Teaching middle-school students the importance of abiding by the rules and forming a written agreement is an ethics-related activity that you can implement at the beginning of the school year, suggests the Josephson Institute: Center for Youth Ethics. As a class, discuss the definition of a contract; remind the students that anyone associated with the contract is making some kind of promise. Next, encourage the students to create a class rules contract, listing all important rules that will go into effect for the duration of the school year. When the rules have been established and agreed upon by all students, write up a contract as a class. Have all the students sign the contract.
You don't have to be an elementary-school teacher to incorporate fairy tales into classroom instruction. Middle-school students can learn the difference between right and wrong and the importance of honesty by reading popular fairy tales. Read three fairy tales to the students, then have the class dissect these tales by discussing ethical issues in the stories, suggests Education World, a resource for educators. After reading each tale, ask questions that relate to ethics and encourage the children to answer the questions aloud.
Incorporating a classroom debate session that teaches ethics can promote reasoning skills and can enhance students' speaking, researching and communication skills, notes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. Encourage your students to choose debate topics that are appropriate for their age group. Such debate topics can range from dress codes to school rules.
Assign your middle-school students to create a classroom play that focuses on positive ethical behavior. Encourage them to write the play, making sure the ethical aspect is appropriately portrayed. Assign duties among the students. Some may be in charge of set or costume design, for example, while others have acting roles. Ensure that every student is responsible for a specific duty. Have the students give a school-wide performance.