Students will add details to their writing to illustrate their understanding of kind actions.
Through recounting first-hand experiences with kindness, students will write an essay to express what kindness means to them.
Student Writing Samples
by Isaac, Grade 2, 826 Boston
A student learns that good things, like kindness, come full circle.
by Sherilyn, 826LA
A story about what to do when one witnesses bullying.
by Kayla, 826LA
This author reflects on an act of kindness to someone in need.
This lesson was developed and made possible as part of the Inclusion Storytelling Project, a collaboration between 826LA, 826 National, and Cartoon Network’s award-winning “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” campaign. The lesson is centered on writing as a vehicle for Social-Emotional Learning and is designed to encourage youth to share their individual stories about kindness and empathy in an effort to stop bullying before it starts.
10 minutes
Students receive Post-It notes or index cards and will have 2 minutes to silently write a note about kindness. This could be an example of kindness, a nice thing about someone they know, or how kindness makes them feel.
As students finish, ask them to hang the notes on the front wall, collecting all anecdotes about kindness together in one location. Allow students 2-3 minutes to read some of the notes on the wall before returning to their seats. Ask for a few students—possibly one from each table or row—to share one line on kindness that stood out to them. Then, ask students how it felt to see all those notes written on the wall. Students can discuss with their tables or as a whole group, depending on group dynamics.
5 minutes
Introduce Prompt
From there, display the prompt below to students on the board and ask a student to read it aloud to the group:
Students will then read aloud the “Example Essay”. You can choose whatever read aloud method feels best, i.e. popcorn, choral, etc. Depending on the grade level of your students, ask students to identify details from the sample essay. What parts of the essay are easy to picture? What ideas are supported with details?
20 minutes
Brainstorm/ Graphic Organizer
Pass out the “Kindness Essay Brainstorm” handout to prompt students to further develop their ideas. Keep the example essay projected while students brainstorm for some added inspiration.
After completing their brainstorm, have students add or brainstorm a few more details, either on a seperate piece of paper or the back of their worksheets. Consider these idea starters that are specific for this prompt:
30-45 minutes
Drafting
It’s time to write! Students will begin writing drafts of their Kindness Essays. They should use their notes from their brainstorm to launch their ideas into written pieces. Encourage students to add details to their piece based on their own experiences: what does kindness feel, sound, taste, smell like?
Ask early finishers to draw a picture of the act of kindness they described, add
more details to the wall of kindness that they wrote about in their essay, or help others finish.
10-15 minutes
Share out and Close out
In groups, students should share their writing, choosing the amount they wish to share. Encourage all students to share at least one line!
To close the lesson, ask students to write something they liked about someone else’s essay down on a Post-It. Then, ask students to hang their Post-Its up again on the wall. Depending on yearly goals and what makes sense for your space, you and your class can continue to grow the “Kindness Wall” throughout the semester.
by Klariza Alvaran, 826CHI
In this lesson, students explore the graphic novel genre with a focus on plot and character development, scripting dialogue, and visual composition.
by Rebecca Escoto and Cynthia Aguilar, 826LA
Students will identify the characteristics of a hero, familiarize themselves with heroes in their own community, and write an explanatory piece identifying a hero in their community.
by Nesley Rojo, 826 Valencia
Students will practice identifying personification and then use sensory detail and figurative language to express it in their writing.
by Emily Lam, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students will go through the steps in the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to produce a zine that highlights what makes them special.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
In this lesson, students consider the perspective of a villain they love to hate. They will create a compelling backstory for the character and write short stories from the villain’s point of view.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students write two stories focused on the power of inclusion with this downloadable, printable, DIY publishing kit.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
This lesson encourages students to consider and write about the myriad ways to include someone, stop bullying before it starts, and make a difference.
by Jessica Barbaria, 826NYC
In this lesson, students dive into the many forms bullying can take, create scripts and role-play bullying scenarios, and reflect on their own experiences with bullying.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
Students team up to write collaborative short stories about a character who stands up to a bully and discover how they can help end bullying.
by Rebecca Glaser, 826 Digital Educator Leader
Students craft campaigns to take on an issue in their community, using formal and informal writing to convince others to take action.
by Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
Students find gratitude all around as they thank ordinary objects in their lives in the form of an ode.
by Kyley Pulphus, 826 New Orleans
In this workshop, young poets will write odes to praise people, places, or things they love.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
In this lesson, students write letters to someone special and reflect on the impact of being kind towards others.
by Kathy Seipp, 826 Digital Educator Leader
In this lesson, students will illustrate the literal and figurative meaning of idioms and write using idioms.
by Emilia Rivera and Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
Students will report about their favorite neighborhood places and write a review about the most special one.
by Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students will explore different holidays people celebrate around the world and then create a new holiday of their own.
by Ellen Fee, 826 MSP
Students will learn about endangered species, how animals become endangered, and then write either a poem or a story about a day-in-the-life about an endangered animal of their choosing.
by Brandan Pierce, 826michigan
In this Lesson, students will identify a problem in their community and publish a zine for a target audience to advocate for change.
by 826 New Orleans
Students will imagine what they would do if they were someone or something else.
by Kendra Lappin, 826 Valencia
Students will become naturalists for the day by performing field observations and recording their thoughts in a field journal.
By Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students write vegetable-inspired superhero stories.
by 826 National, in partnership with Paramount Pictures
Imaginary friends come in all shapes and sizes! Inspired by the new Paramount Pictures movie, IF, students will create their own imaginary friend to take with them on their next adventure.
by Dr. Bunny McFadden, 826 Valencia
Imagination opens doors to new possibilities. This lesson allows students to exercise their imaginations by describing an imaginary door to the future and picturing what is beyond it.
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