CHARACTER COUNTS! Kindness 101

Acts of Service – Woman Turns to Facebook to Search for Late Husband’s Car for Her Son

Strong communities are filled with citizens who perform acts of service for one another. These acts can be as simple as picking up trash in a neighbor’s yard and as impactful as serving in a military division.

Acts of Service
Grade Level: K-12
 
Character Skills
  • Trustworthiness
  • Responsibility
SEL Skills
  • Responsible Decision-Making
  • Social Awareness
Academic Skills
  • Effective Problem Solving
  • Self-Direction and Engagement

Definitions

Trustworthiness
  • Be honest. Don’t deceive, cheat, or steal.
  • Have integrity. Do what you say you’ll do.
  • Keep your promises.
  • Be loyal. Stand by your values.
Responsibility
  • Do what you are supposed to do. Try your best.
  • Persevere. Keep on trying.
  • Be self-disciplined.
  • Think before you act. Consider the consequences.
  • Be accountable for your words, actions, and attitudes.
Responsible Decision-Making

Make decisions based on rationality, ethics, and effectiveness.

Social Awareness

Assess and be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others.

Effective Problem Solving

Make rational, ethical, and effective decisions to find the best solutions to problems.

Self-Direction and Engagement

Fully engaged in the educational process and connected to the school community.

Learn more about our character, SEL, and academic outcomes.
Share This Activity
The Ray Center at Drake University
CBS News

Students will identify how acts of service build a strong community.

Download Google Slides
activiate prior knowledge

Activate Prior Knowledge

  • What is an act of service?
    • We perform acts of service when we go out of our way to help others.
  • What are some examples of community members performing acts of service for one another?
Kindness 101

Kindness 101 Video

discussion

Discussion Prompts

  • What acts of service did you see in the video? Think about Justin’s mom, Jessica, the people on Facebook, the Follow the Flag group, the mechanics, and even Justin’s dad, Jonathan.
  • What motivates people to perform acts of service?
  • How does service impact a community?
  • How do you feel when you perform an act of service for someone else in your community?
  • Sometimes people turn their love of service into a career. What kinds of careers are service-based?
materials

Activity Materials

activity

Activity: Service Bingo

  • Divide students into small groups.
  • Ask students to think of small acts of service they can do at school to help others.
    • Give examples of things they can do to help one another, teachers, staff, administration, and volunteers.
  • Have the small groups share their ideas and create a large list of possibilities on a whiteboard or chart paper.
  • Give each student a blank bingo card.
  • Students will fill out their bingo cards with nine acts of service they would like to do throughout the next week.
  • Each time they complete an act of service, they can put an X on that bingo box.
  • At the end of the week, ask which students have achieved a service bingo.
  • Follow-up questions:
    • How did it feel each time you completed an act of service?
    • As you review what you achieved over the week, how does it feel to have helped so many people?
    • Which acts of service could you keep doing?
journal prompts

Journal Prompts

K-5

  • What are some of your character strengths, and how could you use those to improve your community?
  • What acts of service can you do at home?

6-12

  • The video demonstrates how we often use our different strengths to serve our community. Justin’s mom used her connection skills to find the car, the mechanics used their repair skills to restore the car, and Justin’s dad used his patriotism to serve in the military.
    • Think about your strengths. What kind of service could you do to improve your community?
family connection

Family Connection

Educators: Copy the Family Connection and email it to parents, or click here to download a PDF version to email or print.

Watch

Discuss
Use these questions to start meaningful conversations about acts of service.

  • What are some ways each of your family members has demonstrated service in their life? What did they do, and how did it impact their community?
  • What are some ways your family can celebrate acts of service they see in the community?

More Kindness 101

CHARACTER COUNTS! Lessons and Activities

 

2702 Forest Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50311

515-271-1910

RayCenter@Drake.edu

Character Counts
DONATE TO OUR MISSION
Facebook Twitter Instagram Tiktok Youtube
Contact Us

(C) 2024 The Ray Center at Drake University is proud to be the home of CHARACTER COUNTS! CHARACTER COUNTS!, the Six Pillars of Character, and Pursuing Victory with Honor are trademarks of the Josephson Institute. CHARACTER COUNTS! was founded by Michael Josephson through the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics.