Critical Learning

In this lesson, students will explore the Character Education trait of Kindness and relate it to their personal experiences, classroom community and world. Students will explore the convention of tableau by creating an imaginary setting where incidents of Kindness are shared. 

Learning Goals

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate and recognize acts of kindness
  • Freeze and use levels in tableau
  • Demonstrate the qualities of a respectful performer and audience member 
  • Démontrer et reconnaître les actes de bonté
  • Arrêter et utiliser des niveaux dans un tableau
  • Démontrer les qualités d'un interprète et d'un membre du public respectueux.

Guiding Questions

  • In what ways are we kind to others?
  • How might we demonstrate Kindness?
  • Do you know any stories of people being kind?
  • De quelles manières sommes-nous gentils avec les autres ?
  • Comment pouvons-nous faire preuve de bonté ?
  • Connais-tu des histoires de personnes qui ont été gentilles ?

Instructional Components

Readiness

Students need to have a positive classroom climate with pre-established classroom routines, and should be familiar with demonstrating attentive listening, cooperation, collaboration, problem solving, and questioning skills. They should have an understanding of community and know that they belong to the school community.

Terminology

  • Character/Rôle
  • Kindness/Gentillesse
  • Community of Learners/Communauté d'apprenants
  • Tableau
  • Levels/Niveaux
  • Frozen Statues/Sculptures figées
  • Group Sculpture/Sculpture de groupe

Materials

  • Any board sponsored material that depicts its unique approach to Character Education (e.g. Character Matters)
  • Visual arts materials (paper, paints, crayons, construction paper)
  • PDF#2 Tableau Rubric
Approximately 15 minutes

Minds On 

Pause and Ponder

Whole Class > Review of Learning Goal

Post on chart paper the word Kindness/Gentillesse.  Prompt: Today we are going to explore what it means to be kind. When/how are we kind to others? When/how are others kind to us? Invitation : Aujourd'hui, nous allons explorer ce que signifie être gentil. Quand/comment sommes-nous gentils avec les autres ? Quand/comment les autres sont-ils gentils avec nous ?

Whole Class > Brainstorm

Display T chart with the following two headings: I am kind when... / Someone is kind to me when... (Je suis gentil quand... / Quelqu'un est gentil avec moi quand...) Invite students to share their response to each of the sentence stems. Record ideas on the chart.

Pairs > Personal Storytelling

Model the activity by telling a personal story of kindness (e.g. the time that I shoveled an elderly neighbour's walk).  Encourage students to share their stories of kindness with their partners. Invite volunteers to share their stories with the whole class. 
Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Observe student engagement and understanding during the discussion of kindness. Use the tableau rubric (PDF #2) to assess understanding of tableau.

Assessment as Learning  (AaL)

Use the class discussion and visual art activity to encourage students to make connections between the concept of courage and their lives, community and world.

Differentiation DI

Flexible groupings throughout the lesson. Opportunities for students to use kinaesthetic and verbal modes of expression are within the lesson.

Quick Tip

To activate prior experience, encourage students to consider stories of kindness between friends, in families and with teachers.

Remind students to share stories that they are comfortable sharing in public and will not make them sad. 

Link and Layer

Create a word wall of vocabulary related to kindness to consolidate learning and as an anchor chart for future lessons. 

 

 
Approximately 20 minutes

Action!

Whole Class > Images of Kindness

Invite students to walk about the room independently. Inform students that you will call out different acts of kindness from the list. Tell students to make a frozen statue depicting each act of kindness. Examples: walking the dog, cleaning your room, helping in the kitchen, playing with your baby brother, etc. / Exemples : promener le chien, nettoyer ta chambre, aider à la cuisine, jouer avec ton petit frère, etc.

Whole Class > Tableau > Wiggle Freeze

Explain the concept of tableau as a frozen picture (image figé) that can be used to depict a story. Explain the concept of low, medium and high levels when creating frozen pictures. (bas, moyen, haut)

Introduce the game Wiggle Freeze. Invite students to walk around in a circle. On a signal, the students must freeze in position. Next, have the children walk about the room again and, on signal, call out the following directions:

Freeze and plant a seed (low level) / Arrêter et planter une graine (bas niveau)

Freeze and smells the roses (medium level) / Arrêter et sentir les roses (niveau moyen)

Freeze and reach for an apple from the tree (high level) / Arrêter et prendre une pomme dans l'arbre (niveau élevé)

Small Group > Tableau of Stories of Kindness

Working in groups of three or four, students create a tableau to portray a kindness story. Remind students to include everyone in the frozen picture. Remind students to use different levels.  Invite volunteers to show their tableaux to others. This activity can be repeated with partners switching places in the tableau. Invite one half of the class to share the tableaux and statues with the other half and switch.  

Whole Class > Reflecting through Discussion

Following the sharing of the tableaux, students discuss the tableaux.

Key Questions for Discussion
  • What did you see in the picture?
  • Who was being kind?
  • What did you like about the tableaux?
  • What is kindness?
  • How do we know when someone is kind?
  • Why is it important to be kind? 
  • Que vois-tu dans cette image ?
  • Qui est gentil ?
  • Qu'aimes-tu dans ce tableau ?
  • Qu'est-ce que la gentillesse ?
  • Comment sait-on quand quelqu'un est gentil ?
  • Pourquoi est-il important d'être gentil ?
Approximately 20 minutes

Consolidation

Individual > Pictures of Kindness

Have students create illustrations that tell stories of kindness. They may use ideas from the chart or the tableaux they created for their pictures. Instruct students to create a title for the piece. 

Whole Class > Sharing

Post student artwork on the classroom wall and gather as a class community to share work. Consider brainstorming words related to kindness (e.g. generous, helping, caring,etc.) and posting them near the artwork for future reference.