One of my favorite things to teach my primary students was about respect. How they could respect themselves, respect others and use strategies to show kindness to everyone they meet. So I have decided it is time I share all of the fun lessons, activities, and moments that I have had with my students while learning about kindness. For the next year I will be sharing a new blog and many resources a month themed in ways of kindness and good citizenship that I explored with my students each year. This month our focus is on respect.
My classroom rules were not rules in the normal sense of expected classroom rules, they were expectations that my students would do their best and be kind. I used a classroom pledge in my classroom to help guide my students. Throughout the year we would explore the parts of the pledge deeply engaging in activities, lessons, and discussions. It was a great way for me to get to know each student and for students too critically think and engage emotions in ways that would develop them further as world ready citizens. I focus on respect, communicating, listening, creating, courage, forgiving, and imagining a world of kindness.
Each months focus will have 6 resources you can get in my TPT store as well as activities and book suggestions for you to use in your classroom or at home.
Respect TpT Resources
Pebbles of Love
A great place to start with students to discuss how small but mighty acts kindness can outweigh the hateful and unkind words and actions. A great visual of a scale, boulders of hate and pebbles of kindness help to set the stage for lessons and activities to come on kindness, respect, love and citizenship.
Wall of Respect
A great way to start the school year or get to know your students better throughout the year, the Wall or Respect is a great bulletin board that can stay up for as long as you would like that showcased the individual students and their unique talents, strengths, and upbringings. The wall of respect is a compilation of 'bricks' or 'blocks' that each student decorate through drawing, writing, and expressing themselves and their unique beings. Students then introduce themselves to the group and a 'wall' is built on the bulletin board or with actual blocks representing each student and the importance of each piece of the wall being there to maintain the wall of respect. Students focus on self respect through the creation of the brick as well as respect for others by practicing joy and recognition of others similarities and differences.
Respect Garden
A continuation of getting to know one another more deeply and students sharing their unique selves is the Respect Garden. Students each create a flower by drawing or writing about themselves and the strengths they have. After creating the flower students put onto a straw or chenille stem that is 'planted' in a group respect garden. This not only focuses on self respect and acknowledgment of ones strength and also respect for others by recognizing the strengths of others and the differences and similarities we share. I love this activity because again it is something that can stay with your class for the remainder of the year as a reminder of the beautiful individuality of each student and the collective beauty of the group together.
Kindness Apples
Science and Social Emotional Learning collide in this fun and meaningful activity for students. Explore how words that are unkind hurt others through this experiment and how when nice and kind words can lift others up. A fun and engaging activity including the scientific methods process, comparing and contrasting charts, observation activities, and exploration on how to respect one another and our selves with our words.
Trash Talk
One of my favorite lessons and a year long motto for your classroom to promote kindness and only kind words. Trash Talk Belongs in the Trash Can is the motto taught through an engaging lesson on learning to 'throw' away unkind words and put them in the trash can so students can focus on kind, uplifting words for themselves and on another. Students actively get to practice throwing away crumpled up balls of hurtful words and practice writing positive words.A lesson that can be carried on throughout the school year. I always kept a small trash can labeled trash talk belongs in the trash can in my classroom for students to throw away their unkind words to help students be reminded to respect one another and themselves.
I am! Affirmations
A great way to practice self respect and help students have positive self image is the affirmation mirror and practice of using self affirmations to show kindness to ones self. A classroom mirror for the year that students fill around with affirmations to continually remind themselves that they are wonderful bright people. Enjoy a lesson with books, engaging affirmations projects and classroom group practice of creating an affirmation station that can remain in your classroom for the duration of the school year.
Respect Myself and Others Learning Unit
The first section of the Footprints Social Emotional Learning Curriculum for primary students explore the Classroom Community Pledge and build a close community of learners and world ready students! The Respect Bundle is a compilation of 6 lessons on Respecting Myself and Others for children K-4th grade. Explore respect with children through hands on activities, read-aloud, writing projects and classroom community building. Included in this bundle is six lesson plans and all accompanying worksheets, posters, bulletin board ideas, projects, and suggested activities. With the bundle receive a bundle of suggested accompanying read alouds for each lesson and a scope of lessons for the unit. The bundle includes Respect Garden, The Wall of Respect, I Am! Affirmations, Kindness Apples, Trash Talk, and Pebbles of Love resources.
This is just the begining of exciting social emotional learning resources, books lists, science experiments, snacks, and games to come. Stay tuned for my next blog post to find out more about respect activities for your classroom!
Happy Teaching!
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