Moral Development Activities

One way to encourage moral development is to teach children to play fairly. They should understand that rules are important because of ethical reasons. They should play by the rules because it is the right thing to do and not to avoid being punished. A few examples of games they can play are races, hiding games, and aiming games. Kids can play in a three-legged race and learn the lessons of shared responsibility from the game. Although this is an athletic game, it can also be about moral development--you have to introduce kids to the idea that the game teaches them broader concepts, including cooperation and fairness.

Children can also learn about individual's rights by participating apart from other children. For instance, each child can have a brown paper bag full of crafts, with different types of material including cloth, glue, crayons, markers, buttons, and yarn. Instruct the children to make an inspirational work of art. They should spend five minutes thinking about what inspiration means before beginning to make the piece of art. Encourage them to create art that expresses their values. They should not believe that their work is part of any type of competition. Avoid rewarding the best art with a prize--you want the children to understand the significance of working hard for the sake of bettering themselves.

You can also teach children moral development skills by introducing them to educational games. Have them play a board game such as tic tac toe, or start a game of hangman on the chalkboard. You can participate in the game to show them that you are not the supreme authority They should begin to understand that they have to answer to their conscience. When the students get confused about what to do next during the game, ask them what they think. This shows them that they have some control over their actions, and that everything they do is not dictated by authority.