Kindness Lesson Plans

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
More than 30 lesson plans in pdf format for a variety of grade levels.   

Art Activities and Lesson Plans for Exploring Kindness
About 25 activities.

Day of Kindness Lesson Plans and Worksheets
Character? A Family Value
A 1st-grade unit that focuses on the importance of responsibility, perseverance, kindness,
and integrity within the family.

You are Invited!!!
Be Kind
An primary-grade lesson plan featuring Clifford (the Big Red Dog). See the related printable
K is for Kind.

Light (Stories of Kindness)
Activities related to the above titled collection of short stories of kindness from various cultures.

More here soon

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Self-Esteem Lesson Plans

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Self-Esteem Theme Page
Links to many lesson plans for a variety of grade levels.  

Ten Activities to Improve Students' Self-Concepts
From Education World.

Self-Esteem/Class Pride
A  lesson plan for grades 3-5 from Education World.

The Fuzzy-Feeling Chair
An elementary-grade lesson plan designed to build students' self-esteem by
having their peers recognize and comment on their positive traits.   

Art Activities for Exploring Self-Esteem
A long list.

Building Self-Esteem
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from the Discovery School.

It's a Small World After All
A 3rd-grade lesson plan designed to build self-esteem and introduce children to other cultures.

Positive Images: Happy to Be Me
A kindergarten lesson plan using children's literature.

Girls, Role Models, and Self-Esteem
An article for Lesson Tutor.

More here soon

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Feelings/ Emotions Lesson Plans

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Feelings
A preschool lesson plan in which students make p aper plate faces with different feelings on them, such as happy, sad, mad.

Exploring Feelings
A lesson for grades 3-5 learn about feelings from Dr. Seuss' My Many Colored Days and by listening to the differences between major and minor keys.

Writing About Feelings
An interdisciplinary lesson plan complete with a worksheet.

Emotions and Feelings
A  lesson plan in which students read The Acorn People and write to an EPAL friend about their feelings.

Brain-Based Learning and Feelings
A KWL lesson that could be adapted to many grade levels.

Managing Anger
A lesson plan for grades 9-12.

Anger
A lesson plan in which students learn about anger and positive ways to deal with it. It is in pdf format.

Anger
Different than the above, this pre-k to 2nd-grade lesson plan uses the book, When Sofia Gets Angry - Really-Really Angry.

Fun with Feelings  
A lesson plan for grades K-2 that helps students learn a bout the way we perceive our own attitude and disposition.

Emotion Walk
A movement lesson plan adaptable to a variety of grade levels.

Striking Out Stress: A "Gallery Walk" Activity
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 from education World in which students learn about stress and how to cope with its effects.

Unexpressed Emotions
A lesson plan in which students learn about the need to and ways of expressing emotions.

Emotion in Art and Poetry
A multidisciplinary lesson plan for elementary and middle school.   

Seeing Feelings
An art lesson plan using Van Gogh's The Old Mill.

More here soon
   

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Values/Character Education

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Character Education
Links to many lesson plans and resources from A to Z Teacher Stuff. See also
Character Education: Educational Resources Web Page.           

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Bullying Prevention

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Teen Facts - Bullying
From the Youth Violence Prevention resource Center, this site provides a definition, information on the prevalence
of bullying, and its impact and consequences as well as ideas to prevent bullying.   

Fast Facts - Bullying Prevention
From PDK, this page is similar to the one above but adds information on the components and effectiveness of bullying prevention programs.

Stop Bullying Now
Another good resource for information on bullying prevention. See also Safe Communities  
- Safe Schools Bullying Prevention for one more resource.

New Ways to Stop Bullying
An excellent article from APA Online Monitor on Psychology.

Contract on Bullying
A mini-unit on identifying and preventing bullying for 6th and 7th-graders.

Kids Bullying Kids
A lesson plan for grades 3-9 from Education World in which students anonymously complete about
their experiences with bullying.

Bullying Reality Quiz
Another lesson plan from Education World, this one for grades 6-12.

Dealing with Bullies
A lesson plan for grades 1-2 in which students learn to recognize bullying and strategies for dealing with bullies.

A Bad Case of Bullying: Using Literature Response Groups with Students
A Read/Write/Think lesson plan for grades 3-5 using the book, A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.   

The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 using the book by the above title.  Bullying is one theme of the book and lesson plan.

www.nobully.org.nz/advicek.htm - No Bully.

This site from New Zealand contains definitions, strategies, resources and information about how to control bullying and how to promote bully-free environments at school and in the community.

www.ncab.org.au/ - National Coalition Against Bullying.

cms.curriculum.edu.au/mindmatters//resources/comm_tools_bullying.htm - Mind Matters.

www.bullyingnoway.com.au - The Bullying. No way! Project

www.relate.gov.au/

www.opendoors.com.au - OPEN DOORS Counselling and Education Services.

www.successunlimited.co.uk - Bully Online

www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/index.htm - School Bully Online

www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/ - Dr Ken Rigby provides some insights. 

www.dest.gov.au/schools/publications/2000/bullying/index.htm - Bullying Information for Parents.

www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/bullying/stuzone/actvty2.htm#part1 - Assertive Language.

www.linkup-parents.com/bullyfree.htm - Bully Free Living. This site is aimed at parents and discusses the
character traits needed to fend off bullies both at school, in the community and even as adults in the workplace.

teacher2b.com/discipline/bullies.htm - Dealing with Classroom Bullies. This site is created for the beginning teacher.
Contains some useful tips and strategies for graduates who find themselves in tough classrooms.
Also contains information on general classroom discipline strategies.

www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/bullying/stuzone/index.htm - Bullying: Student Zone. Australian site with links to activities, information and resources about bullying.

library.thinkquest.org/CR0212302/ - Breaking Down The Walls. This site explores racism and tolerance, particularly in light of events surrounding September 11, 2001.

infozone.imcpl.org/kids_path_peace_K4.htm - Peace and Conflict Resolution.

This site contains a list of peace and conflict resolution resources as well as links to relevant books.

www.reachout.com.au - Reach Out!

www.kidshelp.com.au/ - This site provides support for a 24 hour telephone help line for kids
- 1800 55 1800. Click on the Site Map at this site to find links to bullying websites.

www.kidshelp.com.au/upload/4038.pdf - Bullying Information Sheet for Kids.

www.kidscape.org.uk/ - Interesting site that has information on bullying, strategies for dealing with bullying and ideas about making friends. This site is written for the student audience.

www.caper.com.au/BULLYPIT.HTM - Another site aimed at kids. Explores peace in the playground and peace in a global sense.

www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/conflict/index.html - A Guide to Getting Along. An excellent site for kids with notes for the teacher on practical classroom use.

www.teach-nology.com/ideas/bullying/ - A web portal for teachers. This site contains entries from teachers who have successfully implemented anti-bullying strategies in their classroom. A valuable resource to combat bullying behaviour.

www.bullyingnoway.com.au/resources/teaching-materials.asp - Australian site with links to legislation on bullying, services available, relevant teaching resources and support services.

www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/bullying/index.htm - Addressing Bullying Behaviour.

www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/ - How Do We Stop Bullying in Schools?

www.aifs.org.au/nch/bib/bully.html - Bullying Bibliography.

www.state.sc.us/dmh/schoolbased/bullying.htm - American site of Bullying Literature suitable for students.

More here soon

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Behaviour Resources

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www.disciplinehelp.com/ - Discipline Help. This informative website contains a wealth of information for educators. It highlights 117 specific misbehaviours that occur in the classroom. The behaviours are grouped into four main motivations for misbehaviour: 

teacher2b.com/discipline/bullies.htm - Dealing with Classroom Bullies. Provides information on strategies.

www.schoolskills.com/ - Terrific Teacher Tool Kit. This is a very handy resource with sections titles including “32 Mistakes Most Teachers Make and Want to Avoid!” and  “Your Classroom - 67 Ways to Improve It!”

www.primaryteachers.org/ - Primary Teachers’ Nook. Contains lesson plan ideas, thematic units and information about classroom discipline.

www.theteachersguide.com/ClassManagement.htm - Classroom Management. Extensive site with sections and articles on discipline and strategies.

More here soon

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Articles- Social and Emotional Intelligences in Schools

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What Teachers Can Do: Promoting Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom

by Edutopia Staff

Even if your school has not instituted a formal program in support of social and emotional learning, there are plenty of activities
you can initiate right in your own classroom. To begin, recognize that an emotionally intelligent teacher is the first step to
an emotionally intelligent classroom. Consider how your own communication with and treatment of students models emotional intelligence.

Here are some student-centered activities and resources you can use in support of your classroom efforts:

• Institute morning meetings. Starting your day with a morning class meeting provides numerous opportunities to support social and emotional learning: It helps build a sense of community, creates a climate of trust, encourages respectful communication, and much, much more. You'll find information about morning meetings, as well as other strategies for fostering emotional intelligence, at the Web site Responsive Classroom. See more information about this resource below.)
• Introduce journal writing. This familiar educational tool can be an effective way to help students develop self-awareness. For an introduction to several journal-based activities in support of social and emotional learning, read, "Emotional Intelligence Toolbox: Expression Journals," one of many useful articles in EQ Today.
• Emphasize responsibility. Formalize tasks in your classroom, such as maintaining chalkboards or whiteboards, bringing papers to the school office, or handing out playground equipment at recess. Such duties help encouraging a sense of responsibility among your students and provides everyone with the opportunity to contribute to daily classroom management.
• Encourage creativity. Joshua Freedman, director of programs for Six Seconds, a nonprofit organization supporting emotional intelligence in families, schools, corporations, and communities, suggests that creativity is most necessary in times of emotional hardship, such as when we're frustrated or angry. By providing your students with ongoing opportunities to express their creativity, you'll also be helping them handle the inevitable curve balls that life throws at them. You'll find a helpful article on ideas and activities for using creativity to foster emotional intelligence in the KidSource Online article "Encouraging Creativity in Early Childhood Classrooms."

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  November/December 1998

  Programs Fostering "Emotional Intelligence" Show Promise
  Some practitioners see critical needs being met by social and emotional curriculum
  By Michael Sadowski

  Acting out, fighting, racial and other slurs, bullying, willful disruption of learning. Many teachers are faced with problem behaviors like these at one time or another: some face them virtually every day. And as every teacher knows, the educational costs of these behaviors can be tremendous.

  Debby Collins, principal of the K-5 Plymouth School in Monrovia, CA, says that until recently most of her staff believed lack of discipline was a serious impediment to learning in their classrooms. Collins recalls several teachers' comments:

  • "Kids don't know how to cooperate or act nicely toward each other."
  • "There is far too much acting-out behavior."
  • "What's killing us, keeping us from being the best we can be, is a lack of discipline."

  Having tried traditional approaches such as detention, time-outs, and calls to parents without much success, Collins and her staff decided it was time to look for an alternative. After reading Teaching Children to Care: Management in the Responsive Classroom by Ruth Sidney Charney, the Plymouth staff became interested in and eventually adopted the Responsive Classroom approach to social and emotional learning. They started the program with the 1997-98 school year, and Collins says things are already beginning to change.

  Developed at the Northeast Foundation for Children in Greenfield, MA, the Responsive Classroom approach focuses on building such skills as cooperation, healthy assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. Program components geared to building these competencies include "morning meeting," in which students practice conversation and listening skills as they share stories and concerns; "guided discovery," whereby teachers deliberately guide students' introduction to classroom materials to foster curiosity and respect for these materials; "academic choice time," which encourages students to make personal investments in their own learning; and classroom organization that includes student "interest areas" and facilitates collaborative work in different-size groups.

  The Plymouth School completed its first year of the Responsive Classroom program last spring, with all 630 students in 31 classes participating. Collins made sure that all adults in the building--not only teachers, but also secretaries, custodians, and other building staff--participated in the training so that messages and expectations would be consistent throughout the school. While it is too early to gauge the program's effect on academics, Collins has been encouraged by teachers' comments and the changes she notices in children's attitudes and behaviors. "The kids are developing more empathy for each other. They're better able to see another person's point of view," she observes. "There are fewer discipline referrals, and kids seem to be able to cooperate better. It really does create a more orderly environment where kids are safer."

  Of course, classroom and playground conflicts still occur, but Collins has noted differences in the way children handle them: "In situations where there has been a physical fight or somebody takes something from somebody else, now kids are more likely to be honest about it and to take more responsibility for their actions."

  Responsive Classroom is just one of 23 programs listed on the website of the Consortium for the Advancement of Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an organization established in 1994 and dedicated to the development, promotion, and evaluation of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. While these programs vary in objectives, approaches, and grade levels reached (ranging from preschool through grade 12), the overarching idea behind SEL programs is developing social and emotional skills, including self-esteem, respect for others, personal decision-making, avoiding high-risk behaviors, conflict resolution, and effective communication. In this way, SEL educators hope to preempt problem behaviors and help students become happier, more empathetic, more socially skilled adults. "The most successful SEL programs are those that address the needs of the whole child," says CASEL executive director Roger Weissberg, professor of psychology and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

  Interest in social and emotional skills has been growing lately, as teachers look for new strategies to deal with problem behaviors. In his 1995 best-seller Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman argues, based on research in psychology, neurobiology, and other fields, that knowing how to manage one's emotions is at least as important for success in life as intellect. He also writes that SEL programs play an integral role in helping prepare children for all of the challenges they face now and will face in the future: "Beyond [the] educational advantages, the courses seem to help children better fulfill their roles in life, becoming better friends, students, sons and daughters-and in the future [they] are more likely to be better husbands and wives, workers and bosses, parents, and citizens."

  New Haven's SEL Program

  The specific reasons why educators adopt social and emotional learning programs differ, but many have two primary goals that they believe are closely linked: improved social and emotional skills, and better academic performance. Karol DeFalco, a facilitator for social development in the New Haven (CT) Public Schools, says poor academic achievement, especially among high-risk segments of the school population, prompted that system's decision to begin developing an SEL program a decade ago. DeFalco and her colleagues also were deeply concerned about the district's high rates of teen parenting, dropouts, and illegal drug use, all of which appeared to be closely linked to low academic achievement.

  About 75 people representing virtually all constituencies of the New Haven school community-parents, <%4>teachers, administrators, business<%0> owners, clergy, and others-met and discussed ways to improve the achievement of underperforming students. The group concluded, based on their observations, that many of these students shared common social and emotional characteristics, including lack of impulse control, poor problem-solving skills, low self-esteem, difficulty in accepting individual differences, and poor communication skills. "We realized we had to do something about students' social and emotional development if they were going to have any hope of improving academically," DeFalco says.

  Working with Weissberg, then a psychology professor at Yale University, district staff members developed a program in social and emotional learning that has grown into the New Haven Social Development Project, a wide-ranging K-12 curriculum in which all 20,000 students in the city's public schools participate. The objectives of the curriculum are to improve students' skills in three areas: self-monitoring, problem-solving and decisionmaking, and communication. Within these areas, the program focuses on such issues as self-awareness and anger management at the elementary level; peer-pressure resistance in middle school; and transition-making, violence prevention, and the understanding and acceptance of differences at the high school level.

  In an effort to gauge the program's effectiveness, the project's staff developed an evaluation instrument in 1992; they now survey all of the city's 6th-, 8th-, and 10-graders (about 2,500 students) every two years. Their results have been encouraging. While the study does not establish definite links between SEL and academic achievement, statistics for several academically related indicators have shown improvement. According to their surveys, from 1992 to 1996 (the last year for which data are available), the dropout rate, students' attitudes about school, feelings of school safety, retention rates, and the percentage of students who plan to go on to college have all improved. Students also have a greater sense that there is respect for diversity within the schools. Statistics about alcohol and drug use have essentially remained steady. "Kids are fighting less, they report they are less sexually active, they feel happier and safer at school, and more want to go on to college. There's definitely reason for optimism," DeFalco says.

  Results Encouraging but Limited

  Several recent larger studies of the effects of SEL programs also show promising results, but their findings require some qualification. Stephen N. Elliott, professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin, conducted a study of 301 Responsive Classroom and control group students in the Springfield, MA, public schools. Using three social skills measurement instruments and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) to measure academic achievement, Elliott found that over the 1996-97 school year:

  • 34 percent of students in Responsive Classroom classes showed reliable improvement in social skills, while only 20 percent of students in the control group did;
  • 30 percent of students in Responsive Classroom classes showed reliable improvement in problem behaviors, while only 10 percent of students in the control group did;
  • ITBS scores rose 22 percent for the Responsive Classroom students and 3 percent for the control group students;
  • there is a correlation (determined by regression analysis) between social skills improvement and improved ITBS scores.

  Elliott, who has also studied Responsive Classroom programs in other settings, says he sees the changes effected by the program occurring in several "waves": "In the first wave of change, problem behaviors decrease. This creates the opportunity for more prosocial behaviors to replace some of the problem behaviors. And these prosocial behaviors serve as quite powerful academic enablers for a good 30-40 percent of the students we work with."

  In another study of SEL's effectiveness, Metis Associates, a New York research firm, is examining the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) in the Atlanta public schools. A project of Educators for Social Responsibility (based in Cambridge, MA), RCCP is geared to developing students' social skills and their understanding about alternatives to violence. As RCCP director Linda Lantieri explains, the project focuses on "problem-solving and communication skills used in deescalating conflict." These skills include active listening, expression of feelings, perspective-taking, negotiation, and encountering bias.

  Data covering two school years (fall 1995 to spring 1997) show a 17 percent decline in the RCCP high school's out-of-school suspension rate, compared to a 6 percent increase citywide, and a dropout rate that is 1.7 percentage points lower than the city average. Qualitative data from the study show improved self-esteem, more willingness to help others, and greater responsibility for handling conflicts among the RCCP students. Metis Associates senior vice president Stan Schneider says the findings are especially encouraging, given that the RCCP high school had previously been one of the lowest performing in the city. In what is perhaps the study's most impressive statistic, out-of-school suspensions in the RCCP middle school (West Fulton) decreased by 10 percent, compared to an 86 percent increase citywide.

  West Fulton Principal Robert Bell credits RCCP and several other new initiatives with improving the suspension statistics. The school has also added peer mediation and Saturday detention as deterrents to potentially suspendable offenses. He adds that RCCP training has also helped teachers manage classroom behavior better, reducing the need for discipline referrals.

  Carolyn Lee Hart, liaison specialist in the Atlanta public schools' department of professional development, who has worked closely on the RCCP implementation, says, "I think the program has had a great impact because the schools that we selected [for RCCP participation] were in a difficult area for us, an area where we've had low test scores. The environment of those schools has changed so. It's just an uplifting environment now. Teachers have made changes in what they do, and students respond."

  One thing SEL advocates are quick to point out is that neither the need for SEL nor its benefits are limited to urban schools and students. The Oakland, CA-based Developmental Studies Center recently released findings of three evaluation studies, representing urban, suburban, and rural schools participating in its Child Development Project (CDP). Geared to fostering "caring communities" in schools, key components of CDP include the integration of social and ethical content into literature-based reading and language arts programs; specific lesson formats for collaborative classroom learning; "developmental discipline" that emphasizes problem-solving approaches instead of punishments and rewards; and a range of family involvement efforts.

  Students in CDP schools, representing eight districts in four different states, were found to have improved prosocial attitudes and behaviors and a greater sense of their schools as communities. Instead of geography, the key factor for success, according to Developmental Studies Center president Eric Schaps, was whether most teachers in a school made "meaningful movement toward implementation" of the program.

  Weakness in the Research

  One weakness in the overall body of SEL research is that many evaluations (including those of Responsive Classroom, RCCP, and the Child Development Project previously mentioned) have been commissioned or conducted by the organizations whose programs are under evaluation. SEL advocates agree that more independent research is needed. Second, the research does little to answer the question of whether the benefits of social and emotional learning stay with students beyond their experiences in a classroom or school with an SEL component. In other words, do SEL students really grow up to be better adjusted, more caring adults?

  Weissberg notes that evaluating the long-term effects of social and emotional learning programs is complicated by a variety of factors. "Doing an accurate longitudinal study with this work would be extremely costly and complex," he says. "How do you evaluate a 12- or 13-year multicomponent social and emotional learning program? Basically, any program that can be evaluated scientifically is probably one that is less ambitious in scope."

  Instead of checking outcome data, Weissberg suggests that educators who are considering an SEL curriculum look at what goes into each program: "How are the skills taught? How clearly designed are the lesson plans? How are people trained to implement the programs? Is there follow-up training to support skill applications? These are the kinds of questions to ask."

  For Further Information

  J.L. Aber, S.M. Jones, J.L. Brown, N. Chaudry, and F. Samples. "Resolving Conflict Creatively: Evaluating the Effects of a School-Based Violence Prevention Program in Neighborhood and Classroom Contexts." Development and Psychopathology 10 (1998): 187-213.

  R.S. Charney. Teaching Children to Care: Management in the Responsive Classroom. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 1991.

  Consortium for the Advancement of Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). The CASEL website lists descriptions, target grade levels, and contact information for 23 social and emotional learning programs. Beginning next year, CASEL will also include its evaluations of some existing SEL programs on the site: http://www.cfapress.org/casel/casel.html.

  M.J. Elias, J.E. Zins, R.P. Weissberg, K.S. Frey, M.T. Greenberg, N.M. Haynes, R. Kessler, M.E. Schwab-Stone, and T.P. Shriver. Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997.

  D. Goleman. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 1995.

  L. Lantieri and J. Patti. Waging Peace in Our Schools. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

  Michael Sadowski is a freelance education writer. He teaches English and drama at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in Massachusetts.

  More here soon

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Developing Social and Emotional Intelligence

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These organizations, programs, and publications offer assistance in fostering
emotional intelligence in children:

• The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program lists The Best of the 2006-2007 School Year," a directory of the favorite resources of visitors to the Teaching Tolerance Web site.
• Educating Minds and Hearts: Social Emotional Learning and the Passage into Adolescence, edited by Jonathan Cohen and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, features articles by many experts in social and emotional learning and includes useful strategies for all stakeholders interested in promoting emotional intelligence in our schools.
• Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators, written by Maurice Elias and others and published by the ASCD, is a comprehensive resource for teachers, administrators, and school board members.
• The Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character offers many resources, including a series of K-4 lesson plans for teaching character education in your classroom.
• The Child Development Project, a well-respected program created by the Developmental Studies Center, has developed a comprehensive approach for K-6 schools in support of social and emotional learning that focuses on literature-based reading and language arts, collaborative classroom learning, a problem-solving approach (rather than rewards and punishments) to classroom management and discipline, parent and family involvement, and noncompetitive, community-building activities for children and adults.
• The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning was founded in 1994 by Daniel Goleman and Eileen Rockefeller Growald to establish social and emotional learning as an integral part of education from preschool through high school. Visit the CASEL Web site for informative articles, as well as extensive links to other online SEL resources.
• The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program, an initiative of Educators for Social Responsibility, is the nation's largest and longest-running school program focusing on conflict resolution and intergroup relations. The RCCP model (cofounded by Linda Lantieri, director of the Inner Resilience Program, part of New York City's Tides Center), supports school staff, parents, families, and the community in teaching young people conflict-resolution skills, promoting intercultural understanding, and providing models for positive ways of dealing with conflict and differences.
• 
  Responsive Classroom, a project of the Northeast Foundation for Children, is based on the concept that the social curriculum in schools is as important as the academic curriculum. The Responsive Classroom model is based on developing in children a set of core social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. Visit the organization's Web site for information about professional-development opportunities, articles, and other resources.

More here soon

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Articles and Suggestions from The Child Listener