Feeling, Kindness, Respect

Overview

This 40-minute lesson supports Year 1 pupils to recognise feelings of loneliness in themselves and others, understand kind and unkind behaviour, and learn how to treat everyone with respect. The lesson is designed to meet the statutory relationships education requirements as set out in the National Curriculum (England) and the PSHE Association Programme of Study for Key Stage 1, focusing on personal wellbeing, social skills, and respectful behaviour.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Identify when they or someone else may be feeling lonely (National Curriculum: Health and Wellbeing, PSHE Association Key Stage 1: Recognising feelings and developing empathy)
• Explain what kind and unkind behaviours look like and their effects on others (National Curriculum: Health and Wellbeing; PSHE Association Understanding behaviour impact)
• Demonstrate respectful behaviour including politeness and courteousness towards themselves and others (National Curriculum: Relationships Education; PSHE Association Building positive relationships)

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Curriculum Links

• Relationships Education (Statutory)
  • How to recognise and respond to feelings
  • The importance of respecting others
  • How to behave politely and courteously
• PSHE Association Key Stage 1 Programme of Study
  • Feelings and emotions
  • Friendship, kindness and respect
  • Social skills and positive interactions

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Resources Needed

• Emotion face cards (happy, sad, lonely, angry, etc.)
• Scenario prompt cards (kind and unkind behaviours)
• Role play props (e.g. paper hats, scarves to denote different characters)
• Large poster paper and coloured marker pens
• ‘Feelings’ drawing sheets
• Timer or stopwatch

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Circle time discussion: Introduce the topic of feelings and loneliness. Use the emotion face cards to ask: “What does this person look like they might be feeling?” Include the 'lonely' card.
• Explain the idea that sometimes people feel lonely, and it’s important to notice these feelings in ourselves and others.

2. Explain Kind and Unkind Behaviour (7 minutes)

• Introduce the concept of kind and unkind behaviour with simple definitions:
  • Kind behaviour – actions that make others feel happy and included
  • Unkind behaviour – actions that might hurt others’ feelings or make them feel lonely
• Show scenario prompt cards and read examples aloud (e.g., sharing toys = kind; not speaking to someone = unkind).
• Discuss as a class how unkind behaviour can make people feel lonely or sad.

3. Role Play Activity (20 minutes)

• Group setup: Divide the class into 4 groups of 5 children. Each group receives a different scenario card with kind/unkind behaviours and feelings.
• Task: Pupils take turns role playing the scenario. For example:
  • Someone feeling lonely in the playground
  • A child sharing their toy to be kind
  • Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in a school setting
• Encourage children to use polite language and demonstrate respectful behaviour.
• After each role play, groups discuss:
  • How did the characters feel?
  • What kind behaviour helped?
  • How could unkind behaviour be changed to kind?
• Teachers circulate, guiding reflections and praise observed respectful language and actions.

4. Reflection and Drawing (5 minutes)

• Give each pupil a drawing sheet to draw either a kind action they saw today or a way they could help someone feeling lonely.
• Pupils share their drawing with a partner or the class if they wish, describing their picture and explaining why kindness and respect are important.

5. Plenary and Assessment (3 minutes)

• Recap the key messages: recognising loneliness, kind and unkind behaviours, and the importance of being polite and respectful.
• Ask oral questions:
  • “What can you do if you see someone feeling lonely?”
  • “Can you give an example of kind behaviour?”
  • “Why do we say please and thank you?”
• Use pupils’ responses to assess understanding informally.

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Differentiation

• Provide additional visual aids and support for pupils with communication needs.
• Offer sentence starters for pupils who need help expressing ideas during role play (e.g., "Are you OK?", "Would you like to play?").
• For higher ability pupils, encourage thinking about how kindness can be shown in other situations beyond school.

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Assessment and Next Steps

• Formative assessment through observation during role play and plenary questioning to check understanding of feelings, kindness, and respect.
• Use pupil reflections and drawings to identify those who may need further emotional vocabulary or social skill support.
• Plan follow-up activities to deepen empathy skills and introduce conflict resolution strategies in subsequent PSHE lessons.

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Teacher’s Notes

• Emphasise a supportive and safe classroom atmosphere where pupils feel comfortable expressing themselves.
• Reinforce positive behaviour throughout the lesson with specific praise linked to kindness and respectful language.
• Link this lesson naturally to ongoing class community-building and friendship work, reinforcing pupils’ sense of belonging.

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This lesson brings the National Curriculum and PSHE best practice alive using interactive, child-centred methods. The role play element ensures active engagement while developing essential social and emotional skills to help pupils thrive personally and socially.