Let's Be Honest!

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Honesty is not always easy, but great things can happen when you make honest decisions.

You can come across opportunities to make honest decisions on normal days and at unexpected times. You can be at the movies and see someone drop money on the floor. Or you can be at home, where you just broke your mom's favorite dish by mistake, and she asks what happened.

These are circumstances that require you to make a decision.

The choice to tell the truth or lie can sometimes feel difficult.

• For example, if you grab the money that someone dropped at the movie theater, you would have the money...so that seems like an exciting thing, right?

But, if you only look at how the choice affects you, you might be more tempted to make a dishonest decision. If your mom asks who broke her favorite dish, you might feel afraid to tell the truth that it was you because you don't want to make your mom sad or mad at you.

Sometimes, when you make an honest decision, you might experience a negative effect.

This is why an honest decision can feel difficult sometimes because you have to consider the consequences and even be willing to experience a negative personal consequence.

When you choose to return the money to someone who has dropped it, you are putting another person's happiness before your own. When you tell your mom that you broke her favorite dish, you are telling her that honesty and accepting responsibility are more important than the risk of getting in trouble or being blamed.

Remember: Good citizens are the people in the community who are willing to put the needs of others over their own needs and wants. This can be not easy at times, but honest decisions are the ones that can help people.

You can feel good about an honest decision because, even if it wasn't easy, you know it was right.

Watch the video below about 10-year-old Nasim, who has an opportunity to choose honesty, to see what he decides to do.

You have just seen honesty in action!

Nasim had the choice to be honest or dishonest and chose the honest decision. His honest decision had a positive effect on the life of the person that he helped.

Returning something that mattered to someone else was a way for Nasim to put another person's needs before his own. The other exciting part of Nasim's honest decision was that it attracted the attention of others for the right reasons.

When you show honesty and decide to do the right thing, it is truly inspiring to others and can motivate them to do the same.

There will always be opportunities in life to choose honesty, which sometimes means sacrificing to do the right thing. But good citizens don't only make the easy decisions. They make decisions that are honest and good for their communities.

You recognize that honest decisions can be difficult, but you realize that choosing honesty is a characteristic of good citizenship. When you choose honesty, you have the power to help others and set a positive example in your community!

Now, move to the Got It? section for a quick quiz to check your skills in recognizing honesty and good citizenship in action.