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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Activities for Grades 3-5
Kindness Activity Ideas Grade 3-5
Tape yourself reading a book and make book tapes. Use the tapes to read the books to entertain sick children and a children’s hospital.
Work with local schools, businesses and merchants to raise “Pennies for a Kindness Park” or other community beautification project. The idea is that the pennies don’t seem to have much value, but when combined, they do make a difference. In the same way, one kind act may seem insignificant, but many kind acts practiced daily have great impact. Be sure to inform your local media and government offices of your plans (through letters) and these offices may “match” your donation and publicize your cause.
Make individual “check lists” for students during RAK Week encouraging each student to complete some or all of the Random Acts of Kindness gestures listed. Activities could include: helping neighbors weed their lawns, picking up litter, smiling and saying thank you to the bus driver and doing anything else that is kind. For more ideas, check out our database: www.randomactsofkindness.org/Kindness-Ideas/Browse/
Plan a classroom or school recycling effort. Contact a local agency to see if it would be willing to remove your rcyclables. Find out how they must be sorted and stored. Collect and recycle everything you can. Contact your local media for publicity of your efforts.
Create a Random Acts of Kindness “journal” in your classroom by posting large sheets of paper on the walls. Allow classroom students, students from different grade levels, senior citizens, etc., to write stories about personal Random Acts of Kindness on the paper. Rotate the “journal” through different grades with-in your school. Then send it to the main office and then to other schools.
Sponsor the planting of a Kindness Tree or Kindness Flower Bed. With the help of youth groups, service clubs or other volunteers, plant the tree or flowers in a public area of the school grounds. Display a Kindness Plaque by the display for others to read about Kindness. This could also be done in a public park or walking trail.
Have the students create an alphabetical list of easy Kindness activities together. For instance:
A: I pet a friendly Animal.
B: I Brought my laundry to the washroom.
C: I helped a person Carry something.
... ...
X: I gave someone in my family an eXtra hug.
Then make up a Kindness page on bright paper with the A - Z activities listed on it. As the students complete each Kindness activity, they can tell about it and punch out that letter with a hole punch (with help if needed). When the students punch out their letters completely, they get their names on a bulletin board with perhaps a quote from them about why Kindness is important or about how their Kindness activities made them feel.
Hold a children’s kindness drawing or coloring campaign. Start with the older grades and ask for pictures depicting a Random Acts of Kindness to be submitted for the contest. The author of the winning drawing will receive a copy of Random Acts of Kindness or another kindness book. Then copy the drawing and hold a coloring contest (using the winning drawing) for the younger grades. The coloring winner will also receive a copy of Random Acts of Kindness or a kindness book. Ask your town library or shopping mall to post the winner(s) for the public to see.
Start a ribbon campaign and give out kindness ribbons to be worn and passed on to another. Your class could sign the back before passing them along. Gather the completed ribbons and give them to the local shopping mall, municipal building or City Hall to be displayed.
Put up “Kindness Zone” signs at the entrances to your school and classroom to remind people to remember to practice Random Acts of Kindness.
Hold a canned food drive and give the food to your local food bank or shelters for the homeless or abused. Be sure to include some kindness cards or books with the delivery.
Set-up a Janitor Appreciation Day and have your class clean the school for the janitor(s). Be sure to make a banner or card telling your janitor(s) how much they are appreciated. A kindness basket could also be given to these special people.
Write a kindness note to all relatives and special friends letting them know why they are so special to you.
Start a Random Acts of Kindness Club and commit to doing at least on Random Act of Kindness per week. Record everything in a journal and prepare to read entries to your class.
Your school’s student council or RAK Club can sponsor an activity each day during RAK Weeek and can announce the events each morning over the intercom. Some activity ideas include: A trash pick-up, a visit to a local senior home, homeless shelter, children’s hospital, animal shelter, etc.
Have your principal start each day with a reading about kindness, or let students do a reading over the intercom.
Have classrooms create a kindness quilt for display at the school, in a shopping mail or at the mayor's office. Each student draws a kindness picture on a patch and then asks a group of parent volunteers to assemble the quilt. If multiple quilts are made, they can be distributed to children's hospitals and homeless shelters.
Have classrooms create murals depicting kindness and bring them to nursing homes and senior centers. Hold a class field trip and tell the recipients about each student’s particular part of the mural.
Study kind people in history. Then have students illustrate their kind works and discuss them in class or write a report.
Start a “Button Campaign” to spread kindness. Staff members and teachers can pick up buttons each Monday as they sign in, then give them to kids they observe doing a Random Act of Kindness, telling them exactly what they did to earn the button. The kids can then give their button to someone else in the community that they see committing a Random Act of Kindness.
Promote special classroom recycling projects. The profits can benefit a special Random Act of Kindness activity or local cause.
Form a group of kids to help the school staff. In the cafeteria, younger kids can clean lunch trays, while older kids can patrol the aisles to give the adult monitors a break. Also, pick up trash or dust classrooms for the evening custodian.
Create a “smile file” with cartoons that make students smile; the kids can pick out a cartoon to cheer up a friend in need.
Take students to younger classes to teach littler ones to tie their shoes.
Comments
Today I helped my dad understand a word that he was confused with.
Posted 11 months ago by bibi from ny