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Kindness Counts!

Lesson Plan

Kindness Counts!

Students will learn and practice three key social skills: identifying emotions, using 'I' statements, and sharing/taking turns, to reduce aggressive behaviors and promote positive interactions.

Learning these skills helps children navigate social situations, resolve conflicts peacefully, and build positive relationships, fostering a safer and happier classroom environment.

Audience

Kindergarten Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussion, role-playing, and a fun game.

Materials

Whiteboard or Projector, Markers, Kindness Counts! Slide Deck, Kindness Connect Four Activity, and Social Skill Charades Game

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Introduction & Warm-Up: What Makes Us Feel?

5 minutes

  • Use Kindness Counts! Slide Deck slides 1-2.
    * Begin with a quick discussion on different feelings and how our bodies react to them. Ask students to share a time they felt happy, sad, or frustrated. Introduce the idea that all feelings are okay, but it's important how we show them.
    * Transition to discussing how sometimes big feelings can make us want to push or grab, and that we're going to learn better ways.

Step 2

Introducing Social Skills: 'I' Statements & Sharing

10 minutes

  • Use Kindness Counts! Slide Deck slides 3-5.
    * Introduce 'I' statements as a way to tell others how we feel without yelling or pushing. Practice simple 'I feel...' statements with scenarios (e.g., 'I feel sad when you take my toy').
    * Discuss the importance of sharing and taking turns. Use visuals from the slide deck to illustrate fair play. Facilitate a brief partner share about a time they successfully shared.

Step 3

Activity: Kindness Connect Four

10 minutes

  • Engage students with the Kindness Connect Four Activity.
    * Divide the class into small groups or pairs.
    * Explain the rules: students pick a card and act out or describe the positive social skill. If they do it well, they 'place' a connecting piece (e.g., draw a circle on the board, move a token). The goal is to get four in a row.
    * Circulate to provide support and encourage positive interactions. Keep it light and fun! (Note: the physical game is not required, just the concept of connecting four.)

Step 4

Cool Down & Reflection: Social Skill Charades

5 minutes

  • Use Kindness Counts! Slide Deck slide 6.
    * Bring the class back together.
    * Play a quick round of Social Skill Charades Game. Call on students to act out a social skill (e.g., sharing a toy, asking nicely, helping a friend). The class guesses what they are doing.
    * Reinforce the positive ways we can act when we have big feelings. Conclude by reminding students that 'Kindness Counts!' every day.
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Slide Deck

Kindness Counts!

What Makes Us Feel?

  • Happy?
  • Sad?
  • Mad?
  • Frustrated?

Welcome students and introduce the topic of feelings. Ask open-ended questions about how they feel today. Emphasize that all feelings are okay to have.

Big Feelings, Big Choices

How do our feelings make us act?

  • Sometimes we might want to push.
  • Sometimes we might want to grab.

But we can learn better ways to show our feelings!

Connect feelings to actions. Discuss that sometimes big feelings make us want to push or grab, but we can learn better ways. Ask, "What do our bodies want to do when we feel really mad?" Acknowledge those feelings and then pivot to learning new strategies.

Using 'I' Statements

Say How You Feel!

  • "I feel (feeling) when (what happened)."
  • Example: "I feel sad when you take my toy."
  • Example: "I feel frustrated when I can't have a turn."

Introduce 'I' statements as a tool for communication. Model a few examples and have students repeat after you. Keep it simple and focus on 'I feel...when...' type statements.

Sharing is Caring!

Sharing and Taking Turns

  • It means everyone gets a chance.
  • It makes friends happy.
  • It helps us play fair!

Talk about sharing and taking turns. Use visuals or gestures to demonstrate. Ask students for examples of when they share or take turns at school or home.

Playing Fair Makes Friends

When we share and take turns...

  • Everyone has fun!
  • We are being good friends.
  • Kindness counts!

Reinforce the positive outcomes of sharing and taking turns. Connect it back to being kind and avoiding conflicts. Prepare to transition into the 'Kindness Connect Four' activity.

Kindness Is Key!

Remember to:

  • Say how you feel with 'I' statements.
  • Share your toys and take turns.
  • Be a kind friend!

Kindness Counts!

Conclude the lesson by summarizing the key social skills. Play a quick round of Social Skill Charades as a fun review. Remind them that practicing these skills helps everyone.

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Activity

Kindness Connect Four

Objective: Practice identifying and applying positive social skills in different scenarios.

Materials: Printed scenario cards (see below), tokens/markers (or draw on a whiteboard)

Instructions:

  1. Divide students into small groups or pairs.
  2. Lay out the scenario cards face down.
  3. On their turn, a student picks a card and reads the scenario (or has the teacher/peer read it).
  4. The student must explain or act out how they would use a kind social skill (e.g., an "I" statement, sharing, asking nicely) to resolve the situation positively.
  5. If their response is appropriate and kind, they get to place a token on a shared game board (or draw a mark on a paper grid, aiming for four in a row).
  6. The first group/pair to get four tokens in a row wins!

Scenario Cards (Cut these out!)

  • Card 1: Your friend took the last crayon you wanted. What do you say?



  • Card 2: You want to play with a toy someone else has. What do you do?



  • Card 3: Someone accidentally bumps into you. How do you react kindly?



  • Card 4: Your friend is sad because they dropped their snack. What can you do or say?



  • Card 5: Two friends are fighting over a game. How can you help them share?



  • Card 6: You feel mad because you lost a game. What can you do instead of yelling?



  • Card 7: You want to tell a friend that you feel left out. What can you say?



  • Card 8: A friend needs help picking up blocks. What could you do?



  • Card 9: You see someone sitting alone. What can you say to be a friend?



  • Card 10: Someone is talking when it's your turn to speak. What can you do?



  • Card 11: You want a different color paint than your friend. How do you share?



  • Card 12: You are waiting for your turn on the slide. What do you do patiently?



  • Card 13: Your friend made a mistake. What kind thing can you say?



  • Card 14: You want to ask a teacher for help. How do you do it politely?



  • Card 15: Someone says something that makes you feel sad. What can you tell them?



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Game

Social Skill Charades

Objective: Reinforce understanding of positive social behaviors through kinesthetic practice.

Materials: Small slips of paper with social skills written on them (see below), a hat or bowl.

Instructions:

  1. Fold the social skill slips and place them in a hat or bowl.
  2. Call one student at a time to come to the front.
  3. The student picks a slip and acts out the social skill silently, without speaking.
  4. The rest of the class guesses what social skill the student is acting out.
  5. Encourage students to use full body language and facial expressions.
  6. After the class guesses correctly, briefly discuss why that skill is important.

Social Skill Slips (Cut these out!)

  • Act it out: Sharing a toy
  • Act it out: Asking nicely for a turn
  • Act it out: Helping a friend pick up blocks
  • Act it out: Giving a high-five
  • Act it out: Saying "I'm sorry"
  • Act it out: Waiting patiently
  • Act it out: Listening to a friend
  • Act it out: Giving a hug (to a stuffed animal or air)
  • Act it out: Waving goodbye
  • Act it out: Giving a thumbs up
  • Act it out: Asking "Are you okay?"
  • Act it out: Offering a tissue to a sad friend
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