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Kind or Unkind: How Our Actions Affect Others

Students sort actions into kind and unkind — building empathy by noticing how the things we say and do can make others feel included and happy, or left out and hurt.

Grades 2–4Social Awareness45 minutes1 class periodSEL LessonExplicit teaching4 StandardsCASEL 5
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Tell the difference between kind and unkind actions.
  • ✓Explain how an action makes others feel.
  • ✓Show empathy for others.
  • ✓Choose a kind action to practice.
Essential Question

The same small action can make someone’s whole day better — or worse. How do our words and actions affect the people around us?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Kind or Unkind?

Project this and sort each action into “Kind” or “Unkind.” Tap one, then tap the bucket — and talk about how each makes a person feel.

🤝 Sort each action — kind or unkind?Try it
💛 Kind
💔 Unkind
Tap an action, then tap Kind or Unkind.
The Lesson · SEL Lesson (Check-In · Practice · Reflect)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Check-In — A Kind Moment

5 min

Share a time someone was kind to you.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Invite a memory of a kind moment.
  • Ask how it felt.
  • Set the goal: kind vs. unkind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Recall a kind moment.
  • Name the feeling.
  • Predict what makes an action kind.
2

Learn — Actions and Feelings

10 min

Connect actions to feelings.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Use Kind or Unkind to sort.
  • Ask “How would that feel?”
  • Introduce empathy.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort with the class.
  • Name the feeling each causes.
  • Learn empathy.
3

Practice — Practice Sorting

12 min

Practice with the tool.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sort remaining actions.
  • Discuss tricky ones.
  • Turn unkind into kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort the actions.
  • Explain the feeling.
  • Fix an unkind action.
4

Apply — Kindness in Action

13 min

Apply in real life.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Brainstorm classroom kind actions.
  • Each picks one to do.
  • Discuss standing up for others.

🎒 Student Actions

  • List kind actions.
  • Choose one today.
  • Plan to include someone.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Commit to a kind act.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask what kind act they’ll do.
  • Affirm small kindness matters.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name a kind act.
  • Explain how it helps.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CASEL 5 social-emotional learning competencies.

CASEL
Social Awareness

Recognize how one’s actions affect others and demonstrate empathy and compassion.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Communicate and cooperate with others in respectful, caring ways.

CASEL
Responsible Decision-Making

Consider how choices affect others and choose caring actions.

CCSS
SL.3.1

Engage effectively in collaborative discussions, expressing ideas clearly.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Picture cards of actions to sort.
  • Sentence frame: “___ is kind/unkind. It makes people feel ___.”
  • Role-play a kind action.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with clear actions.
  • Two-column feelings sort.
  • Role-play before sorting.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Turn each unkind action into a kind one.
  • Start a class kindness chain.
  • Explain being an “upstander.”
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Notebooks
  • 💻Kind or Unkind?
  • 🖼️Action picture cards
  • 💛A kindness chart
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

kindcaring and helpful to othersunkindhurtful or mean to othersempathyunderstanding how others feelincludeto let someone join inrespecttreating others as importantfeelingsthe emotions someone hasupstandersomeone who stands up for otherscooperateto work well together
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Give one example of a kind action and one unkind action.
Sample: kind — including someone who is left out; unkind — name-calling.
QUESTION 2
How can one kind action change someone’s day?
It can make them feel included, happy, and cared about — small kindnesses matter a lot.
QUESTION 3
What does empathy mean?
Understanding and caring about how someone else feels.

Going deeper? Start a kindness chain.

Each time a student does or notices a kind act, add a paper link to a class kindness chain and watch it grow. A printable kindness-link template is in the SEL library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Kind or UnkindFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Kind or UnkindQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Kind or UnkindPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: cooperate, empathy, feelings, include, kind, respect, unkind, upstander
  1. understanding how others feel
  2. the emotions someone has
  3. to work well together
  4. to let someone join in
  5. treating others as important
  6. caring and helpful to others
  7. hurtful or mean to others
  8. someone who stands up for others

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Give one example of a kind action and one unkind action.
  2. How can one kind action change someone’s day?
  3. What does empathy mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) empathy · 2) feelings · 3) cooperate · 4) include · 5) respect · 6) kind · 7) unkind · 8) upstander
Part B: 1) Sample: kind — including someone who is left out; unkind — name-calling. 2) It can make them feel included, happy, and cared about — small kindnesses matter a lot. 3) Understanding and caring about how someone else feels.