Using Kindness Quotes in the Classroom to Promote Change

Having a truly kind classroom is much harder than it seems. While we all want to have a classroom filled with random acts of kindness and witness kind behavior on a daily basis, it is not something that usually just happens. It takes a lot of encouragement, planning, teaching, modeling, and consistency to create a classroom that oozes with kindness.

Teaching kindness takes time, and as classroom teachers, we know that our time is always at a premium.

That is why I work hard to make sure that I am constantly weaving kindness quotes into our classroom routine. When kindness is a part of your classroom culture, it becomes a natural part of the day; not something extra that you have to fit in.

Here are three quick and easy ways to use kindness quotes in your classroom to promote change and encourage goodwill in your classroom.

Morning Meeting Time

I love using morning meetings as a time to discuss important concepts and ideas. The students are fresh, focused, and truly enjoy gathering together as a community. They feel empowered and know that their voices are heard when we are all together during this time. That is why it is the perfect time to use kindness quotes with your students.

Instead of sharing a new quote each day, we spend a great deal of time with just one quote a week. Here is a quick overview of how we spend an entire week digesting a single quote.

• Monday: share the quote, hang it up, and let it sink in 
• Tuesday: have a few students share what they think it means
• Wednesday: have students discuss in pairs their interpretations of the quote
• Thursday: have students share how they can apply the quote to their own lives
• Friday: have students write about or illustrate what the quote means and how they can put it into practice-these are fun to display in your classroom

Those Awkward Five Minutes

We all have those awkward five minutes that pop up or are just in our schedules. The five minutes between special and lunch, the five minutes after recess and before a guest teacher, the five minutes you have after you finish a lesson and before an assembly begins...they pop up everywhere.

Instead of wasting those five minutes, use them to your advantage. Use those five minutes to discuss kindness. Here is how!

• have students share what a kindness quote you have displayed means to them
• have students share how they can put a quote you have displayed into action
• have students create their own kindness quotes to inspire others (grab the free kindness quote template for students to complete at the bottom of this post)
• have students share random acts of kindness they witnessed in your classroom and school community
• have students tell about kindness themes they have come across in the books that they read, podcasts they have listened to, or even a show or movie they have watched
• read aloud or revisit favorite kindness picture books 

Display All the Quotes

Displaying kindness quotes is a great way to have your students see influential words of positivity every day. When students see a bulletin board display or walk past a kindness poster in the cubby area, they read it. After time, the messages become a part of their routine and you will begin to hear students use the kindness quotes in their conversations with other kids. Whether they are reminding others how to act, sticking up for a friend, or just spreading positivity, the kindness quotes you display do make an impact on those that read them and see them each day.

It is easy to weave kindness discussions throughout your day especially when you use kindness quotes to get the dialogue going! Want even more kindness classroom tips? Check out THIS POST with easy to implement kindness strategies you can start using today.

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