CHARACTER COUNTS! Kindness 101

Confronting Injustice – Students Take Action After Hearing Couple’s Honeymoon Story

Sometimes, what is right and fair in theory is not what happens in reality. Confronting injustice is challenging, but it can help mend situations when someone is treated unfairly.

Confronting Injustice
Grade Level: K-12
 
Character Skills
  • Caring
  • Good Citizenship
SEL Skills
  • Self-Awareness
  • Social Awareness
Academic Skills
  • Diligent Learner
  • Self-Direction and Engagement

Definitions

Caring
  • Be kind.
  • Be compassionate.
  • Express gratitude.
  • Forgive others.
  • Be considerate of others’ feelings.
Good Citizenship
  • Do your share to make your home, school, and community better.
  • Cooperate.
  • Stay informed. Vote.
  • Be a good neighbor.
  • Make choices that protect the safety and rights of others.
  • Protect the environment.
Self-Awareness

Identify and understand emotions, values, attitudes, motivations, mindsets, and personal attributes.

Social Awareness

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

Diligent Learner

Have a growth mindset and is willing to learn from mistakes.

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.
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The Ray Center at Drake University
CBS News

Students will learn about justice from a group of students who went out of their way to care for Grace and Gilbert Caldwell. Then, students will consider how to put justice into practice in their everyday lives.

Download Google Slides
activiate prior knowledge

Activate Prior Knowledge

  • Describe a time when something was unfair.
  • Define justice.
    • Justice means being impartial and fair.
Kindness 101

Kindness 101 Video

discussion

Discussion Prompts

  • How does justice, or lack thereof, show up in your daily life?
  • Why is it important to cultivate compassion in ourselves and others?
  • How does compassion connect to justice?
  • What was the effect on Grace and Gilbert in the video after the class stepped in to support them? What would the effect have been if the class did not get involved?
    • What does that tell you about acts of justice?
  • The video starts with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  “The time is always right to do what is right.”
    • What does that mean to you?
    • How does that connect to the rest of the video?
materials

Activity Materials

  • Chart paper/whiteboard space
  • Writing utensils
activity

Activity: Gallery Walk

Students will engage in a Gallery Walk to explore what justice looks like on a daily basis.

  • Split students into small groups and give them a large area to write, like a sheet of chart paper or a whiteboard.
  • Each group of students will come up with a situation where something unjust or unfair happens. They will write this at the top of the paper and draw a line underneath it.
  • After all groups have developed an idea, students will walk around the room reading the scenarios.
  • When they think of a response or solution to the injustice, they will write it below the situation.
  • Emphasize to students that their solutions should be just and ensure the people in the situation are cared for.
  • After about ten minutes, students should return to their original papers and discuss the solutions others wrote.
  • Follow-up question:
    • How can we make sure we are making fair and just decisions?
journal prompts

Journal Prompts

K-5

  • Share an experience where you wished someone understood how you were being treated. What do you wish was different about that situation?
  • What does justice look like at school?

6-12

  • How can compassion help you confront injustice?
  • Who do you know who tries hard to be just?
    • Describe an example of them acting justly.
    • What can you learn from them?
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
Watch the video as a family: https://youtu.be/HuFDay-bQ84

Discuss
Use these questions to start meaningful conversations about confronting injustice.

  • What does justice mean to you?
  • Do you think there is more power in having a lot of people fighting for justice, versus just one person? Why or why not?
  • Talk about a time when you felt like something was unjust or unfair.
    • What did you do in that situation?
    • What do you wish you did differently if anything?

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