A Week of Kindness
Below are discussion questions and an activity to foster kindness towards animals, people, and the environment. This activity and discussion questions are part of the ‘Be Kind’ character education theme for the 2015-2016 school year! To see other character building themes, click here!
Discussion Questions:
- Is being kind important, and if so why?
- Who (or what) do we need to be kind to? Is there anyone/anything that doesn’t deserve our kindness?
- What are some examples of kindness that you have witnessed or have heard about?
- Who is positively affected by acts of kindness (the giver, receiver and even witness can receive the benefits of a kind act!)
- How do you feel when someone is kind to you? How do you feel when you are kind to someone else?
- How can be we kind to others? Animals? The environment?
Activities:
1. Brainstorm
As a class brainstorm the different ways to show kindness to animals, people, and the environment. Use the simple checklist, or this Kindness Fortune Teller to get you started!
Simple Checklists:
- Write a note or draw a picture to show gratitude to someone who helps make your school/home a better place.
- Choose an endangered animal to learn more about. Find out what more can be down to protect them. Share what you find!
- Help a neighbour who would benefit from some assistance. Shovel their sidewalk, walk their pet, etc.
- Start a conversation with someone you don’t know well. Ask them how their day is going and find at least one thing you have in common.
- Make the world a better place by cleaning up. Collect litter in your school yard, recycle paper in your classroom, or do an extra chore at home.
- Help plan and prepare dinner with your family. After enjoying the meal together, help clean up.
- Spend some extra time grooming and playing with your pet. If you don’t have a pet, offer to help someone who does.
- Write a letter to a friend or family member to cheer them up. Tell them why you appreciate them!
- Get outside with nature and enjoy the fresh air. Look for wildlife or signs that they have been in the area. What did you find? Remember to pick up any litter you come across.
2. Decide How to Demonstrate Your Accomplishment
Before you embark on your week of kindness challenge, as a class, decide how you will demonstrate your accomplishment. Here are a few ideas:
- keeping a running tally on the white board or bulletin board
- collect marbles, pebbles, or nickels in a jar
- have students write their kind acts on leaves of a Kindness Tree
- use strips of construction paper to create a Kindness Chain
- create a pictograph or bar graph
3. Reflection
Upon completion, have students reflect on the experience. How did the week go? What did they learn? As reflection is an important part of the learning process, it is important to allow students the opportunity to think critically about their experience. The following reflection questions aim to help students create meaning form their participation in the Kindness Challenge and to further consolidate their ideas on kindness and empathy
Students response can be journal entries, class or small group discussions.
Reflection can also take the form of art, music, poetry, dance, photography and writing.
Reflection Questions:
- How did participating in the Kindness Challenge make you feel?
- What was especially satisfying about doing the Kindness Challenge?
- Did you find anything frustrating? What was it?
- Did you find the Kindness Challenge easy or difficult? Explain.
- Did you notice other people being kind? What happened?
- Do you think that small acts of kindness make a difference? Why or why not?
- What do you think the world would be like if everyone was kind to every living thing?
- What is one thing that you learned from this experience?
