Pay+It+Forward

=How Many People Think You've Got It In You To Go Out And Change The World?  media type="file" key="Pay_it_Forward_Video_Clip.flv" width="360" height="270" = "The truth is you can't help but change the world. You can't be here and not leave some kind of mark on it. The question is what kind of mark are you going to leave?" --Catherine Ryan Hyde

This month's theme is RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS... After asking the question above, watching the video clip, and reading the quote, how would you answer that question? Do you think it is possible to change the world? If so, how can we do it at Philo Magnet Academy?

Explore the meaning of these vocabulary words before jumping into the activities dealing with Random Acts of Kindness:
 * Random Acts of Kindness**- Turn to your neighbor and in 15 seconds, tell him/her what you think they are.

What are Random Acts of Kindness? When we go beyond duties that are expected of us and reach out to help another person or groups of people, we are performing random acts of kindness. Kindness and empathy are very closely related: kindness is the observable expression of empathy. We sense another person's need, we understand how it feels to be in need, and we decide to offer our help. This profound process can happen almost instantaneously, even if the person in need is a complete stranger. When we are kind, we express the very best of our humanity.


 * Random**- Switch roles with your neighbor. Explain how these "acts" can be random. What is meant by that term in the context of the phrase?

The word "random" can be interpreted in various ways. It originally was adopted simply as a response to the often-heard phrase "random acts of violence." In this sense, a Random Act of Kindness does not mean an unplanned act any more than a random act of violence is unplanned. Almost all acts of kindness are planned to some extent. Sometimes the planning takes a couple of seconds. Other times the planning can take weeks. All acts of kindness--planned and unplanned--are valuable and beneficial. When people are kind, they are improving their world by selflessly giving to another. **An act of kindness is random when it is unexpected, done for no reason, and without expecting anything in return**.


 * Kindness-** on a piece of paper, take 30 seconds to write some examples of kindness. Take 30 more seconds and give examples of what kindness is not.


 * Practice-** on the same piece of paper, write one sentence that explains the connection between practice and kindness. (We practice to become proficient at kindness until kindness becomes part of who we are).


 * Passing Kindness On-** on the same piece of paper, make a bubble diagram showing how kindness could be passed on in this classroom.


 * In Summary: What could you do today....that would be a Random Act of Kindness and encourage others to pass it on?

//Excerpts taken from Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Teaching Guide

Lesson Plans for Language Arts Activities Lesson Plans for Math Activities //**