Kind Hearts

Overview

In this Resilience Project (1P LI) Health/SEL lesson, students explore empathy by noticing feelings and practising helping others. They learn that helping others makes both the giver and receiver feel better and creates a happier community.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand that helping others is a way to show and respond with empathy.
• Students will recognise that helping others benefits both the person who helps and the person who receives help.
• Students will identify personal ways they can help others at school and at home.

Success criteria

• I can identify ways I can help others in my life.
• I can explain why it is important to help others.
• I can explain how being helpful and empathetic makes our world a happier place for everyone.

Curriculum links

• AC9HPFP02: practise personal and social skills to interact respectfully with others (including explaining actions in response to challenging or shared situations).
• AC9HPFP03: express and describe emotions they experience (including using appropriate language/actions to communicate feelings).
• AC9HPFP02 (related): cooperating and collaborating when participating with others.
• AC9HPFP02 (related): behaviours that may be disrespectful or hurtful are avoided during play and group work.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: Finding Our Heart (read-aloud). Teacher reads Finding Our Heart by Thomas Mayo. After reading, teacher asks: “What happened in the video/story?” and “What are some words to describe how the people were acting to each other?” Students respond with partner talk then whole-class shares.

2. 5–20 min · Explicit teaching (PPT-style). Teacher shows slide-by-slide visuals and short text examples of kindness (e.g., sharing, comforting, including). Prompts during the slides:

• “What happened in the video?”
• “What are some words to describe how the people were acting to each other?”
• “Why do you think it’s important to notice how someone is feeling?”
• “Why do you think it is important to help others?”
• “What did you notice in the video when people helped others?” Teacher adds a brief explanation segment: helping others benefits the giver and the receiver—
• The receiver may feel cared for, safe, and less alone.
• The helper often feels proud, useful, and connected to others. Teacher summarises the LI in student-friendly words: “When we notice feelings and help, we show empathy, and it makes our world happier.”

3. 20–35 min · Practice: Helping hands craft (IWB modelling first). Teacher models the “Helping Hands” page on the IWB:

• “Let’s make a plan for how we can help.”
• Teacher traces one hand outline (or shows a model hand trace) and points to the finger spaces.
• Teacher completes one example finger together (e.g., “Share a toy” / “Hold the door”). Clear expectations: hands to self, listen while others talk, use gentle voices, and try your best.

Students complete their own page by:

• tracing hands (or using a pre-traced hand template for those who need it)
• writing/dictating 5 ways they can help others (one per finger)
• optionally drawing a small picture next to each help idea

Teacher circulates, prompting:

• “How would this help someone feel?”
• “Is this something you can do safely and kindly?”
• “Can you tell me your sentence in a whisper so I can write it for you?”

4. 35–40 min · Conclude + transition: Share and pack away. Students share 1–2 helping ideas with a partner, then 2–3 volunteers share with the class. Teacher closes with the LI/SC: “Today you identified ways to help others, and you explained why it matters—helping with empathy makes our world happier.” Transition: pack away resources and line up calmly.

Materials

• Teacher read-aloud book: Finding Our Heart (Thomas Mayo)
• PPT slides or printed slide sequence visuals/text cards (kindness examples)
• IWB (interactive whiteboard) and stylus
• “Helping Hands” page (finger spaces) for each student
• Hand-tracing materials (pencils/crayons; pre-traced templates available)
• Sentence starters cards (optional):
• “I can help by…”
• “I help because it makes them feel…”
• “I notice when someone is feeling…”
• Visual emotion cue cards (happy/sad/scared/left out/okay)
• Timer/visual schedule for lesson segments

Differentiation

• Emerging writers: allow oral responses; teacher or SLSA/teacher aide writes the student’s exact words, or use sentence starter cards plus one word/picture.
• EAL learners: provide picture supports for each finger idea (sharing, including, comforting, tidying, helping teacher). Accept home-language explanation; encourage gesture + one English word/phrase.
• Additional support: provide pre-traced hand template and a reduced writing target (e.g., 3–5 ideas depending on need) while still meeting the success criteria through speaking.
• Extension (for confident students): add a “why” sentence under one finger (e.g., “This helps because they feel included.”)

Assessment

• Formative checks during discussion:
• Students’ responses to prompts: “Why is it important to notice feelings?” and “Why help others?”
• Observe whether students use empathy language (notice, feel, help, kind, include).
• Formative checks during practice:
• Listen for students identifying realistic help actions (school/home) and whether they can link help to feelings.
• Quick AfL question at the end (whole-class response): “One way I can help others is…” (students answer with a short phrase)

Behaviour/learning norms

• Use “listening eyes and quiet ears” during read-aloud and teach time.
• Hands to self; gentle bodies; calm voices.
• Respectful turns: wait, look at the speaker, and use kind words when sharing ideas.
• When classmates share, respond with encouragement: “That’s a helpful idea.”

Assessment for learning questions

• “What happened, and how were people acting to each other?”
• “How can you tell how someone is feeling?”
• “Why do you think it is important to help others?”
• “How does helping change how the other person feels?”

Brief closing statement

“Today we practised empathy. You identified ways to help others, explained why it matters, and you saw how helpful behaviour makes our world happier for everyone.”