Inspiring people to practice kindness and pass it on to others
Lesson Plans & Pilot Program
Learn about our new pilot program to effectively teach kindness in schools.
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Lesson Plans & Pilot Program
Research shows that students who learn in a positive classroom environment have a better school experience. They enjoy higher test scores, learn new skills at a faster rate and are overall happier at school.
To help schools across the country build and sustain positive classroom environments, The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation developed a new series of lesson plans and activities to teach kindness in the classroom. We selected a few local schools to start using these lesson plans in a special pilot program. So far, we've seen first-hand that practicing kindness in the classroom transforms kids which leads to positive learning environments. Using the feedback from these teachers, we will continue to update these materials to ensure their effectiveness.
The lesson plans and activities listed below are fun and easy to teach. Each lesson plan meets multiple Colorado Department of Education academic standards, and work within existing standards of other school districts.
We encourage you to use these plans in your classroom and provide feedback so we can fine tune them for use by others. With your help, we'll build an excellent resource for every teacher to teach kindness in the classroom and help create positive learning environments for the kids.
If you are already teaching kindness in your classroom, we'd love to hear about it. You can submit a lesson plan that's worked well for you in your classroom or share a general kindness story to inspire others.
A special thank you to these Colorado schools for implementing the pilot program during the 2011-12 school year: Rocky Mountain Academy, Thomson Elementary, and Marshdale Elementary.
What Makes Me Unique? Parent Activity
After this lesson, students will be able to identify their unique gifts and talents and be prepared to do this activity with family members.
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Good Manners K-1st Grade Lesson Plan
The objective of this lesson is for students to learn that having kind feelings toward others can help them do kind things. They will also learn that saying "please", "thank you", "you're welcome" and "I'm sorry" is a good way to be kind.
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Caring For Others K-1st Grade Lesson Plan
After this lesson, kids will be able to identify ways they can be helpful, generous and kind to others.
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Who Am I? 2nd Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to identify ways to act kindly to themselves and others, and to be grateful. This lesson plan should be done prior to the "Who Are We?" second grade lesson plan.
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Who Are We? 2nd Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to describe how their kind actions affect others. This lesson should be done following the "Who Am I?" lesson plan.
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Communicating With Empathy, 3rd Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to identify kind ways to communicate that show care, consideration, and empathy for others.
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Complimenting Others, 3rd Grade Lesson Plan
The objective of this lesson is for students to learn to identify their own (and others') strengths and talents. They will learn how to compliment others on their strengths.
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What Would You Do? 4th Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to explain how individuals and groups respond to different events through kindness, and how being member of a community affects one's response to an event.
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What Is Your Opinion? 4th Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to identify the difference between fact and opinion when choosing kindness; explore expressing opinion in kind ways; describe how people form kind ideas and beliefs; and describe how friends, family and communities influence our ideas and beliefs.
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Media Influence, 5th Grade Lesson Plan
After completing this lesson plan, students will be able to identify ways that feelings and emotions are portrayed in the media and how media images can impact our understanding of what it means to be kind. Click the "read more" button below to download this lesson plan.
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How Do I Feel? 5th Grade Lesson Plan
After finishing this lesson plan, students will be able to examine how they feel in different situations, identify that they can choose how they feel, and realize that feeling good about themselves can help them show kindness toward others.
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Being Kind to Ourselves 6th Grade Lesson Plan
The object of this lesson is for students to be able to identify things they can say and do to be kind to themselves, which will help maintain mental and emotional health.
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Responding with Kindness 6th Grade Lesson Plan
The objective of this lesson is for students to learn to recognize how their feelings influence their behavior. They will learn that responding appropriately to negative feelings can help them make positive choices.
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Resolving Conflicts Peacefully 7th Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to show how using “I” messages and other effective communication skills can help solve problems and promote a culture of kindness.
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Understanding Others 7th Grade Lesson Plan
Students will be able to demonstrate that individuals belong to different groups and communities and that speaking and acting kindly shows respect toward others and results in a culture ofkindness; explore how some events impact not only individuals, but also larger communities, cultures and nations. They will also explore how a kind contribution changes the world.
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Choosing Kindness 8th Grade Lesson Plan
The objective of this lesson is for students to be able to recognize that we are faced with choices when bullying occurs. The choices we make during those circumstances affects the outcome of the bullying event. Students will explore what they can do in their school, community, country and the world to make a difference regarding the problem of bullying.