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Compassion Cartography: Building Bridges Through Understanding

Lesson Plan

Compassion Cartography Lesson Plan

Students will explore and illustrate acts of kindness in their community by collaborating on creative storytelling and mapping activities, aiming to foster empathy and understanding of diverse perspectives.

This lesson cultivates social-emotional skills by highlighting compassion in real-life contexts, encouraging students to recognize and value empathy, cooperation, and community connections.

Audience

Elementary School Students

Time

60 minutes

Approach

Group storytelling, map-building, and reflection activities.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials and Classroom

15 minutes

Step 1

Introduction & Warm-Up

10 minutes

  • Display the opening slides from the Community Kindness Slide Deck and introduce the terms "kindness" and "compassion."
  • Ask students to turn to a partner and share one moment when someone showed them kindness.
  • Differentiation: Provide sentence starters (e.g., "I felt happy when…I saw someone help by…").
  • Assessment: Observe participation and understanding of key terms.

Step 2

Storytelling with Prompts

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Kindness Story Prompts Handout.
  • In small groups, students select a prompt and share a personal or imagined story of kindness in their community.
  • Differentiation: Offer visual cue cards for ELL and extra time for emerging writers.
  • Assessment: Review stories for evidence of empathy and community awareness.

Step 3

Compassion Map Creation

20 minutes

  • Provide each group with a Compassion Map Template, chart paper, colored markers, and sticky notes.
  • Students illustrate locations (school, park, home) and place sticky notes describing specific acts of kindness.
  • Differentiation: Supply pre-written labels or pair stronger writers with those needing support.
  • Assessment: Circulate and ask probing questions to gauge depth of understanding and map accuracy.

Step 4

Gallery Walk & Peer Feedback

15 minutes

  • Have groups display their maps around the room for a gallery walk.
  • Students rotate, leave a positive sticky-note comment, and pose one question about each map.
  • Differentiation: Assign roles (note-taker, question-asker) to support varied abilities.
  • Assessment: Collect peer feedback notes to assess engagement and comprehension.

Step 5

Reflection & Exit Ticket

5 minutes

  • Gather students for a brief share-out: one new insight about kindness they learned today.
  • Distribute sticky notes as exit tickets: students write or draw one act of kindness they will perform this week.
  • Differentiation: Allow drawings instead of writing for students who need it.
  • Assessment: Review exit tickets to plan follow-up support and celebrate next-week commitments.
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Slide Deck

Compassion Cartography: Building Bridges Through Understanding

An interactive journey to map and celebrate kindness in our community.

Welcome students! Introduce today’s journey: we will explore kindness and compassion, then map real acts in our community.

Why Compassion Matters

• Compassion helps us understand others’ feelings.
• It builds stronger relationships.
• It makes our community a kinder place.

Explain that compassion helps us connect, solve problems together, and make our world friendlier.

Kindness vs. Compassion

• Kindness: Actions we take to help others.
• Compassion: Feeling and understanding someone’s experience and wanting to help.

Discuss the difference. Ask: “Can an action be kind but not compassionate?”

Warm-Up: Share a Kind Moment

Turn to a partner and share a time you experienced or witnessed kindness.
Use the starter: “I felt happy when…”

Give students 2–3 minutes to turn and talk, then invite a few pairs to share.

Kindness Story Prompts

  1. Someone helped me when…
  2. A friend cheered me up by…
  3. I showed kindness by…

Hand out the Kindness Story Prompts Handout. Model prompt #1 with a short example.

Storytelling Activity

In small groups, choose one prompt and take turns sharing your story of kindness in our community.

Assign groups of 3–4. Remind them to listen without interrupting and take turns speaking.

Introducing Your Compassion Map

Your map will show places (home, park, school) and specific acts of kindness that happened there.

Show the printed Compassion Map Template. Point out map areas and sticky-note placeholders.

Create Your Map

  1. Select 3–4 locations.
  2. Draw each location on chart paper.
  3. Add sticky notes describing acts of kindness.
  4. Decorate with colors, icons, and labels.

Remind students to plan their map lightly in pencil before decorating.

Gallery Walk & Feedback

Walk around to view each group’s map. Leave a positive sticky-note comment and pose one question on each map.

Ensure each student leaves feedback. Monitor discussions and encourage thoughtful questions.

Reflection Time

Share one new insight about kindness you learned today.
How will you show compassion this week?

Invite volunteers to share. Record responses on the board.

Exit Ticket: Your Act of Kindness

On a sticky note, write or draw one act of kindness you will perform this week. Place it on our kindness board.

Collect the exit tickets as students place them on the kindness board. Celebrate ideas!

Thank You!

Let’s continue building bridges of kindness in our community—one act at a time.

Thank students for their enthusiasm. Encourage them to keep noticing and mapping kindness every day.

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Activity

Compassion Cartography Mapping Activity

Overview: In this hands-on activity, student groups will collaboratively map acts of kindness in their community, practicing empathy, teamwork, and creative expression.

Duration: 60 minutes

Materials:

Group Roles (rotate as needed):

  • Facilitator/Timekeeper: Guides discussion, keeps group on task, and monitors the clock.
  • Illustrator: Sketches map layout and decorates with icons, colors, and labels.
  • Recorder: Writes key kindness stories or details on sticky notes clearly.
  • Presenter: Shares the group’s map and insights during the gallery walk.

Steps:

  1. Assign Roles & Distribute Materials (5 minutes)

    • Teacher reviews the goal: illustrate 3–4 community locations and map real or imagined acts of kindness.
    • Students draw roles from a bag or volunteer; collect necessary materials.

  2. Brainstorm Kindness Stories (10 minutes)

    • Using the Kindness Story Prompts Handout, groups select 2–3 prompts and discuss personal or imagined community stories.
    • Recorder jots down bullet points for each story on scratch paper.

  3. Plan Your Map Layout (5 minutes)

    • Illustrator sketches where each location (e.g., school, park, library, home) will appear on the chart paper.
    • Group agrees on placement and color scheme.

  4. Create & Label Locations (15 minutes)

    • Illustrator draws each location.
    • Recorder writes short phrases (e.g., “Sarah helped carry books,” “Community garden shared veggies”) on sticky notes and places them appropriately.

  5. Decorate & Add Details (10 minutes)

    • Illustrator adds icons (hearts, footprints, helping hands).
    • Group discusses: “Why is this act important?” and records one keyword next to each note.

  6. Prepare for Gallery Walk (5 minutes)

    • Presenter rehearses a 1-minute overview: location choices, top kindness stories, and why compassion matters.
    • Groups place maps around the room.

  7. Gallery Walk & Peer Feedback (10 minutes)

    • Students circulate in mixed groups, leaving one positive sticky-note comment and one question on each map.
    • Return to the home group to read feedback together.

Reflection Prompts (whole class share-out or written):

  • What new act of kindness did you learn about today?


  • How did your group’s teamwork influence your map’s details?


  • Which location surprised you most for acts of compassion?





Extension Adaptations:

  • Enrichment: Research and plot kindness initiatives from other schools or cultures; create a digital version of your map using an online tool.
  • Remediation: Provide partially drawn map templates and pre-written sticky notes; use sentence starters (e.g., “I saw someone…”) to support emerging writers.

Discuss next steps: Encourage students to carry out one of the mapped acts this week and report back at the next class meeting!

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