Kindness Activities
8 Tips to Use When Teaching Kindness

Teaching kindness and 8 tips to use in your classroom.

Kindness activities can be found right here! Teaching kindness in the classroom is essential. Create a culture of kindness in your classroom or school that will make a huge impact on your students. You can make a meaningful impact on students that will last for a lifetime. That is powerful. Teaching kindness in the classroom starts with you, dear teacher! Take the time to fully invest in your students.

Kindness Activities
What does kindness LOOK like and SOUND like?

Kindness activities for middle school are crucial.

If you are looking for a great way to start teaching kindness in the classroom, check out these kindness activities. The activities are great for a variety of grade levels, and anchor charts are included. You may choose to conduct a teacher-led lesson with one of the anchor charts and then provide students with a copy, allowing them to complete the anchor chart.

Model KINDNESS for Your Students

Teaching kindness in the classroom should start with you! Demonstrate the type of kindness you expect from your students by modeling it in your words, actions, and interactions. Be sure to give plenty of examples so students clearly understand what kindness looks like in different situations.

Provide meaningful examples for students with scenarios of being rude and unkind versus showing kindness. Ask students to help out and role-play examples so they can relate and make emotional connections. Celebrating these moments reinforces positive behavior and helps build a caring, supportive classroom community.

Kindness Activities:
Teaching KINDNESS Quotes

Why is kindness important? Just the answers here!

Incorporate kindness activities and kindness quotes in your classroom. If you are looking for a fun, meaningful way to display kindness quotes, print them on a post-it note and tape them to each student’s desk. If you laminate and use a command strip, you can change each quote as the school year progresses. My students love reading new quotes, and by having a different quote throughout the school year, they really learn and apply the quote to different situations. It’s so neat to watch and experience!

“Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere!” – Unknown

“Be someone’s rainbow when their sky is gray.” – Unknown

“A little kindness goes a long way.” – Unknown

“You can’t go wrong when you’re kind.” – Unknown

“Kind words can change the world.” – Unknown

Kindness Activities
KINDNESS Read Alouds

Children love listening to stories, and read-alouds are a powerful way to help them learn and grow. Be sure to incorporate read-alouds and other texts that promote kindness, empathy, and positive social skills, which can make a big impact in your classroom. Here are a few of my favorites and ones that I highly recommend:

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? – Carol McCloud

Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler – Margery Cuyler

Each Kindness – Jacqueline Woodson

Be Kind – Pat Zietlow Miller

How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids – Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer

Chrysanthemum – Kevin Henkes

The Day You Begin – Jacqueline Woodson

Enemy Pie – Derek Munson

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon – Patty Lovell

Kindness Activities
Promote Friendships and Group Work

Intentionally plan activities and lessons that offer students a chance to work together. This allows them to practice being kind and being supportive of each other. I know teachers never have any extra time, but planning and allowing students to participate in these activities is definitely not time wasted. Invest this time with your students and have fun! If you are looking for a great team-building activity, check out Save Fred. I highly recommend this activity and a printable resource that can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Take time to show and demonstrate your expectations during group work. Provide examples of showing kindness during group work looks like and sounds like.

Save Fred is a great activity to promote kindness.

Kindness Activities
Create a KINDNESS Chain

A kindness chain will help motivate students to look for ways to show kindness to each other.

Kindness activities in the classroom that are meaningful and easy to use can be found here.

Create and promote a Kindness Club! A kindness chain is a fun way to get students excited about intentionally being kind to others. Each time you see or hear a student being kind, a link is added to the kindness chain. Once so many links have been earned, a reward is given. The reward could be whatever you choose, and doesn’t have to be pricey. Consider 10 minutes of extra recess time or free drawing time. You can customize the rewards to fit your needs and to the liking of your students.

Teacher Tip

Use the punch cards below to help promote kindness. Each act of kindness receives a "punch" on each student's punch card. You can purchase a badge holder from Amazon or Walmart and allow students to wear it during the day. This would be helpful for a teacher to quickly give a punch when needed. You wouldn't have to take time for students to get out or find their punch card. Use this as an opportunity to teach responsibility and encourage students to keep up with their punch cards. It's a win-win! Teaching kindness and responsibility!

The Kindness Club

Kindness certificates reward students for making an effort to show kindness.

Everyone loves to be a part of a cool club! Create The Kindness Club in your classroom. This kindness challenge could include tracking each time a student shows an act of kindness. At the end of the month or grading period (when report cards are dispersed), a kindness reward certificate is provided by the teacher. Remember, teaching kindness to students doesn’t have to be over the top. Just make sure you are intentionally promoting and modeling kindness when teaching kindness to students.

Really play this up! Make being a member of the Kindness Club special and honorable. You can have lunch with students or invite someone special in the building to have lunch with members of the Kindness Club. I think a picini would be a fun, meaningful idea.