Standing Together

Overview

This 20-minute lesson for Year 3 students in New Zealand aims to build understanding, empathy, and positive actions around Pink Shirt Day – a key event focused on anti-bullying and promoting kindness. The lesson connects directly with the New Zealand Curriculum Health and Physical Education learning area, focusing on students' understanding of personal wellbeing and relationships, and aligns with the development of the Key Competencies: relating to others, managing self, and participating and contributing.

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Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: Health and Physical Education (HPE)

• Strand: Personal Growth and Development
• Level: Level 2 (typically Year 3)
• Achievement Objective:
  • Understanding that relationships with other people can affect their own and others’ wellbeing.
  • Recognising how their own actions impact others.

Key Competencies

• Relating to Others: Developing empathy and respect, understanding others' feelings.
• Managing Self: Taking responsibility for their actions and choices.
• Participating and Contributing: Actively participating with peers in social activities with understanding and kindness.

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain what Pink Shirt Day is and why it is celebrated.
• Identify examples of kind and unkind behaviour.
• Demonstrate understanding of how to support others who may be feeling left out or bullied.
• Reflect on the importance of standing together to stop bullying.

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Resources Needed

• Pink Shirt Day poster or image (visual prompt)
• Story or role-play scenario cards describing bullying and kindness
• Worksheet: "My Promise for Pink Shirt Day" (includes colouring and sentence completion)
• Colouring pencils/crayons
• Chart paper and markers

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Lesson Plan Breakdown

Time	Activity	Description	Teacher's Notes
5 min	Introduction: What is Pink Shirt Day?	Show a Pink Shirt Day image. Explain briefly that Pink Shirt Day is about standing up against bullying and caring for others. Ask, "What do you think bullying is?"	Use simple and clear language. Accept all answers; guide towards kindness and inclusion.
7 min	Group Activity: Role-Play Scenarios	In groups of 5, read out short scenarios (some showing bullying and some showing kindness). Students act out or discuss what the kind thing to do would be.	Support shy students by assigning simple roles. Use props if available.
5 min	Worksheet: My Promise for Pink Shirt Day	Students complete a worksheet where they colour a pink shirt and write/draw one kind action they will do to help others.	Sentence starter examples: "I will be kind by...", "I will stand up when..."
3 min	Sharing and Reflection	Invite a few students to share their promise. Summarise how standing together helps everyone feel safe and happy at school.	Reinforce positive language and the idea of community.

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Differentiation & Inclusion

• Use visual aids and role-play to support diverse learning needs.
• Pair strong readers with peers to assist with reading the worksheet prompts.
• Be sensitive to students who may have personal experiences with bullying; create a safe, supportive atmosphere.
• Offer additional scaffolding through sentence starters for writing tasks.

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Assessment

• Observation during group role-play of students’ understanding of kindness and anti-bullying concepts.
• Review completed worksheets for evidence of engagement and comprehension.
• Listen to student reflections to assess their ability to express ideas about kindness and support.

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Worksheet: My Promise for Pink Shirt Day

A worksheet to be printed and given to students with the following sections:

• Colour the Pink Shirt: A large outline of a T-shirt for colouring pink.
• My Kind Promise: A line to complete the sentence:
  “I will be kind by ______________.”
• Draw a Picture: Students draw themselves doing a kind action.
• Bonus: Circle the kind actions from a list (e.g., sharing, helping a friend, using kind words).

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Teaching Tips

• Start by building a caring classroom culture; Pink Shirt Day links well with ongoing themes of respect and empathy.
• Use the New Zealand Curriculum Values including Respect, Responsibility, and Caring as language prompts.
• Encourage students to think about how they can take action in their own lives, not just understand the concept.
• Introduce Te Reo Māori words such as "manaakitanga" (caring, hospitality) to connect to local cultural values.

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This engaging and focused lesson provides practical ways for young students to understand Pink Shirt Day and act in their community with kindness, aligned to New Zealand Curriculum Health learning objectives and Key Competencies. It balances short activities with reflection suitable for 20 minutes and a class of 25 students.

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References

• New Zealand Curriculum: Health and Physical Education learning area, Level 2 Achievement Objectives.
• New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies: Relating to Others, Managing Self, Participating and Contributing.
• Curriculum principles emphasising inclusive, well-being focused learning environments