for Grades 4-8

Closed-Captioned

Six DVDs with Printable Teaching Guides

Includes Digital Rights License at no extra cost. Click here for details.

The Character Chronicles brings character education alive for upper elementary and middle school students.

Presented from the points of view of six middle school video bloggers, this series explores The Six Pillars of Character through the thoughts and personal experiences of young people throughout the U.S. The series contains a variety of entertaining and provocative elements including inspiring documentaries, humorous vignettes, and insightful teen discussions about each of the pillars. These compelling chronicles sparkle with a hip, modern, energetic style that appeals to young viewers.

Each volume in the series is approximately 25 minutes in length. A printable teaching guide is included on each DVD, providing discussion questions, writing assignments, and follow-up activities that support the lesson. Companion material, including the "Wise Lives" curriculum (see side bar), is also available to help you extend the lesson even further.

Program Descriptions

For a description of the content of any of the 6 programs in this series, please click on the title, below.

Volume 1: The Character Chronicles: THE TRUST CONNECTION

Volume 2: The Character Chronicles: THE RESPECT CONNECTION

Volume 3: The Character Chronicles: THE RESPONSIBILITY CONNECTION

Volume 4: The Character Chronicles: THE FAIRNESS CONNECTION

Volume 5: The Character Chronicles: THE CARING CONNECTION

Volume 6: The Character Chronicles: THE CITIZENSHIP CONNECTION

Parents' Choice Recommended Award Winner

"Superbly produced, The Character Chronicles is an effective and highly recommended supplemental addition to public, private, parochial and home-schooling curriculums."

—The Midwest Book Review

Includes Digital Rights License at no extra cost. Click here for details.

Episode Descriptions

The Character Chronicles: THE TRUST CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT:

This program helps young adolescents think about role honesty and trust play in our relationships with others.

The Trust Connection begins with Judy, a middle school blogger, presenting a video vignette, shot on the streets of New York City, reflecting on the role of trust in every day life. She then introduces a group of teens who tell moving stories about losing and regaining trust with friends and family. That essay is punctuated by a short dramatic skit about the new kid in school who lied to fit in. This program is designed to trigger lively classroom discussions about honesty and trustworthiness in our everyday lives.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.
The Character Chronicles: THE RESPECT CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT

Benjy, a fourteen year old boy, is presenting his classroom video blog on the topic of respect. Through a combination of skits, group discussions, commentaries, and a short documentary, Benjy’s blog reveals how young people think about and practice respect for others. Benjy explores the idea that how we treat each other and the world around us matters. We listen in on discussions among young people focusing on their thoughts regarding respect. Challenged by an animated Mother Earth who thinks nobody respects her, Benjy narrates a documentary about an educational program in Georgia where kids are tackling the issue of respect for the earth through their own hard work.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.
The Character Chronicles: THE RESPONSIBILITY CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT

Kailani, a fourteen year old girl, is presenting her classroom video blog on the topic of responsibility. Through a combination of skits, group discussions, commentaries, and documentaries, Kailani’s blog reveals how young people think and feel about the role that responsibility plays in their lives. The blog includes two documentaries which focus on individual kids who serve as inspiring examples of both personal and social responsibility in action.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.
The Character Chronicles: THE FAIRNESS CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT

Fairness seems to be one thing that everybody feels entitled to. As soon as children are able to speak they often complain, “No Fair.” With that as a point of departure, Chloe, a thirteen-year-old blogger, guides us through her classroom video blog on the topic of fairness.

Chloe shows us how teens are defining fairness, practicing fairness, and dealing with the pitfalls and obstacles that come up around being fair. We listen in while kids express their own opinions on a case study dealing with academic cheating. Chloe also shows us two documentaries that help demonstrate how young people struggle with the issue of fairness. The first story is about a middle school teen court that has to decide on fair consequences for student misbehavior. The second documentary tells the story of a young student athlete who uses his talent to literally “level the playing field” by setting up a charity to help children less privileged than he is.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.
The Character Chronicles: THE CARING CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT

Shiv, a twelve year old blogger, is presenting his classroom video blog on the topic of caring. Through a combination of skits, group discussions, commentaries, and short documentaries, Shiv’s blog reveals a variety of ways young people can, and do, make a difference for their friends, families, and communities through simple acts of caring. Shiv’s blog includes two inspiring documentaries about two very caring kids whose actions have made a profound difference in people's lives.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.
The Character Chronicles: THE CITIZENSHIP CONNECTION (dvd)
CONTENT:

Malik, a thirteen year old middle school student, is presenting his classroom video blog on citizenship as a character virtue. Through a combination of skits, group discussions, commentaries, and short documentaries, Malik’s blog takes us on a quest to find out what makes someone a good citizen, and specifically, what kids can do to be good citizens. In the end, Malik concludes that being a good citizen is mostly about doing our share to make our communities better places to live. And to demonstrate that kids have a significant role to play, he shows us two very inspiring documentaries: one about a twelve year old girl who discovered lead in children’s toys, and one about a teen volunteer group that serves their community in suburban Chicago.

To read about the other programs in this series, or to learn about the series as a whole, please click on the big orange button, below.

Pricing & Ordering

Awards & Reviews

Parents Choice 2008 Recommended Award

Telly Award Winner

2008 iParenting Media Awards Best Product Award

Coalition for Quality Children's Media KIDS FIRST! Endorsement

Association of Educational Publishers —Distinguished Achievement Award

Houston International Film Festival Platinum Remi Award

CINE Golden Eagle Award

"Superbly produced, The Character Chronicles is an effective and highly recommended supplemental addition to public, private, parochial and home-schooling curriculums."
—The Midwest Book Review