Learners walk around their neighborhood parks observing plants, use of space, and ways to make the shared space better. They problem-solve about things they can do and then interview and survey others to get ideas and permission to take action.
Learners make a talent chain for the group. This is a representation of the many strengths and talents each learner brings, making the whole group strong. A children's book sparks a joyful idea for community members to connect over art, and the learners establish a relationship with people at a retirement home or preschool.
Students gain empathy and use language to describe the mixed feelings that come with being new to a community. They watch and discuss video clips and compare character traits. Then they read a book and discuss how the book guides them to welcome new students to the classroom as the year progresses. As a service, they create coupon books for new students to use to get to know classroom routines and people.
At the beginning of the year we get to create our classroom community. We get to decide how we will learn and grow and play with each other for the rest of the year. This is a new beginning for all. As we start to decide what kind of classroom community we are going to be, we begin by thinking about the importance of the words we use with each other.
Building a caring and inclusive classroom begins with an understanding of where students are at not just academically, but emotionally. Many students today have been exposed to experiences that affect their ability to regulate their emotions. By teaching children positive behavior and self-regulation, teachers can help improve outcomes for all students and build a caring community. This lesson will introduce students to mindful activities and the use of gratitude journals.
In this lesson, the students learn to use their voice to say something to make the world a better place. This is an opportunity to demonstrate and feel the impact of kindness, inclusion, and listening on a caring community. Students learn from a community helper about the needs they observe in the community. They make and donate a "calming box" so the tool may help youth calm themselves. Use this at the beginning of the year to set a tone and learn skills of effective language that are good for all.
Students organize and implement a school-based recycling plan based on a one-day lunchroom waste audit.
Adapt this one-period lesson plan for your grade level and follow it with a simple and powerful service project for Earth Day. The reflection brings learning and service impact together.
We discuss the joy of giving, as well as various ways to give through doing kind acts for people in the community. We learn how #GivingTuesday is a day of giving that combines efforts with others around the world to make a big difference. Children follow their own interests to make someone smile and promote kindness as an instrument of change.
Analyze quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr, about being loving and inclusive. Design posters to encourage action and diverse community building.
This lesson focuses on the meaning and benefits of gratitude. A book about a gratitude jar challenges us to brainstorm things they are grateful for right now. For their service project, participants 'deliver gratitude' to others in the school community by saying "thank you" and observing the reactions of the person they thanked, as well as how they feel. They will keep a gratitude jar and add to it each day; they may look at their entries on tough days. They may add to others' jars with kind words.