How to Be Kind
100 Ways Middle Schoolers Can Be Kind
75 Ways to Be Kind to Others
- Smile at everyone you pass in the hallway, in the store, or walking on the sidewalk
- Hold the door open for people
- Sit by someone who's eating alone
- Put your phone away and give someone your full attention
- Greet people in the hallways
- When you experience something good, share it with people (a book, social media post, YouTube video, article, etc…)
- Don’t gossip
- Talk to someone you don't usually talk to and try to get to know them
- Say please and thank you when you ask for things
- Compliment someone
- Help a classmate when they're confused
- Leave a nice comment on social media
- Ask new people to be in your group during class
- Ask someone how their day's going and genuinely listen to their response
- Make eye contact when you talk to people
- Forgive someone when they hurt your feelings (even if they don’t ask for forgiveness)
- Give someone positive feedback when they've done something well
- Apologize when you mess up
- Listen when someone needs to talk
- Say thank you a lot
- Share your things
- Tell people to “have a great day”
- Post a positive quote or note on social media
- Sit at the front of the bus and ask your bus driver about their life
- Don’t leave people hanging, follow through when you make a commitment
- Give away things you don’t need any more
- Don’t judge people
- Put a sticky note with a positive message in the hallway above the drinking fountain or bathroom mirror
- Ask your teacher about their life and what they enjoy doing when they're not teaching
- Give people the benefit of the doubt
- Randomly text a nice message to your family and friends
- Give someone a hug
- Stop talking and listen
- Be patient
- Let someone go ahead of you in line
- Call and talk to someone you haven't spoken to in a while
- Tell the principal how great your teachers are
- Thank the school cooks for making you yummy food for breakfast and lunch
- Say "I love you" to the people you love
- Clean the dishes after dinner without being asked
- Make sure everyone at the table feels included in the conversation
- High five people you pass in the hallway
- Write a thank-you note to someone
- Give someone a thoughtful gift (it doesn't have to be expensive, just thoughtful)
- Leave a nice note on someone’s desk
- Talk to someone at school that you’ve never talked to before
- Bring your bus driver a little treat
- Give someone a tissue when they’re crying
- Find the goodness in people you don’t always get along with
- Be happy for other people
- Surprise your friend with their favorite snack
- Tell someone why they are special to you
- Leave a “have a good day” note in a library book
- Happily participate when you really don't want to
- Be generous
- Write a thoughtful letter or card to someone and mail it to them
- Be honest
- Help a teacher pass out or collect papers
- Offer to clean the whiteboard
- Tell your teacher thank you at the end of class
- Cheer your classmates on
- Give teachers and classmates your full attention when they talk
- Tell the truth
- Make someone laugh with a silly joke (or meme or YouTube video)
- Say thank you when a teacher passes out papers
- Don’t complain
- Do the tasks that no one else wants to do
- Volunteer to tutor or read to elementary students
- FaceTime your grandparents
- Be inviting: invite someone to your house, eat lunch with you, be on your team, play at lunch recess
- When you're arguing or disagreeing with someone, stop and actually listen to their point of view
- Don’t interrupt people
- Tell your bus driver thank you for getting you to school and home safely
- Write a positive message on the sidewalk with colorful chalk
- Be selfless, put other people's interest and needs above your own
25 Ways to Be Kind to Yourself
Along with being kind to others, it's so important that our students learn how to be kind to themselves! Scroll down to discover 25 ways to be kind to yourself:
- Forgive yourself
- Love your uniqueness
- Go outside and play
- Don't ignore your feelings and emotions, allow yourself to feel all the emotions and take time to process them
- Take a break from technology
- Acknowledge and be proud of your strengths
- Laugh at yourself
- Treat yo self
- Remind yourself of your awesomeness
- Just have fun
- Tell yourself that you are enough
- Don't always play it safe, challenge and push yourself out of your comfort zone
- Stop trying to be perfect
- Be a kid
- Believe that you are capable of anything
- Be patient with yourself
- Ask for help and accept help when it's offered
- Accept your mistakes, learn from them, and move on
- Take a break from studying
- Stop comparing yourself to others
- Know that failure means you're trying, use it as a learning tool
- Don't settle for mediocrity
- Try new things: new food, new books, new music, new places, new friends
- Care for your body: go to bed early, get outside and move, and eat healthily
- Be your true self
Free Social Skill Posters
How to Encourage Students to Be Kind
Here are some ways you could encourage kindness:
- Challenge students to complete one act of kindness a day until they've checked off each idea.
- Give students a blank bingo sheet and ask them to fill in each box with one of the acts of kindness listed above. Then see how long it takes to get a blackout bingo.
- Print off the list and cut out each idea. Students then randomly draw and perform an act of kindness. Once they complete a kind act, they can staple the paper to a kindness bulletin board.
Free Social Skill Posters
Wanna remind your students to be kind? Be sure to download the free set of posters I shared with you a few weeks ago. This freebie comes with 12 posters each featuring a different way to be a good friend.
Free Resource Library
Grab the freebie featured in this post, along with 30+ other free goodies in our Free Resource Library! Sign up below for instant access.
Hello. I'm Janelle!
A middle school health teacher turned curriculum developer (and #WAHM). I'm on a mission to share the easiest-to-teach, most impactful health lesson plans on the Internet. Because your time and energy is better spent on teaching and connecting, not on planning and prep.
[…] >>> 100 Ways Every Middle Schooler Can Be Kind […]
I cleaned up my brothers room and i clean all of uour bathrooms in our house.
Hey Allison,
Yay! That’s awesome!
– Janelle
So I try to be kind around the school. I am in the 7th grade and I go to private school. I made these little cards with a nice note and a heads up penny for good luck and put it all around the school. The seniors also decorate the bathroom mirrors of the upstairs (downstairs is middle school and upstairs is high school and like 2 middle school classes) with positive messages and a little care kit. Also, there isn’t any bullying at our school because we have to wear uniform so it’s just spreading positiveness.
I currently teach at a middle school that does not have a dress code. Do you feel the dress code your school has implemented has had a direct impact on bullying?
Hey Connor,
This is a VERY interesting topic. I haven’t heard any specific research on the topic. I’m not sure that a dress code would change how peers interact. However, I think school uniforms could potentially create neutrality in terms of dress and possibility impact on peer-to-peer interactions. Ultimately, I think the most factors in terms of bullying are things like school values, culture, student expectations, and how teachers monitor expectations.
Definitely an interesting topic to discuss. Maybe have your students do a debate on the topic. That would be very enlightening and truthfully they probably know better than us teachers.
Take care,
Janelle
1. Give another student a compliment for their efforts.
2. Help someone with their work if they are struggling.
3. Talk to your friends if they seem to be in a bad place.
4. If someone is feeling sad, try to make them feel better.
5. Help the teacher pass out/collect assignments.
I really enjoy this list, I believe this is something we all could use and learn from. I look forward to having my students create their own list and see how many similarities we have.