CHARACTER COUNTS! Kindness 101

Service – Three Wishes

Service is one way to help your community – it is all about helping others out of the goodness of your heart.
Service
Grade Level: K-12
 
Character Skills
  • Caring
  • Good Citizenship
SEL Skills
  • Relationship Skills
  • Social Awareness
Academic Skills
  • Curiosity and Passion

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.
Relationship Skills

Create positive relationships and meaningful connections with family members, classmates, and teachers.

Social Awareness

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

Curiosity and Passion

Enthusiastic to understand more about themselves, others, and the world around them.

Learn more about our character, SEL, and academic outcomes.
Share This Activity
The Ray Center at Drake University
CBS News
In this lesson, students will be inspired by the story of a young girl who goes to nursing homes and grants wishes to the residents. Students will explore the service theme and its impacts on the giver and receiver.
Download Google Slides
activiate prior knowledge

Activate Prior Knowledge

  • If you had three wishes, what would they be?
  • What is the definition of service?
    • Service is the action of helping or doing work for someone.
Kindness 101

Kindness 101 Video

Click here for the shortened video (best for secondary students).

discussion

Discussion Prompts

  • How were your three wishes alike and different from those of the nursing home residents?
  • How did Ruby demonstrate service through her actions?
  • How do you think the residents felt when their wishes were granted?
  • How were Ruby and the residents impacted by the acts of service?
  • What simple acts of service can you do to make an impact in your community?
materials

Activity Materials

  • Greeting card-making materials (construction paper, markers, stickers, etc.)
activity

Activity: Greeting Cards

  • Provide students with card-making materials and the artistic freedom to design a card to send to a local nursing home.
  • Incorporate poetry, pictures, quotes, or proverbs about love, caring, and kindness to bring joy to the residents.
  • Follow-up question:
    • How does doing things for others, like making greeting cards, make you feel?
journal prompts

Journal Prompts

K-5

  • What wish would you like to grant for another person in your life? Why?
  • How can participating in service activities build stronger relationships?

6-12

  • Create a list of ways you could serve in the community.
  • How can you incorporate service into your life, now and in the future?
  • How can engaging in service activities strengthen our community and relationships?
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 service.

  • What did you think about Ruby’s story?
  • How do you think the residents felt when their wishes were granted?
  • How can we show kindness and service to others in our community?
  • How did watching this video make you feel, and what did you learn from it?
  •  

Activity

  • Participate in a service activity together. Try volunteering at a local shelter, helping an elderly neighbor with yard work, making cards for nursing home residents, or delivering baked goods to nearby police and fire stations.

More Kindness 101

CHARACTER COUNTS! Lessons and Activities

 

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