How To Teach Kindness in the Classroom

Kindness should never be overlooked, not just in middle school but in everyday life. You may have heard the saying that you never know what someone might be going through, and sometimes, a kind gesture can brighten another person’s day.

Learning about kindness starts in the very first days a child starts school and is emphasized year after year. There are even days that specifically promote kindness, such as Pink Shirt Day or World Kindness Day. Learn more about Pink Shirt Day here: 10 Inspiring Ways To Raise Awareness On Pink Shirt Day.

These days, even Valentine’s Day can be more about kindness than love in the classroom.

This blog post discusses why kindness in the classroom is so important and offers creative ways to spread kindness throughout the school and beyond.

Why Kindness Should Be Taught in Middle School

Promoting kindness in the middle school classroom is essential for creating a positive and inclusive learning environment.

Kindness creates a positive learning environment.

When students feel safe and respected in the classroom, they are more likely to engage, participate, and take risks in their learning. According to an article from NC State, students are more likely to want to go to school and participate when they feel they belong.

Promoting kindness in the classroom can create students who are motivated, engaged, and willing to be challenged, which could help them perform better academically. Kindness in the classroom encourages a more personalized approach to teaching where positive relationships are built and students feel valued and seen.

You may also want to read: Building Classroom Relationships Through Conversation Part 1 and Building Classroom Relationships Through Conversation Part 2.

Kindness can create strong relationships.

Spreading kindness helps build trust and harmony within the classroom. It increases trust and makes students feel accepted. Kindness can also help create connections between students and teachers and increase happiness.

Kindness in the classroom helps students develop empathy and compassion, two skills that are crucial not only for their social and emotional development but also skills they will need to be considerate and responsible adults.

Kindness can reduce bullying.

Kindness should be a priority in the classroom because when students are encouraged to be kind, they are building on skills to make them empathetic and socially aware. According to StopBullying, modelling good behaviour and kindness is the way to go, rather than punishment-based approaches.

Social-emotional learning is important in the classroom. It emphasizes social awareness, encourages students to empathize with their fellow students, and develops the skills they need to build relationships.

Kindness is essential for promoting mental health.

Everyone wants to feel valued and supported, but students might not understand the importance of this. Promoting kindness in the classroom can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression among students. Here’s what the American Psychiatric Association says about kindness:

“Everyday simple acts of kindness can contribute to boosting your mood, reducing stress, and possibly alleviating symptoms of depression or anxiety. In addition, what might seem like a small kind gesture could have a greater impact than you might think.”

As stated earlier, we never know what other people might be going through, and one simple act of kindness could turn their day around or make them smile.

Mental health is important for teachers and students alike, so promote it among your students and fellow teachers.

For more articles on the importance of mental health, check out the links below:

Kindness is contagious!

Have you ever gone to a drive-thru for your favourite morning coffee before the school day to be told that the person in front of you paid for your coffee? It’s an amazing feeling, and more likely than not, it leads the receiver of an act of kindness to pass it on to the next person. It’s a ripple effect that can extend beyond the classroom and into the community.

If your students need convincing, here are some real-world scenarios where kindness made a difference:

In Philadelphia, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza became famous for its Pay-It-Forward program, where customers could pre-purchase a slice of pizza for someone in need. Since then, it has provided over 150,000 slices to homeless individuals.
A businessman in Kansas City gave $100 bills to strangers every year while dressed as Santa Claus – which inspired a group of students in Phoenix to raise money for those in need.
The Suspended Coffee movement started in Italy. Customers could pay for an extra coffee to be claimed by someone in need. This movement has spread globally, and many cafes have now adopted it.

Random Acts of Kindness Day was started in New Zealand in 2004. On this day, people are encouraged to spread kindness, whether it’s paying for another person’s meal, letting someone go ahead of you in a line, or writing anonymous messages to compliment and uplift others.

Random Act of Kindness Day is celebrated yearly on February 17th, and World Kindness Day is celebrated yearly on November 13th.

How To Spread Kindness in the Classroom

There are so many ways to spread kindness in the classroom, starting with the Share Kindness Challenge. This free resource is the perfect way to start a kindness movement in your school or classroom.

Not only that, but it’s a way to show that kindness doesn’t have to cost any money. While some people might associate kindness with buying something for others, sometimes, all it takes is a smile or a few kind words.

Here are 18 ways you can spread kindness in the classroom:

Model kindness by demonstrating it through your words and actions. Show respect, patience, and empathy in your interactions.
Share personal stories or stories from the news where kindness played a role or made a difference to make the concept more relatable to students.
Encourage students to write journal entries about kindness, such as ways they shared or spread kindness or times when kindness was extended to them.
Create a kindness wall or bulletin board and encourage students to write down acts of kindness they’ve seen or experienced to post on it.
Set a class goal, like reaching a certain number of acts of kindness within a month. This share Kindness Challenge is perfect for this.
Organize a school-wide movement encouraging students to perform certain acts of kindness. Find ways for students to extend kindness beyond the school and into the community.
Celebrate acts of kindness in the classroom. Elementary classrooms sometimes have a kindness jar where a cotton or felt ball is added every time someone witnesses an act of kindness. Students can then celebrate when the jar is filled with a movie, a pajama day, or even a digital escape room afternoon.
Use role-playing activities to help students practise responding kindly in various situations or teach them how to resolve disagreements peacefully and respectfully. These can be integrated into your Health or Drama lessons if you teach those subjects.
Incorporate lessons that focus on building empathy, understanding emotions, and developing positive relationships.
Have students keep gratitude journals where they regularly write about things for which they are thankful. This activity can be done year-round and not just for Thanksgiving. It can also be good for your brain, can help mental wellness, and might help you live longer, as shown in this video: The science behind why gratitude is good for you.
Encourage and teach students to write thank-you notes to classmates, teachers, or other school staff members. Use this Thank-You Note Writing Lesson to teach this.
Design group projects that require students to work together and respect one another’s ideas.
Plan activities that ensure all students are included and feel valued. Remember to think about inclusivity when planning. You may want to check out these blog posts: Inclusive Teaching Strategies and Inclusive Holiday Celebrations.
Incorporate mindfulness activities and exercises that help students become more aware of their thoughts and actions. You can also set aside time for students to reflect on their behaviour and consider ways to incorporate more kindness into their daily lives.
Involve students’ parents or guardians in kindness projects and challenges, making it a community-wide effort and reinforcing the importance of kindness to all.
Find books that highlight themes of kindness, empathy, and compassion (see some books listed below) and discuss with students the importance of kindness.

Books About Kindness

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Kind by Alison Green
Counting Kindness by Hollis Kurman
Do Something for Someone Else by Michael Platt and Loll Kirby
Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
The Smile Shop by Satoshi Kitamura
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
We’re All Wonders by R. J. Palacio
How Kind! by Mary Murphy
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Kindness is my Superpower by Alicia Ortego
Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind by Jessica Hische
Come With Me by Holly M. McGhee
Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer
My Heart by Corinna Luyken
Kindness Rules! by Eunice and Sabrina Moyle
What Does it Mean to be Kind? by Rana DiOrio
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
The World Needs More Purple People by Kristen Bell and Benjamin Hart

There are many, many books about kindness, so this is not an exhaustive list. Your school librarian would be a fantastic resource to help you round up books about kindness to share with your class.

Share Kindness Challenge

The Share Kindness Challenge is a free resource that will help you to encourage your students to spread kindness. It includes a kindness challenge sheet, a place where students can write acts of kindness not included, and journal writing that can be incorporated at the end or throughout the event.

Remember: kindness shouldn’t just happen during a day, a week, a birthday, or a holiday; it should happen every single day.

Download the Share Kindness Challenge today by signing up for the 2 Peas and a Dog email list. Once you sign up, you’ll receive your kindness challenge sheets so you can start implementing kindness in the classroom and make it a priority.