Lesson Plan
Kindness Blooms!
Students will be able to identify and demonstrate at least two acts of kindness using visual aids and concrete examples. Students will understand that kindness makes others feel happy and included.
Teaching kindness helps nonverbal students with autism develop essential social-emotional skills, fostering positive interactions and creating a more inclusive environment for themselves and their peers. It builds empathy and promotes understanding of social cues.
Audience
Grades 2-5 Students with Autism (Nonverbal)
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Visual supports and hands-on activities.
Materials
Visual Kindness Cards, Kindness Action Board, Construction Paper, Glue Sticks, Crayons/Markers, Pre-cut Flower Petals and Stems, and Happy/Sad Face Cards
Prep
Prepare Materials
15 minutes
- Review the Kindness Blooms! Lesson Plan and all generated materials, making adjustments as needed.
* Print and laminate the Visual Kindness Cards (if possible).
* Prepare the Kindness Action Board by drawing a large tree trunk on a poster board or whiteboard.
* Pre-cut flower petals and stems for each student for the Kindness Garden Project.
* Gather construction paper, glue sticks, and crayons/markers.
Step 1
Warm-Up: Happy or Sad?
5 minutes
- Display Happy/Sad Face Cards: Show students a happy face and a sad face. Use simple gestures to indicate 'happy' and 'sad.'
* Discuss Feelings (visually): Point to the happy face and use a gentle tone. Point to the sad face and use a low tone. Ask (visually, through pointing or gestural prompts) if they can identify how each face feels.
* Introduce Kindness: Explain (using visuals) that kindness makes people feel happy. Unkindness makes people feel sad. (Use Slide Deck: Kindness Blooms! Slide 1)
Step 2
Exploring Kindness Actions
10 minutes
- Introduce Visual Kindness Cards: Present the Visual Kindness Cards one by one.
* Demonstrate Actions: For each card, visually demonstrate or pantomime the kind action (e.g., sharing a toy, helping a friend).
* Match to Feelings: After each action, ask students to point to the Happy Face card if it's a kind action, or the Sad Face card if it's not. Provide gentle prompts and reinforcement. (Use Slide Deck: Kindness Blooms! Slides 2-6)
Step 3
Kindness Action Board Activity
10 minutes
- Review Kindness Cards: Briefly review the Visual Kindness Cards.
* Add to Kindness Action Board: For each kind action, have students take turns placing or attaching the corresponding Visual Kindness Card onto the pre-drawn tree on the Kindness Action Board. Emphasize that these actions help our 'kindness tree' grow.
* Interactive Placement: Guide students to choose where to place the cards, reinforcing the idea of building a visual representation of kindness. (Use Slide Deck: Kindness Blooms! Slide 7)
Step 4
Cool-Down: Show Me Kindness
5 minutes
- Prompt for a Kind Gesture: Ask students to show a kind gesture they learned today (e.g., a gentle pat, a wave hello, sharing motion).
* Positive Reinforcement: Praise all attempts at kind gestures. Connect it back to making others feel happy. (Use Slide Deck: Kindness Blooms! Slide 8)
* Transition to Project: Introduce the Kindness Garden Project as a way to continue thinking about kindness.
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Slide Deck
Happy or Sad?
How do we feel? đ âšī¸
Kindness makes us feel HAPPY!
Display a large happy face and a large sad face. Use simple gestures to indicate 'happy' (smile, thumbs up) and 'sad' (frown, thumbs down). Point to each face and use a gentle, clear tone to say 'happy' or 'sad'. Observe student responses to gauge understanding of the emotions.
What is Kindness?
Sharing a toy đ¤
Does this make someone happy or sad?
Show the first Visual Kindness Card (e.g., sharing a toy). Briefly pantomime the action. Then, point to the happy face and sad face on the board. Use a questioning gesture to ask if this action makes someone happy or sad. Guide students to point to the happy face.
More Kindness!
Helping a friend đĨ°
Does this make someone happy or sad?
Show the next Visual Kindness Card (e.g., helping a friend). Pantomime the action. Again, guide students to connect it to making someone happy.
Kind Words (or Gestures!)
Giving a thumbs up đ
Does this make someone happy or sad?
Show the next Visual Kindness Card (e.g., giving a compliment, adapted for nonverbal by showing a thumbs up or gentle pat). Pantomime. Guide students.
Fair Play!
Taking turns đ
Does this make someone happy or sad?
Show the next Visual Kindness Card (e.g., taking turns). Pantomime. Guide students.
Gentle Hands
A gentle pat on the back đ¤
Does this make someone happy or sad?
Show the final Visual Kindness Card (e.g., a gentle hug/pat). Pantomime. Guide students.
Our Kindness Tree Grows!
Adding kindness to our tree! đŗ
What kind actions can we add today?
Transition to the Kindness Action Board. Guide students to take the physical Visual Kindness Cards and place them onto the tree drawn on the board. Narrate the action: 'This kindness makes our tree grow!'
Show Your Kindness!
What kind action can you show? â¨
Remember, kindness makes everyone happy!
Ask students to demonstrate one kind gesture. Observe their actions and provide positive verbal and gestural reinforcement. Connect their gesture back to making someone happy. 'You showed sharing! That makes friends happy!'
Activity
Visual Kindness Cards
Print and cut out these cards to use during the lesson.
Card 1: Sharing a Toy
(Image: Two children sharing a toy, or a picture of hands offering a toy)
Card 2: Helping a Friend
(Image: One child helping another pick up dropped items, or a hand reaching out to assist)
Card 3: Gentle Hands
(Image: A hand gently patting another on the back, or two hands gently touching)
Card 4: Taking Turns
(Image: Two children waiting patiently for their turn at a game, or arrows showing a circular motion)
Card 5: Giving a Smile
(Image: A smiling face, or a child offering a gentle thumbs up)
Activity
Kindness Action Board
Instructions for Teacher Prep:
- Take a large poster board or use a whiteboard.
- Draw a large, simple tree trunk and a few main branches. Leave plenty of space for students to add their kindness actions (the Visual Kindness Cards).
- You can label the board: "Our Kindness Tree!" or "Growing Kindness!"
How to Use During the Lesson:
- After discussing each Visual Kindness Card, invite students to place or glue the card onto the tree on the Kindness Action Board.
- This visually represents how kind actions help our "kindness tree" grow and make our classroom (or community) a happier place.
Activity
Happy/Sad Face Cards
Print and cut out these cards to use during the warm-up and throughout the lesson.
Card 1: Happy Face
(Image: A clear, simple drawing or picture of a smiling, happy face)
Card 2: Sad Face
(Image: A clear, simple drawing or picture of a frowning, sad face)
Project Guide
Kindness Garden Project: Growing Our Flowers of Kindness!
Objective: To create a visual representation of personal kindness and the positive feelings it generates.
Materials Needed (per student):
- 1 sheet of construction paper (for the background)
- Pre-cut flower petals (various colors, 5-6 per student)
- Pre-cut flower stem and leaves (green)
- Glue stick
- Crayons or markers
- (Optional: Pictures or simple icons representing kindness actions, similar to the Visual Kindness Cards, for students to choose and glue onto their flower petals)
Instructions:
-
Introduce the "Kindness Garden" Concept (5 minutes):
- Explain that just like a garden grows with sunshine and water, our hearts grow with kindness!
- Each student will create their own "Kindness Flower."
-
Build Your Flower (15 minutes):
- Distribute background paper, stem, leaves, and petals to each student.
- Guide students to glue the stem and leaves onto their paper.
- Next, help them glue the petals around the top of the stem to form a flower.
- Personalize with Kindness: Encourage students to think about one kind action they can do (or have done). If using optional icons, help them select an icon and glue it onto a petal. If not, the teacher can draw a simple icon or write a word (e.g., "Share," "Help") on a petal for them.
- Students can decorate their petals with crayons/markers, perhaps drawing small happy faces.
-
Share and Display (5 minutes):
- Encourage students to show their Kindness Flower to the group.
- The teacher can gently prompt (e.g., "What kindness did you put on your flower?") and reinforce their work.
- Display all the Kindness Flowers together to create a "Kindness Garden" in the classroom!
Reading
The Story of Timmy the Turtle's Kind Day
This story uses simple language and focuses on visual descriptions to reinforce the concept of kindness. The teacher should use gestures, expressions, and physical picture cards (if available) to accompany the text.
Timmy Wakes Up Happy! đ
Timmy the little turtle woke up. The sun was shining. He felt happy! (Show happy face card)
A Friend Needs Help! đ
Timmy saw his friend, Bunny, trying to reach a tall, red apple. Bunny looked sad! (Show sad face card)
Timmy Helps Bunny! đ¤
Timmy thought, "I can help!" He slowly moved his strong shell close to the tree. Bunny stepped onto Timmy's shell. Up, up, up! Bunny got the red apple! (Show picture of helping/sharing)
Bunny is Happy! đĨ°
Bunny smiled a big smile! "Thank you, Timmy!" Bunny gave Timmy a gentle pat. Timmy felt warm inside. Bunny felt happy! (Show happy face card, picture of gentle pat)
Sharing is Kind! đ
Bunny shared the red apple with Timmy. They ate it together. Sharing made them both happy! (Show picture of sharing)
The Kindness Feeling! â¨
Timmy learned that kindness makes friends happy. When we help and share, everyone feels good! That's a kind feeling! (Show happy face card, a general image of kindness)