Truthfulness

Tell the Truth Lesson © Jenny Jenkins 2015     www.valueslessonsnz.comHave the slogan 'Tell the Truth' ready to be displayed in a prominent place after the introduction.

Other lesson ideas about truthfulness are listed as subpages at the side or bottom.

Introduction

Ask: 'Can you guess what are we learning about today?' 

Write T__ T __T____ . (Tell The Truth) Ask students to guess the words. You could use a hangman game to fill it out.

How to play hangman: http://www.printactivities.com/Paper-Games/Rules-For-Hangman.shtml

'Stand up if, over the last year, you have always told the truth.' (Count how many are standing up and seat them again)

'Stand up all the people who have lied in the last year.' (Count how many. Seat them)

If the numbers didn't add up to your number of pupils, say: 'Now stand up the (x) people who haven't stood up yet. (Wait while they do.) You didn't stand up with the always truthful group because you know you sometimes lie, but you didn't you stand up with the second group because you didn't want to be seen as a liar. So you did nothing. When you remained seated, was that a way of lying? Why?'

Images found at :https://www.disneyclips.com/images/pinocchio.html    http://www.ontheroadtohonesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/quiz_cartoon-how-to-spot-a-liar-900.jpg

Lesson

1. Why is truth important? How do you benefit from telling the truth?

2. What are the ways that you say nothing and are still lying? (Pretending to not know, shake head, shrug, body language, etc.) Is this wrong? Why? (deceiving is another form of lying)

3. Truth leads to trust. What is trust? Why is trust important?

4. What makes it hard to be truthful? What do you think are the two main reasons people lie? (to save face, and not to offend people.)

5. What can help you to tell the truth when you’re afraid to? (Courage, will power, the desire to be trustworthy)

6. Is there anything wrong with a small white lie to parents or friends to keep from upsetting them? (All lies are wrong. People can sense when you are lying and you lose their trust.)

7. If someone asks if you like their new clothes, and you don't, what could you say that is honest without offending them?

8. When people are dishonest with you, how does it make you feel? How does it affect your friendship?

9. Does always telling the truth make life easier or harder in the long run?

10. When a witness is going to be asked questions in a law court, he has to make an important promise. What is it? (I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.Can the court judge and jury make a fair and right decision if people lie? Why not?

Why do witnesses have to promise to tell the whole truth?

Why would witnesses be tempted to leave bits out? Is this lying, although they didn't say anything untrue? Why?

Why do they have to promise to tell nothing but the truth? 

This Week's Challenge 

Commit to telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in the little things as well as the big, but without hurting any ones feelings, all week long. Give yourself a score out of ten each day. See if it gets easier as the week goes on.

Begin the Next Lesson with Revision 

1. What did we learn about in our last lesson?

2. Why is truth important? 

3. How do you benefit from telling the truth?

4. What score did you give yourself on your first day for telling the truth? Is your score getting higher?

5. What makes it hard to be truthful?

Poster

Print out the image (One lie is all it takes) as a poster: https://me.me/i/one-lie-is-all-it-takes-for-someone-to-lose-dd19bbfa97fd4c2badeb78f0d4f3d25b