Kindness Connects Us!

Tayla June

Tier 1

Lesson Plan

Kindness Connects Us

Students will be able to identify and demonstrate acts of kindness and empathy towards their peers and others.

Practicing kindness and empathy helps build a positive and inclusive classroom community, making everyone feel valued and respected. These skills are essential for healthy social development and strong friendships.

Audience

K-12 Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through discussion, examples, and a hands-on activity, students will explore what kindness and empathy look like and practice them.

Materials

Warm-Up: How Do You Show You Care?, Slide Deck: Kindness Connects Us, Activity: Kindness Challenge Cards, and Cool Down: One Kind Word

Prep

Preparation Steps

10 minutes

Review the Kindness Connects Us Lesson Plan and all linked materials.
Print and cut out the Kindness Challenge Cards (one set per small group).
Prepare a whiteboard or chart paper for discussion notes.
Ensure technology is ready for the Kindness Connects Us Slide Deck presentation.

Step 1

Warm-Up: How Do You Show You Care?

5 minutes

Begin with the How Do You Show You Care? Warm-Up.
Ask students to think about a time someone was kind to them or when they were kind to someone else. Share a few examples as a class.
Discuss what kindness feels like to give and receive.

Step 2

Introducing Kindness and Empathy

10 minutes

Present the Kindness Connects Us Slide Deck.
Use slides to define kindness and empathy with age-appropriate examples.
Facilitate a brief discussion using prompts like: "What does kindness look like? Sound like? Feel like?" and "How can we tell if someone needs empathy?"

Step 3

Kindness Challenge Activity

10 minutes

Divide students into small groups.
Distribute the Kindness Challenge Cards to each group.
Instruct groups to discuss the scenarios on the cards and brainstorm different ways to respond with kindness and empathy.
Have each group share one or two scenarios and their solutions with the class.

Step 4

Cool-Down: One Kind Word

5 minutes

Conclude the lesson with the One Kind Word Cool-Down.
Ask each student to think of one kind word or action they will try to do before the end of the day or week.
Encourage students to share their ideas if they feel comfortable.

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Warm Up

How Do You Show You Care? Warm-Up

Think about this question for a moment:

What is one way you show kindness to someone you care about?

Now, turn to a partner and share your idea. Listen to their idea too!

Teacher Note: After a minute or two, bring the class back together and ask a few students to share what they discussed.

Slide Deck

Kindness Connects Us!

What does it mean to be kind?
## What does it mean to show empathy?

Welcome students and introduce the topic of kindness and empathy. Ask students to share what they already think these words mean.

What is Kindness?

Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate to others.

Friendly: Smiling, saying hello
Generous: Sharing, offering help
Considerate: Thinking about others' feelings

Kindness is choosing to be nice!

Explain that kindness is about being friendly, generous, and considerate. Give simple, concrete examples relevant to various age groups (e.g., sharing toys, helping a classmate, saying 'please' and 'thank you').

What is Empathy?

Empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of someone else.

Putting yourself in their shoes.
Imagining how they feel.
Showing you care about their feelings.

Empathy helps us connect with others!

Explain that empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of another. Use examples where one person is upset or happy, and another person understands why. Emphasize 'putting yourself in someone else's shoes.'

Kindness & Empathy in Action

Let's Discuss!

What does kindness look like? (e.g., helping someone pick up dropped items)
What does kindness sound like? (e.g., saying encouraging words)
What does kindness feel like when you give it? When you receive it?
How can we tell if someone needs empathy? (e.g., they look sad, they're quiet)

Facilitate a short discussion. Encourage students to think about how these actions appear and sound, and how they make people feel. Guide them to consider both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Time for a Challenge!

Now let's practice putting kindness and empathy into action!

Transition to the activity. Explain that they will now practice applying kindness and empathy.

Activity

Kindness Challenge Cards

Instructions: In your small groups, read each scenario. Discuss how you could show kindness and empathy in that situation. Be ready to share your ideas with the class!