• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Having Fun First

Helping you to creatively reach all your unique learners

Subscribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Shop Website
    • Teachers Pay Teachers
    • Amazon Storefront
  • FREEBIE
  • Curriculum
  • Contact

on August 19, 2019 · 3 Comments

3 Ways to Teach Kindness in the Classroom

Kindness. Something we all expect and dream of having in our classroom communities. I have been teaching for some time now and there has not been a year where being kind to others hasn’t made our classroom rules list.

Most of the time my kiddos are kind to one another, maybe because of my “we are stopping what we are doing and talking this out” mentality when unkindness erupts, or because their home community has instilled these great skills in their hearts. BUT… sometimes, our students lose sight of those compassionate ways and I am left wondering what has taken over my sweet little nuggets?

I finally took some time and reflected. I thought to myself…when were they explicitly taught about kindness? We don’t expect our kids to come in with all their foundational academic skills. So why do we expect them to come in with these important social skills?

What happens when your kids are making mistakes with material and academic standards? We reflect and reteach. So, it was time to make a plan to teach kindness.

3 ways to teach kindness in the classroom

3 Ways to Teach Kindness in the Classroom

I wanted my kids to make a solid connection to what kindness truly was. We needed to reflect on how positive it felt to make others feel good or to do something good for others without getting anything in return.  So I decided I would intentially teach kindness in 3 ways:

  1. Kindness journaling
  2. Guided reading lessons to teach kindness
  3. Words of kindness

 ​​1. Kindness Journaling

I thought one of the best ways to teach about kindness was to practice doing kind things and then talk about it.  I created a kindness journal to help my kids reflect after we did random acts of kindness around the school or at home. The kindness journal has reflection pages, acts of kindness ideas pages, a kindness tally section, as well as doodle pages. It can easily be printed, stapled and put it right in their little hands or it can be printed to fit into those fun journals you can get from the Target Dollar Spot!

Kindness Journal cover
kindness journal reflection
teach kindness journal

The random acts of kindness we did started out very simple. For example, on the way to recess we all brought baby wipes to another grade level pod and wiped down their tables. During a transition to specialists, we stopped to pick up scraps and tidied up a common space in our school. A larger project we did was picking up trash on campus, which was more involved with parent support or when we made craft kits for Children’s Hospital. The acts of kindness opportunities are endless. After writing a few journal entries and reflecting on our compassionate ways the kids were begging to do more. They were even asking if they could write about acts of kindness they had done at home. TEACHER WIN… COMMUNITY WIN… WE ALL WIN!

teach kindness journal

2. Guided Reading Lessons to Teach Kindness

I love beginning a lesson with a mentor text.  When I am doing a read aloud with my kids they are tuned in and engaged. It is the perfect opportunity to deliver a lesson, message or to ignite conversation.

First of all, I had to find the books, so I hopped on Pinterest and Google of course to find books that had valuable lessons imbedded with kindness and compassion.  I FOUND SO MANY! I was so excited that I had a huge list to choose from. I hit the library and (you guessed it!) Amazon.

I was so impressed with the amount of quality books that I found. Each one showcased another important skill with the theme of kindness, compassion or friendship.

 
books to teach kindness
 

I was able to narrow down the list to the following mentor texts as a kick-off to my kind classroom mission.  All of these can be viewed and purchased on Amazon by clicking the links below. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  • “Do Unto Otters”
  • “Each Kindness”
  • “Leonardo the Terrible Monster”
  • “Ricky, The Rock that Couldn’t Roll”
  • “Zen Ties”
  • “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates”
  • “Enemy Pie”
  • “The Invisible Boy”
  • “Words and Your Heart”
  • “What Does it Mean to be Kind?

I am all about meeting standards, but sometimes it has to be on my terms. What my kids needed was to learn important social skills, otherwise we would be wasting time tattling and problem solving to be able to access the curriculum anyway.

So, I decided to create guided reading units that would help us learn about kindness, compassion, and friendship while meeting standards and polishing up on our comprehension and discussion skills. Sometimes we were even able to complete a fun craft!

You could pick up and read aloud any one of these books, and your kiddos will benefit from simple discussion. If you are looking for a bit more, you can check out any of the units I created by clicking on them below.  Here is a blog post that goes into more detail about a few of these resources, “A Weeks Worth of Guided Reading Activities to Build Classroom Community.”

 
Enemy Pie Guided Reading Activity to teach kindness
teach kindness activity bundle
Leonardo The Terrible Monster Guided Reading to teach kindness
Words and your Heart Book Companion Activity to teach kindness
Ricky the Rock That Couldn't Roll Guided Reading to Teach Kindness
Each Kindness book companion activity to teach kindness
The Invisible Boy Guided Reading to Teach Kindness
Guided Reading Units
Focused On
Kindness
We Don't Eat Our Classmates Guided Reading to teach kindness
 

3. ​​​​Words of Kindness

This was a simple one. Say kind things. Focus on the positive, especially for those kiddos you always find yourself needing to redirect or those kiddos who always seem to be doing what they are supposed to but, you may forget to show your appreciation. All people can benefit from hearing kind words, but we often forget to just say them.

 
There are a few ways I decided to deliver the words of kindness… 

Compliment circles

A couple times a week (you could even do one) we would work in a time that we would all sit down together. We talked about how to give a compliment, what a compliment might sound like and I even provided compliment starters for the kiddos that might feel stumped. I kept the poster displayed at all times.

I made sure everyone got a chance to share and to be complimented. The kids loved this. Why wouldn’t they?!

This is the simplest thing, takes little time, but if you don’t put it on the schedule it will slip through the cracks of our busy, overpacked schedules. We all know that the more often they do something, the simpler it becomes and after a while it was so quick to do, and the kids needed little support.

You can get a FREE copy of my compliment starter poster. It is also part of my Kindness Activity Bundle. Click on the image below to download and print it for free.

compliment starters poster freebie for teaching kindness

Words of kindness on display

Besides my compliment starter support tool, I also carefully selected some great kindness and positive self-esteem quotes to have displayed in our classroom, pod and the school. I made them in poster format and then made them in bookmarks, so each kiddo had a constant reminder of kindness.

Depending on what you are looking for, I made anti-bully self-esteem bookmarks as well as reminders of kindness bookmarks.

kindness bookmarks

I printed mine in color and laminated them for the kids to keep and use all year. I KID YOU NOT, when I handed these out to students as they were silent reading around the room, the looks on their faces and their responses were priceless. It was seriously THE BEST.

The bookmarks are also included in my Kindness Activities Bundle along with everything you need to teach kindness in your classroom.

Kindness Activity Bundle


I also loved displaying a kindness bunting and posters from Ashley Egger as additional reminders and support tools to help my students make the best choices when it came to kindness, compassion and friendship in our classroom.

How do you teach kindness?

So, what can you do today? Show your kids how much kindness means to you. Have real conversations and share personal experiences about acts of kindness or negative experiences you have had. Read books and discuss. Lead by example and pick up the trash in the hallway, stop to fix the fallen art work or let the other class go first to recess…I know the bathroom line will build up or the extra Keurig coffee might be out of the question now, but it only takes a few moments, a few examples to set kindness into motion. These things are so simple, might take a small amount of time, but they are watching you and truly look up to us.

YOU CAN DO IT! Ha… I always picture Rob Schneider yelling that… anyway… I would love to hear how you instill kindness in your classrooms.

As always, feel free to reach out with questions, suggestions, or just to connect!

Kacie Brown Having Fun First signature
Updated February 5, 2022

Filed Under: compassion, FREEBIE Tagged With: classroom community, kindness

Previous Post: « Back to School Activities for 2nd Grade {with FREEBIES}
Next Post: 5 Essential Elements of a Successful Writing Workshop »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. janani ram says

    January 8, 2020 at 5:38 am

    Really informative blog for all people. Thanks for sharing it.
    Spoken English Classes in Chennai
    Spoken English in Chennai
    Data Analytics Courses in Chennai
    IELTS Coaching centre in Chennai
    Japanese Language Classes in Chennai
    TOEFL Classes in Chennai
    content writing course in chennai
    spanish language course in chennai
    Spoken English Classes in Tambaram
    Spoken English Classes in Anna Nagar

    Reply
  2. M. Taha says

    June 1, 2020 at 4:51 am

    I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. Animation

    Reply
  3. devi says

    August 8, 2020 at 2:33 pm

    Awesome article! It is in detail and well formatted that i enjoyed reading. which inturn helped me to get new information from your blog. After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article.Data Science Training In Chennai

    Data Science Online Training In Chennai

    Data Science Training In Bangalore

    Data Science Training In Hyderabad

    Data Science Training In Coimbatore

    Data Science Training

    Data Science Online Training

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Shop the Site

Visit the Shop


Shop Featured Materials + Resources

Shop Amazon

Subscribe

Sign up to gain access to valuable free resources, encouraging tips and sale alerts.

Find it Fast

Read by Category

Popular Posts

Polar Animal Unit with a Free Nonfiction Text Features Worksheet
5 Reading Comprehension Activities for Context Clues
Guided Reading Program: Guided Reading With A Purpose!
Taking Care of the Earth: 5 Text to World Connections Books and Activities
6 Activities for STEM and Reading Comprehension
Blurt Beans to the Rescue
Space Reading Comprehension Activities
Teaching Text Evidence with the book "Blizzard"
Compare and Contrast Reading Passages from Fairy Tales
Writing A Letter Worksheets, Mentor Texts, & Activities

Grab My Button

Grab My Button

Subscribe

Sign up to gain access to valuable free resources, encouraging tips and sale alerts.

Footer

Latest on Facebook

Latest on Instagram

Challenge your students this month with daily heal Challenge your students this month with daily health and kindness goals! This February Health and Kindness Journal includes:⁣
💜Daily reflection⁣
💜Daily goal⁣
💜Daily health challenge or check-in⁣
💜Daily kindness challenge⁣
💜Daily fun challenge⁣
⁣
Use this daily journal to promote positivity and the importance of physical and mental health for grades 1st - 4th!⁣
⁣
🔗This resource is linked in my bio and it's available on TpT⁣
#iteach1st #iteach2nd #iteach3rd #iteach4th #kindnessintheclassroom
Forced to take it easy this week, so lots of puzzl Forced to take it easy this week, so lots of puzzles, board games and relaxing are on the schedule. This game is called Labyrinth and it’s so much fun and super addicting to play. 

#familygametime #relaxing #boardgamefun #ravensburgergames
These Valentines Day crafts are sure to brighten y These Valentines Day crafts are sure to brighten your Valentine’s Day bulletin board, hallway or classroom door decor. These February craft activities have multiple options to make each project unique. Keep it simple print, cut, glue and done! Or.. add a fun writing extension that is included. Each Valentines Day craft also comes with printable title letters. Perfect for whole group activity, center activity at your Valentine’s Day party, Random acts of Kindness Day or a great classroom door display!

#havingfunfirst #kidcrafts #kidcraftideas #valentinesdaycraftsforkids #valentinesdaycrafts
This no-prep morning meeting digital resource is t This no-prep morning meeting digital resource is the perfect way to start your day or to initiate transitions in or out of the classroom with your students. Send Google Slides presentations to your students, use via Google Classroom, project on your ActiveBoard, display in PowerPoint, or print for daily journal starters.⁣
⁣
🔗Click the link in my bio to try them today!⁣
⁣
#morningmeeting #iteachtoo #iteach2nd #iteach3rd #iteach4th #iteach5th #iteach345 #tpt
When your kids play together nicely… 🙌 Pokém When your kids play together nicely… 🙌 Pokémon for the win! 

#brothers #pokémon #cardgames
Getting snow off the brain is hard and I know that Getting snow off the brain is hard and I know that any teacher who has ever spotted the smallest glimmer of snowfall outside of their classroom window can relate ha!⁣
⁣
I decided instead of working hard to bring back the focus, why not explore something that they all love, and in some cases maybe have never seen and would love to know more about… SNOW!⁣
⁣
❄ This week in guided reading with a purpose I decided to stay close to those winter loves focusing on the extreme weather of blizzards, avalanches, and snow.⁣
⁣
❄ The mentor text for this Guided Reading week is a mix of fiction and nonfiction focusing on the comprehension skill of text evidence.⁣
⁣
🔗This resource is linked in my bio and it's available on TpT!  Individual book companion resources are also available on my website. ⁣
⁣
#guidedreading #guidedreadingwithapurpose #readingcomprehension #textevidence #iteach2nd #iteachsecond #secondgrade

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Latest on Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · BRANDING + WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN