Kindness - Novice High

Positive Psychology Learning Outcomes: Students will learn about the health benefits of kindness (less stress, anxiety, depression, etc.), identify different ways people can show kindness to one another, and identify a way that they can show someone kindness during the week. Language Learning Outcomes: Students will understand the explicit main idea and salient minor details, describe familiar and general topics, and recognize and reproduce high-frequency vocabulary.

Lesson Information

Positive Psychology Learning Outcomes

Students will...

  1. learn about the health benefits of kindness (less stress, anxiety, depression, etc.).
  2. identify different ways people can show kindness to one another.
  3. and identify a way that they can show someone kindness during the week.

Language Learning Outcomes

Students will...

  1. understand the explicit main idea and salient minor details.
  2. describe familiar and general topics.
  3. recognize and reproduce high-frequency vocabulary.

Materials Needed

Overview

Today, we will be talking about kindness. We will watch a couple of videos and talk about ways to be kind to others.

Activate Background Knowledge

Online Chicago Food Delivery Choices for Seniors & Busy Caregivers -  Companions For Seniors

Retrieved from: https://edtechbooks.org/-scyR 

  • What is happening in this picture? 
  • Who do you think these people are?
  • Why is the woman doing this? 
  • What does it mean to be kind?

Activity 1: Listening/Speaking/Writing

Life Vest Inside - Kindness Boomerang - "One Day" 

https://youtu.be/nwAYpLVyeFU 

  • Before watching the video, read aloud all the sentences from the ordering activity worksheet Ordering Activity and go over any vocab that is unfamiliar to students.
  • As they watch the video, students must number the sentences, so the order matches the order of events in the video.
  • After watching, go over the order of events with the students. Maybe just go around in a circle and have them read the sentence that corresponds with the correct number/order. Then, ask which moments the students liked best and why?

Activity 2: Speaking

Give each student a picture matching worksheet Picture Matching Activity.

  • Before completing the activity, ask the students who they can be kind to. Try to get as many different answers as possible (strangers, friends, family, classmates, etc.)
  • In pairs or groups, divide the pictures and sentences evenly among the students. Each student will take a turn describing one of the pictures they have. Then, the other student(s) will look at the sentences they have and pick which one matches the described picture.
  • After completing the activity, ask the students who they can be kind to and how they can be kind.'

Activity 3: Listening/Speaking

Invite the students to think about a time when someone was kind to them.

  • Now, pairs of students are going to interview one another in order to learn more about the experience. When interviewing someone, you need lots of questions. Questions can begin with who, what, when, where, why, and how. As a class, brainstorm at least one question for each question word that students can use to interview one another.
  • As the students interview one another, they will each use at least one question from each question word category. One student will be the interviewer and the other the interviewee. Then, they'll switch.
  • After completing the interviews, ask the students to share a little bit about the story their neighbor told them.

Activity 4: Listening 

The Kindness Book

https://edtechbooks.org/-NKA

  • Before watching, tell the students that in this video a five-year-old reads a book about kindness. A lot of the words the child uses are words we've gone over, so while watching the video, write down any kindness-related words that we've gone over today.
  • Watch the video and have students note down words.
  • After watching, have the students share the words that they wrote down and make a list on the board together as a class. Maybe one of the students can write.
  • If there is time and you would like, watch the video again. This time, focus specifically on action words.

Activity 5: Speaking

Discuss the following questions:

  • What are the benefits of kindness? 
  • What are some of the ways we can show kindness to others? 
  • How can you show kindness to someone today?

Homework

Pick one way you are going to show kindness to someone and then do it. You will report on it later in the week.

Follow-Up

Tuesday:

Write a nice note to someone.

Wednesday:

Discuss the following quotes:

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams

“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart

Thursday:

Talk about one nice thing someone has done for you this week. Then, talk about one nice thing you can do for someone else.

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/PositivePsychologyintheClassroom/kindness_novice_high_.