CharacterQ™ Curriculum Components

All of the CharacterQ™ lessons are taught in a stimulating, interactive way through the use of animal puppets that come to visit the children from a faraway, magical land where animals can talk and act like humans. The CharacterQ™ mascot, Buzzy the Positive Behaviour Bee, helps children learn how to “bee” the best that they can be by teaching them about different kinds of positive behaviour (positive character traits) with the help of her Positive Behaviour Pals. Each month, Buzzy brings a different Positive Behaviour Pal with her to help teach the children about a particular kind of positive behaviour.

Children learn different social-emotional skills and positive character traits in each grade level program as they are introduced to the following sets of Buzzy's Positive Behaviour Pals:

• Kindergarten Program – Buzzy & Her Farm Friends
• Grade 1 Program – Buzzy & Her Forest Friends
• Grade 2 Program – Buzzy & Her Zoo Friends
• Grade 3 Program – Buzzy & Her Ocean Friends

Please see the Kindergarten Stand-Alone Program and Grades K-3 Programs for a full description of these pals, and the specific traits and skills that they teach.

The CharacterQ™ Lessons

Each CharacterQ™ Grade Level Curriculum Kit provides teachers with 10 monthly units that focus on the teaching of a specific positive character trait, along with the social-emotional skills or mindfulness practices needed to demonstrate it. Each monthly unit contains eight lessons that are presented in either a digital or printed format.

In the printed format, the CharacterQ™ lessons are presented on illustrated 11 x 17 lesson cards that are held up for the children to look at while the teacher reads the written lesson script on the back of each card.

In the digital format, the CharacterQ™ lesson illustrations are projected on a SmartBoard® that the children look at while the teacher reads a corresponding written lesson script.

All of the CharacterQ™ lessons have been carefully designed to be developmentally-appropriate for each grade level, and all of the lessons provide plentiful opportunities for children to discuss, practice, and role-play the skills and strategies being taught.

Each monthly unit also contains a puppet, a set of classroom posters, a Big Book, and some engaging storybooks that support the lessons.

The CharacterQ™ Kids

Throughout the lessons, students are introduced to eight kids who illustrate concrete, real-life examples of how to utilize the social-emotional skills, mindfulness practices, and positive character traits in their lives. The CharacterQ™ kids are the same age as the students, and represent a variety of different ethnicities and abilities.

Optional Extension Activities

In each unit, teachers are provided with numerous optional extension activities in a variety of subject areas that reinforce what is being taught in the lessons. These areas include:

• Art and Crafts
• Music and Movement
• Drama
• Group Games and Learning Activities
• Literacy (Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing)

Teacher Tips and Positive Management Strategies

In each unit, teachers are provided with numerous tips and recommendations on how they can best support and maximize their students’ use of the EQ skills, positive character traits, and mindfulness practices skills in their classrooms. These tips also include effective classroom and behaviour management strategies that help teachers create and maintain a positive, respectful classroom environment in which everyone feels safe, accepted, and cared for.

The CharacterQ™ Parent Newsletters

Parents are provided with a monthly newsletter that outlines the skills, concepts, and traits their child will be learning about in the CharacterQ™ program that month. These newsletters are written by a Parenting Expert, and they include important tips and simple, fun ideas on how parents can reinforce these same skills and traits in their children at home. Parents also receive copies of the songs and EQ skill charts taught in the program to post in their homes as visual reminders for their children.

The CharacterQ™ Good News Reports

Each month, teachers are provided with a “Good News Report” from that month’s Positive Behaviour
Pal that they can use to record and celebrate their students’ use of the positive character trait and EQ skills in the classroom. These reports can be given out to different children each day to take home to share with their families.