Do your kids or students go along with a lie because saying no to a friend feels harder than telling the truth? What Would You Do? The Honesty Journal for Kids Ages 9-12 is a Building Character journal for ages 9 to 12 that gives tweens 40 realistic scenarios about peer pressure, online behavior, loyalty, and fairness, so they can think through what telling the whole truth looks like in their own lives.
This journal is printed and shipped by Amazon. Order the paperback on Amazon.
The journal was written by Tammy Roose, an upper elementary teacher and the creator of Tarheelstate Teacher. The journal pairs with her Teaching Kids About Lying and Telling the Truth workbook, or it can be used on its own.
NOTE: This 64-page, 6 x 9 paperback is written for kids to work through on their own or alongside a parent, teacher, or counselor. If you are teaching honesty to a whole class, the Honesty Scenario Cards give students honesty situations to role-play together.
Through realistic stories, open-ended writing prompts, and discussion questions, kids practice what to say and do when honesty costs them something, including how to answer a friend who asks them to lie, how to respond when a teacher asks whether an assignment is really their own work, and how to speak up when staying quiet would be easier.
WHY PARENTS LOVE THIS JOURNAL
- 40 Scenarios in One Journal: Each scenario gets its own page, so kids can work through one situation at a time and return to the journal when a real honesty question comes up.
- Topics Tweens Face Right Now: The scenarios cover peer pressure, online behavior, loyalty, fairness, and telling the whole truth, including what to do after using AI on an assignment.
- Kids Can Work On Their Own or With an Adult: Kids ages 9 to 12 can read each story and answer in their own words independently, or talk through the discussion questions with a parent, teacher, or counselor.
- A Difficulty Scale on Every Page: Kids rate how hard the honest choice would be, which helps them notice which situations test them most.
- No Right or Wrong Answers: The prompts ask kids what they would really do, so the goal is an honest answer, not a perfect one.
WHAT'S INSIDE THE HONESTY JOURNAL
✨ The Story: Each page opens with a short, realistic situation about a character tweens can relate to.
✨ The Prompt: Kids respond in their own words about what they would do in the character's place.
✨ Two Discussion Questions: Questions that push kids to think about motives, consequences, and trust.
✨ The Difficulty Scale: Kids mark how hard the honest choice would be in that situation.
✨ Scenarios like: What would you do if a friend asked you to lie for them? What if you used AI to write an assignment and your teacher asked if the work was yours? What if you got credit for something you didn't fully earn? What if staying quiet felt easier than speaking up?
At this age, honesty gets more complicated. Friends, group chats, and schoolwork all bring new reasons to bend the truth. What Would You Do? The Honesty Journal for Kids Ages 9-12 gives tweens a place to think through those choices ahead of time, so they are ready when a real one comes along.
THIS JOURNAL IS PERFECT FOR
- Parents and caregivers supporting social emotional learning at home
- Teachers and school counselors leading character education lessons
- Homeschool families and after-school programs
CASEL STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
Self-Awareness
- Demonstrating honesty and integrity
- Linking feelings, values, and thoughts
Relationship Skills
- Communicating effectively
- Resisting negative social pressure
Responsible Decision-Making
- Identifying solutions for personal and social problems
- Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions
MORE BUILDING CHARACTER WORKBOOKS
Each workbook in the series follows a similar layout, so kids know what to expect from one topic to the next:
- Telling the Truth & Integrity
- Empathy & Caring About Others
- Being & Getting Motivated
- Being Yourself
- Having Courage
- Making & Keeping Friends
- Setting Goals
- Showing Responsibility & Making Good Choices
- Growing in Gratitude
- Developing a Growth Mindset
- Conflict Resolution
BOOK DETAILS
- Paperback, 64 pages, 6 x 9 inches
- Ages 9 to 12 (grades 4 to 6)
- Author: Tammy Roose
- Publisher: Tarheelstate Teacher Publishing
- ISBN: 978-1968882129
- Available on Amazon: order the paperback here
Copyright © Tammy Roose, Tarheelstate Teacher LLC. The purchase of this journal gives the buyer permission to reproduce pages for single classroom, home, or small group use only.
