This is an easy add-on activity I found on sugarspiceandglitter.com that doesn’t take a great deal of preparation in terms of material or instruction, but it packs a punch visually, aesthetically, and kinaesthetically!

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It’s truly applicable for any age-group (it can be a little more unassuming and casual for the older grades), but it’s a great opportunity for students to recognize one another’s efforts and kind acts for the Small Act Big Impact 21-Day Challenge. 

How to establish the Paper Chain of Kindness in your classroom:

  1. Provide a space in your classroom with multiple colours of construction paper (you may want to pre-draw lines indicating the width of the strips), scissors (might be fun to experiment with different edges), markers, and glue sticks.
  2. Invite students to cut strips during various periods in the day.
  3.  Read any one of the books on this booklist and have students discuss/brainstorm kind acts they could do to make their schools, homes, and communities a better place to be.
  4. Ask the students to think of acts they have done already to improve peoples lives and record them on the strips of pre-cut construction paper.
  5. Next, show students how to link the strips to make a multi-coloured chain which represents the kind things they have already done.
  6. Encourage the students to continue doing kind things and recognize one another for improving the kind culture by writing (or asking an adult to write) the kind act on a strip to be added to the chain.
  7. A goal could to to make the chain go all around the classroom. Students get really excited when they can envision a shared goal like this! Recognizing each others efforts is a lot of fun, too, and adds to the altruistic nature of the 21-Day Kindness Challenge. kid cutting chain paper

Leave a comment below to share how you used and adapted this lesson for your classroom! I always get inspired by people’s stories and the things they do. You might just inspire someone today!

Find us on Twitter @SABI21days, FACEBOOK@smallactbigimpact21days, and INSTAGRAM @smallactbigimpact21days or via email 

Feel free to check out the rest of my website for my blog, additional tangible challenge ideas, journal template, videos-links, bios to cool people who influenced the challenge with their ideas, and the science behind the SABI challenge (peer-reviewed journal articles linked).