World Kindness Day is on a Monday this year. I know that because World Kindness Day happens to be the same day as my daughter’s birthday, and she has been counting down the days for a. long. time.
While it would be nice if we were all kind -every- day, it is worthwhile to stop and think about the importance of kindness and to dedicate an entire day to it.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Morning Meeting
For a greeting, an elbow or pinky shake with a smile, and the greeting, “I’m happy to see you today!”
For sharing, explain to students that they are going to plan a specific kind act they are going to perform on World Kindness Day, and then share their plan.
For an activity, brainstorm with your students something that the whole class can do to show kindness in the school. Maybe it’s making cards for the custodians. Maybe it’s going outside for a half-hour and picking up trash around the school yard (make sure to have gloves available!). Maybe it’s planning a fundraiser. Be open-minded, but realistic, too. We want our students to see beyond themselves, and when they make a plan to do so, we want to help them be successful!
Writing
Take a time out from Writer’s Workshop or whatever writing piece you’re in the middle of, and take a day to write about kindness.
Have your students write letters to a sibling, cousin, friend, teammate, or someone else who has been especially kind to them. In their letter, your students can share how it felt to be treated so kindly, and how much they appreciated it. They can even share their kindness plan for World Kindness Day in their letter! Students can go through the whole writing process: planning, drafting, editing, peer editing, revising, adult editing, and then a final. Perhaps they’ll want to create an illustration to go along with the letter. Provide an envelope, and send a note home to parents asking them to help their child send their letter. Here’s a link to a planning sheet you can use.
Reading
Regardless of the grade level, read a picture book about kindness. We -all- need to be reminded to be kind now and again. Here are a few suggestions:
- Last Stop on Market Street (Here’s a video of it your students might enjoy.)
- The Giving Tree (A personal favorite, but be careful – I can’t read this book without sobbing at the end!)
Depending on the grade level, you can have students respond to the story by discussing the theme, the story elements, character traits, etc.
Math
Okay. Here’s where you’re thinking, Really? How on earth am I going to celebrate World Kindness Day in math? You figure you can just teach your math lesson and then maybe get back to World Kindness Day later. Maybe.
Hold up.
I knew you were going to be stumped. So, I thought ahead, and here’s what I did. I created math word problems for World Kindness Day. Brilliant, right? They’re written for 4th grade, but there are two sets: one is slightly easier and one is slightly more challenging, so, they might work for your class even if you teach 3rd or 5th.
The word problems include 12 short scenarios about students (and teachers and parents, too!) being kind in their school and around their community. They’re multi-step and include both addition and subtraction. They’re available as task cards, three to a page, and as a single page worksheet for each problem. And every single problem has the answer worked out showing exactly how students should underline important information, how they can set up a model, the equations they need, and what the answer would look like in the form of a sentence. For real. It’s all included.
Interested? Awesome! Here’s the link.
I hope these ideas help you take advantage of World Kindness Day to encourage your students to be kind to each other.
And remember, World Kindness Day falls on a Saturday this year, so be kind to yourself, too, and enjoy a little you-time that day!
