Kindness Castle

1. Everyone appreciates knowing that kind deeds are recognized. Organize students on the class reading rug. Ask the children to define the term kindness and share stories of acts of kindness they have performed or observed. When the discussion is complete, inform students that they will be building a castle mailbox for the class to share kind thoughts with each other. Here are some suggestions.
2. Students glue several empty boxes together into a castle with Crayola® School Glue. Remind students to create at least two "doors" in which to place notes.
3. Using Crayola Washable Markers, students draw building stones on the boxes (cover the boxes with paper first, if necessary).
4. Decorate the castle with Crayola Neon Model Magic details such as turrets, flowers, or birds. Include a dungeon in which to put any "grumpies." Air-dry the decorations overnight. Glue them to the boxes. Air-dry the glue.
5. Students start sharing kind thoughts and notes of appreciation with others in your classroom! And if something is being a bother, students write a note to place in the "grumpies" section.
6. Provide a time in the school day for students to view the "kindness" and "grumpies" notes found in the castle. Allow a class discussion to follow as needed.

LA: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

LA: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grade level text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

LA: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

SS: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns.

SS: Analyze a particular event to identify reasons individuals might respond to it in different ways.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Possible classroom resources include: Pinduli by Janell Cannon; Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud; Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Kindness Is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler; The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel

Working in small teams, students generate a list of behaviors that illustrate kindness. List behaviors that do not illustrate kindness, as well. Students discuss how they can work towards removing the negative behaviors and increase their use of positive behaviors in their daily lives.

Students participate in role playing activities. Set up situations where students read short scripts or improvise to do something negative toward a classmate. Encourage students to come up with better solutions to resolve these problems. Act them out. Which strategies resolve issues most peacefully.

Invite the school's guidance counselor to speak with students about practicing positive behaviors at school as well as at home. Together brainstorm how students can work towards making their school a positive, welcoming environment for all.