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Catch the Kindness?

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Kylie Taniguchi

Tier 1

Lesson Plan

Kindness Catch Challenge Plan

Students will notice and reward acts of kindness among peers using Kindness Catch Cards, fostering empathy, positive reinforcement, and a supportive classroom culture.

Promoting positive peer recognition builds empathy, strengthens community, and increases friendly behaviors. Teaching students to catch and reward kindness helps maintain a respectful, encouraging environment.

Audience

3rd Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Interactive kindness challenge with peer reinforcement.

Materials

Spot the Kindness Slides, Compliment Circle Prompt Cards, Kindness Catch Cards, and Reflection Star Journal

Prep

Prepare Materials

5 minutes

  • Print and cut out the Kindness Catch Cards and Compliment Circle Prompt Cards.
  • Make sure each student has a page in the Reflection Star Journal.
  • Queue up the Spot the Kindness Slides on the classroom projector.
  • Review all materials to familiarize yourself with each activity.

Step 1

Warm-Up: Compliment Circle

5 minutes

  • Have students sit in a circle and pass around the Compliment Circle Prompt Cards.
  • Each student draws a prompt and gives a sincere compliment to the classmate named.
  • Encourage students to use kind words and maintain eye contact.
  • Debrief: Ask, “How did giving or receiving a compliment make you feel?”

Step 2

Teach: Positive Reinforcement Intro

5 minutes

  • Display the Spot the Kindness Slides.
  • Define positive reinforcement: praising or rewarding good behavior to encourage more of it.
  • Show examples of kind acts (sharing supplies, helping a friend).
  • Explain that today’s challenge is to be on the lookout for classmates’ kind deeds.

Step 3

Activity: Kindness Catch Challenge

15 minutes

  • Distribute a small stack of Kindness Catch Cards to each student.
  • Explain rules: When you see someone do something kind, write their name and the act on a card and hand it to them.
  • Encourage students to catch at least two acts of kindness before time is up.
  • Circulate and model the process by catching and praising acts of kindness yourself.
  • Play cheerful background music to keep energy high.

Step 4

Cool-Down: Reflection Star Journal

5 minutes

  • Ask students to open their Reflection Star Journal.
  • Prompt them to write or draw:
    • One kind act they noticed or received.
    • How it made them feel.
    • One idea for spreading more kindness tomorrow.
  • Invite a few volunteers to share their reflections.
  • Close by highlighting how small acts of kindness make a big difference.
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Slide Deck

Spot the Kindness!

A fun challenge to notice and celebrate acts of kindness around you.

Welcome everyone! Today we're going to learn how to ‘Spot the Kindness’ in our classroom. Explain that kindness helps everyone feel good and makes our class a happy place.

What is Positive Reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement means noticing and praising good behavior to encourage more of it.

Define positive reinforcement in simple terms. Emphasize that when we praise kind actions, those actions happen more often.

Why Kindness Matters

• Builds friendships
• Helps everyone feel good
• Creates a supportive classroom culture

Read through the reasons and invite students to share other benefits they can think of.

Examples of Kind Acts

• Sharing supplies
• Helping a friend
• Giving compliments
• Cleaning up
• Inviting someone to join

Show each example with a quick story: “When Sarah shared her crayons…,” etc. Encourage students to think of times they’ve seen these acts.

Kindness Catch Challenge Instructions

  1. Take a Kindness Catch Card.
  2. When you see someone being kind, write their name and the kind act.
  3. Hand the card to that friend.
  4. Try to catch at least 2 acts of kindness!

Walk students through each step. Hold up a sample Kindness Catch Card to show how to write names and acts.

Let’s Get Started!

Be kind, watch for kindness, and have fun catching it!

Encourage students to begin and remind them to keep their eyes and hearts open for kindness.

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Warm Up

Compliment Circle Prompt Cards

Use these cards to guide students in giving sincere compliments during the warm-up activity.

Instructions for the Teacher

  • Print and cut out the prompt cards below.
  • Have students sit in a circle.
  • Pass around the Compliment Circle Prompt Cards.
  • Each student draws one card and fills in the blank to give a genuine compliment to a classmate.
  • Encourage eye contact, a friendly tone, and specific praise.
  • After everyone has had a turn, debrief: “How did giving or receiving a compliment make you feel?”

Prompt Cards

  1. I really appreciate when you ________.


  2. Thank you for ________.


  3. I admire how you ________.


  4. You’re really good at ________.


  5. I noticed you ________, and it made me smile.


  6. I like the way you ________.


  7. You are a great friend because ________.


  8. I love your ________.


  9. You helped me by ________.


  10. You make me happy when you ________.


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lenny

Activity

Kindness Catch Cards

Print and cut along the lines to create individual cards for students to fill out when they “catch” a kind act. Encourage friendly decorations!


Kindness Catch Card

You Caught Kindness From:


Kind Act:


Share this card to spread kindness and celebrate your friend!


Kindness Catch Card

You Caught Kindness From:


Kind Act:


Share this card to spread kindness and celebrate your friend!


Kindness Catch Card

You Caught Kindness From:


Kind Act:


Share this card to spread kindness and celebrate your friend!


Kindness Catch Card

You Caught Kindness From:


Kind Act:


Share this card to spread kindness and celebrate your friend!

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lenny

Journal

Reflection Star Journal

Use this journal page to reflect on the kindness you noticed, received, or shared today. Draw a large five-point star in the space below, then label each point with one of the prompts and write your response in the space provided.


Draw Your Star Here













Label and Respond at Each Point of the Star

★ Top Point: I noticed or received this kind act…





★ Top Right Point: It made me feel…





★ Bottom Right Point: The person who showed kindness was…





★ Bottom Left Point: Tomorrow, I will spread kindness by…





★ Top Left Point: One thing I learned about kindness is…






When you’ve finished, share one point from your Reflection Star with a partner or the class to inspire more kindness in our community!

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