What I Value and Why It Matters
Students learn to name one personal value and explain why it matters with a school example, identify a choice that reflects a value they hold and connect it to who they want to be, tell the truth about a mistake and name its impact on someone else, make a commitment plan with success criteria and follow through, and identify when they didn't live their values and write a repair plan.
Lesson Overview
What students will be able to do after this lesson: Students will be able to name a personal value with a genuine reason and school example, use that value to explain a choice, tell the truth about a mistake and name its real impact, make a commitment plan with a success check, and identify when their actions didn’t match their values and write a concrete repair plan.
Skill segments at a glance:
| Segment | Segment name | Primary standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What I Value and Why | SA-VAL-3-1 · SA-VAL-3-2 |
| 2 | Telling the Truth and Making a Plan | SA-VAL-3-3 · SA-VAL-3-4 |
| 3 | Fixing What Didn’t Fit | SA-VAL-3-5 |
Supporting standards reinforced:
| Code | Why it connects |
|---|---|
| SA-IDN-3-3 | Background details and family traditions often connect directly to the values students name in Segment 1. |
| RDM-ETH-3-1 | Identifying a choice that reflects a personal value (SA-VAL-3-2) is the same student action as using an ethical principle to guide a decision. |
| SoA-FAR-3-1 | Making a commitment plan and following through (SA-VAL-3-4) is the practical expression of taking responsibility — not just having a right. |
Key Vocabulary
- value — something that really matters to you and guides how you want to act — not a rule someone gave you, but something you genuinely believe in
- commitment — a specific promise you make to yourself or someone else about what you’ll do, with a plan for following through
- impact — the real effect your action had on another person — how it changed what they felt or could do
- repair — what you do to make things more right after your actions didn’t match your values
Materials
- Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
- Before the week begins: Post your unit anchor chart and I Can Statement where students can see them — you’ll reference both throughout the week.
- Optional: index cards or sticky notes for Segment 2’s commitment plan activity
How this lesson is structured: Each skill segment below has an I Do (teacher models the skill with a realistic scenario) and a We Do (class practices together with your guidance). Independent practice — the You Do — lives in the practice resources that go alongside this lesson.
What Students Need Before This Lesson
- What’s inside
- What students should already be able to do
- Helpful to have in place
- 3 quick set-ups before the I DoValues vs. rules — they’re not the same thing · “I’m sorry” is not the same as naming impact · A specific value, not a vague label
- Rescue planIf students are significantly behind
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Introducing the Skill
- What’s inside
- Opening hook
- What we’re learning
- Why it matters
- Core sentence frameThe frame students use all week
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
What I Value and Why
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsTextbook example: naming a value with a personal “because” and school evidence · Wrong version → fix: rule-following vs. genuine personal value · Using a value to explain a choice (SA-VAL-3-2): personal value vs. rule · Non-conflict positive: recognizing a value being lived well
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Telling the Truth and Making a Plan
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsTextbook example: telling the truth and naming the real impact · Wrong version → fix: apology without impact vs. apology with impact · Making a specific commitment plan (SA-VAL-3-4) · Non-conflict positive: commitment plan in a positive context
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Fixing What Didn’t Fit
- What’s inside
- I do: 3 teacher modelsTextbook example: specific value + concrete repair plan · Wrong version → fix: vague self-blame vs. specific value identification · Non-conflict positive: catching a values mismatch early
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Closing the Week
- What’s inside
- 3 partner-share roundsOne for each segment, with the frame students say together
- Closing prompt
- Round 1 — Segment 1
- Round 2 — Segment 2
- Round 3 — Segment 3
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Practice for every skill segment
Each lesson comes with independent practice — the “you do” — for each of its 3 skill segments, in print and digital.
Printable practice
Ready-to-copy practice pages for each segment.
- View and print in your browser
- Answer keys for quick checking
Digital activities
Share one link — students open it on any device, and you see their answers.
- Works on Chromebooks, tablets and phones
- Students just type their name to start
While you wait: from the SEL Resource Library
Self-Awareness resources for Grade 3, ready to use today.
