Year 3, Lesson 2.3: Intercultural Ethics – How Values Shape What We See as “Good”
Unit Learning Goal
Students will examine how values, culture, and context shape definitions of success, and reflect on the role of balance, well-being, and intercultural understanding in doing meaningful and ethical work.
Lesson Goal
Students will understand the role of moral foundations in shaping ethical judgments across cultures and reflect on how this understanding can foster intercultural competence.
Assessment
Monitor participation and engagement during small-group activities and large-group discussions.
Analyze Exit Tickets for students’ ability to connect moral foundations to real-world ethical dilemmas and intercultural communication.
CASEL Alignment
Self-Awareness, Social Awareness
Portfolio Documentation
Resources
Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the "Three Es" of Good Work and have practiced reflective discussions in previous lessons.
Total Time
45 minutes
Instructions
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Remind students that in the last lesson, they explored burnout, engagement, and well-being—emphasizing the importance of balance in sustaining one’s work and responsibilities. Today, we’ll connect that to ethics and intercultural understanding: How do people from different backgrounds decide what’s “right,” “wrong,” or “good”—and how does that affect us as global citizens?
1. Opener: What Makes Something “Moral”? [10 minutes]
Ask students:
What does it mean to say something is "right" or "wrong"?
Where do these ideas come from?
Explain that today’s focus on ethics is also part of being a good citizen, especially when we are part of diverse communities and need to understand others’ values.
Introduce Jonathan Haidt’s six moral foundations. You may wish to play the video overview, or describe each of the core tensions at the heart of the foundations.
Care/Harm
Fairness/Cheating
Loyalty/Betrayal
Authority/Subversion
Sanctity/Degradation
Liberty/Oppression
Explain that everyone uses these, but we all prioritize them differently—based on personal and cultural values.
2. “Never Have I Ever” – Moral Foundations Edition [20 minutes]
This activity helps students explore how personal and cultural values shape their sense of right and wrong. Each prompt connects to one of Jonathan Haidt’s six moral foundations (see the parenthetical tension following each statement), which people emphasize differently across cultures and experiences. Students will compare their experiences with their peers in a playful, respectful format that highlights diverse moral intuitions.
Students begin with five fingers held up (or more if time allows). As each statement is read, students put a finger down if they agree with or have experienced the statement. If students reach zero fingers, they may choose to continue reflecting silently as the remainder of the students take part, or you may wish to pause and reflect on the previous prompts.
Read each “Have you ever…” statement aloud, one at a time.
...felt really upset seeing someone treated unkindly or unfairly? (Care/Harm)
...followed a rule you didn’t personally agree with? (Authority/Subversion)
...spoken up when you thought something wasn’t fair? (Fairness/Cheating)
...kept a secret to stay loyal to a friend, even when they were in the wrong? (Loyalty/Betrayal)
...defended your group, team, or school even when others criticized it? (Loyalty/Betrayal)
...admired someone for breaking a rule you thought was unfair? (Liberty/Oppression)
...felt like your group or culture wasn’t being respected? (Liberty/Oppression)
...been uncomfortable when someone ignored a tradition? (Authority/Subversion)
...changed your mind after hearing someone else’s point of view? (Care/Harm)
...judged someone because of how they dressed, ate, or took care of themselves? (Sanctity/Degradation)
...thought something should be treated with special respect (like a place or symbol)? (Sanctity/Degradation)
...felt frustrated when someone got credit for something they didn’t do? (Fairness/Cheating)
...helped someone even though it didn’t benefit you? (Care/Harm)
...felt strongly that everyone should follow the same rules, no matter what? (Fairness/Cheating)
...hesitated to question a teacher or adult, even when you disagreed? (Authority/Subversion)
...stood up for someone who didn’t have a voice in the conversation? (Liberty/Oppression)
...thought certain things just shouldn’t be joked about? (Sanctity/Degradation)
...valued being part of a group, even if you weren’t sure you agreed with everything they did? (Loyalty/Betrayal)
...felt proud just to belong to something (a group, club, culture, team)? (Loyalty/Betrayal)
...judged someone for not being respectful enough to others in power or authority? (Authority/Subversion)
...felt angry when someone was treated unfairly because of who they are? (Fairness/Cheating)
...done something kind simply because it felt like the right thing to do? (Care/Harm)
...stood up for your beliefs even when it wasn’t popular? (Liberty/Oppression)...felt grossed out by something that seemed normal to other people? (Sanctity/Degradation)
...thought being loyal was more important than being completely honest? (Loyalty/Betrayal)
Pause every few questions for group reflection, consider questions such as:
“Which statements did most people relate to?”
“What patterns did you notice? Did others answer like you or not?”
“Which statements felt personal or surprising?”
“Why do you think people responded differently?”
“How might people from different backgrounds or cultures respond differently?”
Optional framing: Tie this activity to a fish in the water metaphor noted by cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand: “Two fish meet in the ocean. The older fish says to the younger fish, ‘How is the water?’ The younger fish responds, ‘What is water?’” The idea is that sometimes we don’t notice our own culture until we see someone else’s.
ADAPTATION: You can also run this activity as a silent journal reflection first, or adapt it as a walk-and-talk.
3. Think-Pair-Share: How Do We Judge? [10 minutes]
Pose a few of the following questions for reflection and paired discussion:
Which moral foundations do you use most often to judge what’s right or wrong?
Can you think of a time when someone else made a decision that seemed wrong to you—but made sense to them?
How might understanding moral foundations help in communicating with someone from another culture or background?
Have students share a few highlights with the whole class.
4. Exit Ticket & Reflection [5 minutes]
“How does learning about moral foundations help you better understand how people from other cultures may see right and wrong differently? What does this have to do with the ethics of being a global citizen?”
Collect the Exit Tickets for assessment and portfolio documentation.
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Assign a blog post or podcast segment from The Good Project, other blog or podcast, or news article, and have students write a short paragraph connecting the story to one or more moral foundations.
Have students bring in a dilemma of their own that they've encountered in a cross-cultural or peer situation and analyze it using the foundations.