Kindness in the classroom
Of course we’d all like to see more kindness in the classroom. A warm smile, a gentle word of encouragement to someone who is down, helping a friend pick up their books that have fallen on the floor. The old adage is true, kindness makes the world go round.
The first thing to consider when creating a kind classroom is ‘more is caught than taught’. The adults should be modelling kindness to the other adults and the children. When children see you being kind, you set the standard for behaviours you expect in the classroom. Children definitely pick up on this.
One way to encourage kind acts is to acknowledge them when they happen and discuss the impact of the kind deeds. I think this is so important when teaching children how to be kind. At times we take for granted that children are skilled in this area but more often than not, we have to help them become more competent.
I have created a 100 acts of kindness poster and lesson in PPT for primary aged students - grab it here - and it’s a fantastic way to encourage kind acts.
Introduce the chart to the children. By the way, you may also want to grab the PPT SLIDE LESSON PLAN that accompanies the chart and use it as a stand alone lesson or be part of your PSHE/citizenship curriculum. If not using the lesson plan materials follow these tips.
Kindness posters for school
Explain what being kind means and let your class know that whenever someone is kind to them, they should place a tick on the chart to record it. I suggest that only the person that receives an act of kindness places the tick on the chart but you may want to do it differently. You may want to do the ticks as a class session at the end of the day (more on this later) or get the children to tick it themselves during the day. Share some examples of kind acts with the children and take examples from them.
- Smiling
- Sharing e.g. a book, a pencil
- Finding someone who is alone and offer it play with them or include them in your game
- Holding the door for someone
- Letting someone else go first
- Using your manners e.g. asking nicely and using please
- Saying sorry straight way if you accidentally hurt someone
Depending on the age and stage of your students, you should address the difference between pleasing others, fake kindness and being genuinely kind. It’s important to know the difference because you don’t want the chart to just be filled up with ticks of inauthentic acts of ‘kindness’. Clearly explain the kindness definition for kids so they know what is expected. See ppt lesson.
Once you’ve discussed what being kind means, with examples, you’ll want to discuss the impact that kind acts can have on the person receiving kindness but also on the person being kind. Let your learners know that the positive impact goes both ways.
Check in at the end of the day to see how many acts of kindness have been recorded and track how the children are progressing towards completing the chart. Don’t let the chart be something you start and then it gets forgotten, make a few minutes for it daily.
Whether the children have been ticking the chart themselves or the ticks are placed on the at the end of the day by the adult during a short session it’s important to check in regularly. This tool is really powerful when you can get the children to willingly share with the class how someone was kind to them and how they feel. If there are 3 new ticks, do acknowledge them and ask if the person(s) who recorded them would like to share what the good deed was and how it made them feel. Now some kind acts may be very personal and at times the person who recorded it may not want to say what happened. Let them know that’s fine too.
Hopefully, your students will tune in to kindness as they regularly see kind acts and discuss the impact on their class. Hopefully filling up the kindness chart will be something your class will look forward to.
Don’t forget to grab the kindness FREE resources here.
Want to follow up with this kindness concept? Why not introduce the Pay it forward concept to your class!