CHARACTER COUNTS! Kindness 101

Humanity – 12-Year-Old Boy Buys Bullied Classmate Brand New Sneakers

Treating others with humanity shows that we care about them and what they are going through.

Humanity
Grade Level: K-12
 
Character Skills
  • Respect
  • Caring
SEL Skills
  • Responsible Decision-Making
  • Social Awareness
Academic Skills
  • Critical and Creative Thinking 
  • Effective Problem Solving

Definitions

Respect
  • Follow the Golden Rule.
  • Be accepting of differences.
  • Be courteous to others.
  • Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements.
  • Be considerate of others’ feelings.
Caring
  • Be kind.
  • Be compassionate.
  • Express gratitude.
  • Forgive others.
  • Be considerate of others’ feelings.
Responsible Decision-Making

Make decisions based on rationality, ethics, and effectiveness.

Social Awareness

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

Critical and Creative Thinking

Acquire, remember, understand, and apply knowledge.

Effective Problem Solving

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

Learn more about our character, SEL, and academic outcomes.
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The Ray Center at Drake University
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Students will demonstrate understanding of humanity by analyzing Romelo’s actions and consider how they can apply it to their own lives.

Download Google Slides
activiate prior knowledge

Activate Prior Knowledge

  • Draw a picture of a great pair of shoes.
  • How would you describe humanity?
    • Showing humanity means being compassionate, sympathetic, and generous.
Kindness 101

Kindness 101 Video

discussion

Discussion Prompts

  • What can we learn when we “walk in someone else’s shoes”?
  • Why is it important to show humanity to others?
  • In the video, what motivated Romelo to purchase shoes for Melvin?
  • How can someone show compassion and humanity towards others in this classroom?
materials

Activity Materials

  • Walk-A-Mile in Their Shoes questions (sample questions below)
  • Paper
  • Markers, colors, or colored pencils
activity

Activity: Walk a Mile

  • Pair students.
    • Option: To create pairs, have half of the students put one of their shoes in the center of the room (or use students’ pictures from “Activate Prior Knowledge”). The other half of the students will select a shoe from the center of the room. This will create a pair of students.
  • The pairs of students go for a walk and talk around the classroom (or outside if there is a safe space for students to walk together).
  • During the walk, the students will ask questions of the other individuals to learn more about who they are and what it feels like to walk in their shoes.
    • Sample questions:
      • What is your favorite color? Food? Dessert?
      • What do you love about your family?
      • What do you enjoy in your spare time?
      • What makes you feel sad? Angry? Happy?
      • What is something hard for you?
      • How has someone shown compassion to you?
      • How can you show that you are a compassionate person?
  • Follow-up questions:
    • Why is it important to learn about others?
    • How can understanding someone’s experiences change how you interact with them?
journal prompts

Journal Prompts

K-5

  • How would you react if someone bought you a pair of shoes so you would not be bullied?
  • What does humanity look like at school, at home, and in the community?

6-12

  • Reflect on a time when you showed compassion towards someone in need. What motivated you to act?
  • What does “put yourself in someone else’s shoes” mean? How are these words to live by?
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/bvwNWgnpLcw

Discuss
Use these questions to start meaningful conversations about humanity.

  • What evidence of compassion did you see in the video?
  • What do you think about how Romelo showed compassion to Melvin?
  • What would your home, community, and world look like if we all showed more compassion like Romelo?

Activity

  • Discuss someone who your family knows who could use some compassion. It could be a family member, friend, neighbor, or community member.
  • Decide on an act of kindness to show them, such as making them a meal, writing a heartfelt card, or visiting them to let them know they are cared about.
  • Encourage each family member to participate in the activity and discuss how it feels to show compassion towards others.

More Kindness 101

CHARACTER COUNTS! Lessons and Activities

 

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