad examples of behavior. Positive values like fairness, honesty, and compassion can be shown through examples of morally sound people. In contrast, stories about immoral people can demonstrate to students the negative consequences of behavior such as dishonesty, greed and selfishness. For example, the educator could pose questions in which the students have to make moral decisions such as finding a wallet containing money and deciding whether to keep or return it.
While intellectual lessons focus on cognitive skills and processes, moral lessons focus on developing the emotional processes and volitional processes. Emotional processes help to connect students to the subject matter while volitional processes further develop their ability to act according to their own will. Students need to choose right from wrong by being given a chance to make decisions. In addition, educators can help students to feel a sense of emotional connection to the subject matter by showing how the topic relates to their lives directly. Also, lessons that allow students to resolve a problem with their own ideas of a resolution help to further develop their moral education.