Promoting kindness in the classroom
You’ve heard the saying… Throw Kindness Like Confetti! Well, today I’m excited to tell you just HOW you can start doing that! Let’s throw some kindness around our classrooms (and keep it going!)
I created #KindnessMatters as a way to inspire my students to recognize and praise kindness from their classmates. As you can see from the photo above, each student has there own iPhone with their name on it placed inside an anchor chart. When someone does something kind, a student will grab a blank writing template (pictured below) and “text” their friend about it.
I like to leave these templates at our writing center in a little basket. My students have designated times they can write one, like during morning announcements or during literacy centers. I also like to hold a discussion about writing thoughtful messages to all students in the class, not just your BFF. Every Friday, students can check their messages and take them home.
Getting started with #KindnessMatters in the classroom
I love starting the discussion off with a read aloud for everything! Books just set the tone! I also love involving students in the process of developing new routines so they have ownership over what they’re doing. One of my FAVORITE ways of introducing #KindnessMatters in my classroom is with the book, Cookies, Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal! The whole book discusses different character traits as they pertain to cookies! “Cooperate means, how about you add the chips while I stir.” Fair means, you get a bite, I get a bite” If you’ve never read it, here’s a read aloud of it on YouTube. I’ve assembled a list of some other books you might want to check out as well. These books lend themselves to some amazing discussions about kindness!
MORE BOOKS THAT INSPIRE KINDNESS
- Cookies, Bite-Size Life Lessons (mentioned above)
- Big Al (feeling different from others; empathy; making friends)
- Do Unto Otters (for teaching the golden rule!)
- Be a Friend (celebrating differences; the power of friendship)
- The Invisible Boy (a great story for children who are shy and quiet who may feel unnoticed)
- We’re All Wonders (the picture book version of Wonder)
- The Jelly Donut Difference (sharing kindness)
After sharing Cookies, Bite-Size Life Lessons, we talk about the new phones and how we can use them in our classroom. You can have each child’s phone pre-printed with their name or you can print blank phones and let them decorate their own phone. It’s totally up to you!
We make an anchor chart together using some of the traits we learned about in the Cookies book. We agree that these are the kinds of traits we are looking to celebrate and write about on our phones. We even talk about how much better our classroom environment is going to be as we learn how to be more kind to others.
If you want to implement #KindnessMatters in your classroom, you can find it HERE!
If you’re looking for MORE ways to teach about character traits and social skills in the primary grades, don’t miss THIS POST?!
How do you teach and celebrate kindness in your classroom? Share with me below in the comments!
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