Kindness Matters in Our Classrooms!

One of the most important things I want to teach my students is how to be KIND kids and show kindness to one another. In first grade, students are building friendships that will set the tone for their elementary years. We spend a lot of time working on kindness and other character traits throughout the school year. I designed this board game to use kid friendly language so my firsties can play independently with their friends. It is a great game for literacy centers, a rainy day activity, or Fun Fridays!

The game begins by placing a game piece on START. I always use Target mini erasers as game pieces since I have so many variations!

To move their pieces through the game, students draw a Kind Card and read the scenario to their friends. If the card includes a scenario that shows kindness, then the student will move forward a specific number of spaces. Some of the cards include unkind situations and then the student would move back a specified number of spaces.

My students get so excited when they land on one of the special spots. If they land on a flower, students get to draw a Share Card. This is a bonus card so they have the opportunity to move twice in one turn! I love the Share Cards because students actually have to share their answer to a scenario and discuss with their friends. I have heard some really great collaborative conversations come out of the share cards.

The other special spot is the unkind monster. Any time a student lands on a monster, they have to move back 2 spaces on the game board. So fun!

To win the game, a student has to make it all the way around the board to the Kindness Cloud. The first person to land on the cloud wins the game!

I love playing Kindness Matters in my classroom since there are so many examples of what kindness and unkindness looks like. My students need explicit instruction in what it looks like to be kind to further kindness in my students. Click here to see my Kindness Matters Board Game in my Tpt Store. I hope your students love playing Kindness Matters as much as my students do!

This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links, which helps to support The Primary Brain blog. As always, I only recommend products that I love and all ideas shared are my own.

Written on December 7th, 2017 by Laurin Brainard