Lesson plan appropriate to various subject areas and PK-12 (modifiable by grade): (note: please be sure these are ok within school policies in your school and district before continuing)
Younger grades: PK-5th grade with age level modifications:Activity: PK-2 grades
Make flash cards with feeling word on back and expression on front, quiz class, then have them quiz in partner and group settings: examples of cards: expressions: smile, frown, puzzled/worried, crying eyes, laughing, joyful/excited, raised eyebrows, etc. with appropriate word for each on backJournal activity: grades K-8
Discuss "how you can make someone's day" in categories "family, friend, various workers, community members, etc), write a category label on the board in columns such as have a column for family, friend, community member, various worker, etc. and write student ideas under each oneJournals:
Have students take out daily journal with prompt being the same:• Choose one thing from the board, go help someone with it, and keep what you did a secret. Would you do this again? What did the person who you helped do when you helped them? How did that make you feel?
For younger students: K-2: have them choose an expression, draw it, and write one or two sentences relating to this prompt
For grades 3-8: ask for more details such as the drawing, the feeling word, the idea from the board, and how it made the person feel, how it made the student feel who helped, and what they could do next time they help someone.
If you want the student to keep what they did a secret, just ask for the expressions and feeling word/statement from the student, and the feeling word/expression that the person being helped showed and if they would do something to help someone again why or why not.This is a daily journal activity, or a weekly one depending on the scope of the ideas shared in the columns on the board, how difficult/easy they would be to carry out, etc.
High schoolers can do this too without the brainstorming part, and by reacting to events around them in class, community, and celebrities/popculture, history, English, cultures and events, trips they took/experiences they've had, reactions to novels/poetry/plays/theater etc.
Discussion/creation part of the lesson:
Younger kids:
Depending on age level have students:
Discuss daily classroom events and the scope of feeling words/expressions they would use to describe themShow videos, concerts/festival videos, artwork, plays, historical events etc. and have students discuss the feeling words/expressions, impact they had on people involved (fine arts, English, History, Foreign Language, etc. appropriate)
Discuss the expressions and feeling words used in various customes around the world and in regions and countries, have students develop appropriate cultural skits based on these customes/act them out when appropriate, and discuss their impact (history, geography, etc.)(appropriate K-12) Have students solve math problems and use the answer for positive good, example:
Young kids: 2+2, older kids t-12 = 8 answer is 20 etc.
For this: create a list of math problems or select them from the class book, create or find the answer key for those problems, choose how many problems to give each student for ex. 20 students with 5 problems each would = 100 problems in all
Make a bingo grid with the number of squares needed, for this example you would need 100 squares for 20 students at 5 problems each
Put one answer from your answer key in each square
Make up actions for each number and place one action statement with each of the numbers: example: 100 actions, one in each square (example of actions would be age-appropriate things to do to help others such as: help a classmate with a math problem, put the pencels in the jar when all are finished with them, collect the math books, erase the board, write up the next problem on the board, take a piece of candy from our party to the. . . whoever you want", help in the school office during part of next class (if prior permission is given by your principal), "clean up the playcorner (for younger kids), collect the homework and put it on teacher's desk, etc. anything nice around the school community or at home so that when the student gets the answer to a problem, he/she finds the square with that number and the action to do from that same square
PK students and elem students: things around school/classroom
Elementary/MS take kids somewhere and do good with the answer as a class and/or as small groups/individuals
High School only: encourage a pay-it-forward: talk about how things can multiply, give multiplication problems within hs math, take answer and get that many people to "pay a good act forward" example if the answer is five, do something small and positive for five people and provide a typed anonymous note to each that says "if this helped you, do the same for 2 other people! Teacher explains exponential growth: two people do the same for two people those two people do the same for two other people and show students by diagram how this multiplies/math behind the idea
(note: be sure the small positive action chosen is one each student can accomplish before picking it to do for others and that the school district/community/handbooks allow it and get permission from building principal before planning begins)For science:
Explain how chemical reactions happen in cooking, the environment, the home etc., show the chemical reactions in labs or teacher demos for younger kids, and have them do something positive related to the lesson:
For cooking: cook a recipe and discuss it's reactions: aka yeast rising in bread, temperature changes in candy (high school only due to high heat), melting chocolate for Middle school, simple hot and cold and the "how hot and cold temps affect rising/sinking of air and expansion/contraction of objects" for the environment and have them use the fact to clean up environment somehow elementary, talk about recycling and start recycling bin in classroom for kids to deposit things into and make sure they understand the process and what can be recycled etc. If cooking the bread/candy could distribute result to others in buildingAnother idea to promote/encourage positive action to do in math classes: (with prior permission from the school district charity and any others designated in school teacher handbook) do a fundraiser: give the class a word problem on Mondays, and a goal to raise the amoung of change equal to the answer that week for a specific charity and put in class collection jar and given at the end of the month: example:
Add up the number of legs: a cow, chicken, human, spider, and octopuse, the number of legs is: have them take the total number of legs and try to collect that number of dimes, pennies, or nickels that week, put them in the jar, and process/give the money as required by the school and the charity you are donating too
Another word problem example for the above idea for those learning to count money: add up the worth of: 5 pennies, 5 nickles, five dimes, and a quarter, what's your number?
5, 25, 50, 25
= $1 and a nickel
you can have them write the answer in the correct format, identify each coin by name and value, count with teacher or alone or in groups, collect the amount equal to the answer for each person or a pair of students, bring in the amount drop into jar etc.at the end of the collection and/or at the end of each day or week, you can count the total amount in the jar as a class, having students identify the value of each coin/bill as you hold it up, and another student writing each on board, and class adding/totaling amount as individuals on a piece of paper, and holding up their answer for the teacher, those who are right with the total get a sticker, small prize, piece of candy, extra points on homework/project/quiz/test, or other preveledges
Note: Store the donation jar where designated by your school or charity which should be predetermined and in a safe place until and during and after each class meeting
Document the totals each time in a small notebook and add up the final amount or have class help you do so by making it another word problem for them to solve
PE/Health ideas k-12 to encourage positive actions:
Discuss how helping others is good for your health and theirs
Show videos of famous athletes/sportspersons giving back and have students discuss it's impact and plan something small and similar they can do for their community such as: getting a sponsor for them to walk laps and for each lap a certain amount of money gets donated to a particular charity or a product per lap is donated such as a can of food per lap donated to local food bank by sponsor or school
Every time a school team, such as football team, wins, the school provides a product or pays for one to be donated somewhere, for example, the football team wins, the school donates a textbook to a needy school district, a lunch/meal to a student, a piece of technology, a notebook, a can of food to a foodbank, etc.
PE students create video tape on a subject area they are studying and give it to a health education center in community such as: studying the effects of sigarettes on health, students as a project create a video tape of a skit, narrative, mock news program/broadcast, write a mock newspaper article or real one, with permission from a local newspaper, to educate community members and the project, once graded, is bubmitted to a health education center, other health subjects can also apply here for any grade level, note: a teacher introduction at the beginning of the video/news broadcast/newspaper article about what students are studying and what the goal is could be appropriate
The teacher could assign a project where students are to change one bad health habbit into a good one (age appropriate of course), and document it/progress and how they accomplished it. Then, student could write a brief narrative to be sent, without student name or identifying info, on how they changed their lifestyle to share with others after it's graded
Another idea: each time a person passes a fitness test, that student is rewarded with a healthy treat they like and can choose it from healthy cafeteria choices free or gets a free lunch with school permission
Students are permitted to select one favorite sport, and to teach the class about how to play it when they are able to successfully change a negative behavior or health habbit discussed in their book
Young children taught about "getting colors of the rainbow on their plate", they are encouraged to count the number of colors per meal during the week, and write it down, add them up, and give their color total at the end of the week. If the number is good they get a box of crayons with which they can draw a picture card greeting for someone and the cards are distributed at the end of the month to people who the child chooses. The number distributed at the end of the month are all the cards made by all kids in the class who received crawn boxes. Those who do not receive crayons, could write a story or poem about a food on their plate, where to get it, and why it's good for them. This way, all get to be creative, learn, and participate even if they didn't get crayons.
Lesson can be more advanced, and should be, for MS/HS students and include more advanced neutricional info, making good choices, and why it's good for the body. They can start getting neutricional information from packages and research, and, do a creative project associated with neutrician that can help others make good food choices.Computers/internet:
discuss ways/methods to use computers and internet to volunteer, check to be sure charities are legitimate before signing up/helping/donating (better Business Bureau good source), locating places to volunteer, small ways to help, staying safe online etc.
student write proposal in word processor to be approved by teacher-school about a way they plan to use computer/net to help someone in local community
teacher approves/suggests modifications
students cary out project to help someone
write or give spoken or video-taped report on what they did, how it helped, what the computer's role was, whether or not they used internet, and how they could have accomplished the same project without the computer/net
Class discussion on each project if time allows and desired, including if they would use computer/net to help others again, how, and why or why not, appropriate for middle school and high school students
New Jobs on Teachers.Net
