5 Activities for Teaching Kindness in the Classroom

Teaching Kindness in the Classroom Activities

Anyone else feeling the heat right now? It’s that time of year where I have to whip out my bag of tricks and start teaching kindness in the classroom. It never fails, my class starts to bicker and become bossy towards one another. I think it has a lot to do with the amount of time they have spent together. Their relationships start to morph into half-sibling rivalry, half my way or no way. So, here you go, 5 easy ways to teach kindness in your class.

1. Address the Issue

Be honest with your class. Tell them what you’re seeing and have an open discussion about how they feel. This is the most surefire way to help ensure you are teaching kindness in your class. Trust me, they will speak up. And I would be happy to make a bet with you, it will be the ones who are needing a bit more reminders who end up leading the conversation.

2. Read Some Good Books

Grab a handful of books where the characters model great examples of kindness. This is my favorite way to incorporate teaching kindness into my curriculum. All you need is a good book and a graphic organizer! My all-time favorite kindness book is Words and Your Heart by Kate Neal.

Words and your Heart is a great book to help you start teaching kindness in the classroom.

3. Brainstorm Kind Thoughts

We have all heard the power of positive thinking, am I right? I find this to be a crucial part of promoting kindness in kids. I think as adults we often forget to internalize what makes us happy and feel appreciated. So, what better way to start teaching this vital skill when they are young.

This teaching kindness in the classroom anchor chart goes great with any picture book.

I make this anchor chart with my kids after we read the book Words and Your Heart. On a sticky note, the kids write words and actions that make them feel good. As the week goes by they find more words that they hear at school or at home and add them to our board. Our goal is to have our hearts filled with kind words by the end of the week.

4. Play Some Games

Playing games is another great way to get your students to see the benefits of being kind to one another. Games that incorporate cooperation or partner activities make it easy to have follow up discussions about what successes and struggles they expeiernced.

5. Start a Kindness Challenge

Everyone loves a challenge right!? Another way you can incorporate teaching kindness in your classroom, is by challenging your students to complete one random act of kindness a day. In the morning we discuss the previous day and I have students share if anyone was kind to them the day before. I write the example on our anchor chart with both students names, so that they both get credit for being kind and showing gratitude to the person who performed the random act of kindness.

This random acts of kindness anchor chart goes great with helping you teach kindness in your classroom.

Hopefully, these 5 easy tips can provide you with ideas on teaching kindness in the classroom. It sure makes a difference when the classroom environment is positive, for your sanity and theirs.

Revisiting classroom procedures is also a great way to get your class back on track. I have a blog post all about planning classroom procedures HERE plus a freebie!

Teaching Kindness in the Classroom Bingo Freebie!

BONUS! Grab this free Kindness Bingo game to help give your kids ideas on ways to be kind. Simply print off on cardstock and as the week passes have them try to complete the bingo board.