The Kindness Challenge
What is one way to show kindness to someone who is having a bad day?
Ask them if they are okay, listen to them, offer support.
What is the difference between sympathy and empathy?
Sympathy is express emotions towards someone's feelings, while empathy involves "stepping in their shoes" to truly understand their emotions.
What is bullying?
Repeated hurtful, aggressive behavior to another person, regardless of if you are "just playing".
You accidentally bump into someone in the hallway. What should you do?
Apologize sincerely, make sure they are okay.
What is the term for a chain reaction in which one person's kindness inspires someone else to be kind?
A ripple effect
You see someone at lunch sitting and eating alone. What is one kind thing you could do?
Invite them to sit with you, start a conversation with them.
What is a good way to show empathy when your friend loses a sports game?
Acknowledge their disappointment, listen to them, offer encouragement.
You see someone being repeatedly teased about their appearance. What is one safe way to help?
Support the person being targeted, tell the aggressor to stop (if safe), or report it to a trusted adult.
Your group is choosing teams for PE, and one student is always picked last. What could you do to make the situation more inclusive?
Help make team selection fair or make sure the student is welcomed and included.
What can a small act of kindness, such as holding a door open for someone, do for that person?
Make their day better, make them feel respected, make them feel appreciated
What is the difference between being nice and being kind?
Being nice usually involves polite behavior, while kindness involves genuine support and help towards someone.
Why is it important to listen without immediately giving advice when someone shares a problem?
Sometimes, people need time to vent and feel heard before they want advice.
Conflict is a disagreement between people who usually have equal power, while bullying involves repeated harmful behavior and a power imbalance.
Your friend tells you a secret, but another student keeps asking you to reveal it. What is the kind and safe thing to do?
Respect friend's privacy, refuse to share secret unless it involves a safety concern - then tell a trusted adult.
How can showing showing kindness help create a stronger classroom community?
Builds trust, encourages cooperation, helps students feel included and respected.
Your friend makes a mistake during a class speech, and everyone laughs. What is the kindness way to respond?
Avoid joining in, encourage them, treat their mistake as normal.
If two students are arguing because they see a situation differently, how could empathy help solve the disagreement?
Each student could listen to the other's perspective and try to understand their feelings before responding.
Someone posts an embarrassing picture of a classmate in a group chat, and other students start making fun of them. What are two things you could do to help?
Avoid sharing or reacting to the picture, support the classmate, and report the post to a trusted adult or the platform.
You disagree with someone's opinion during a class discussion. How can you explain your disagreement respectfully?
Address the idea rather than attacking person, explain reasoning calmly, listen to response
Why can apologizing after hurting someone's feelings be important, even if you didn't mean to hurt them?
It acknowledges the impact of your actions, shows accountability, and can help rebuild trust.
Someone offers you to help you with a project, but you already know how to do it. How can you respond kindly without accepting help you don't really need?
Thank them for offering, explain politely that you have it handled.
Someone makes a rude comment, but you discover that they are dealing with a difficult situation. Does understanding their situation mean you must excuse their behavior?
No. You can understand their feelings while still recognizing that their behavior was hurtful.
A student sees bullying happen but stays silent because they are afraid of becoming the next target. What are two ways they could help without directly confronting the bully?
Report the behavior to a trusted adult, check in with/support targeted student afterward
You notice that a classmate is being excluded from a group project. The group says they don't want to work with that person. What could you do to address the situation constructively?
Encourage the group to include the classmate, help divide responsibilities fairly, involve teacher if necessary.
A student regularly compliments classmates, helps others, and includes people who are left out. What are some effects that the students could have over time because of this?
Other students may be encouraged to imitate behavior, makes kindness/inclusion more common throughout school.