Kindness Chain

About this resource

A kindness chain for your classroom: 30 paper strips to write on, cut out, loop and link, plus a kind words sort, trace-and-write words and writing on three levels, in one print-and-go craft for PreK to 2nd grade.

Each strip is 8.9 inches long and 1.25 inches wide, six side by side down the page, edge to edge, so every cut is one straight line. The strips run down the page, so children turn the paper sideways to write. The last 0.8 inch of every strip is a glue tab marked "glue", and the writing space never runs into it. A child writes one kind thing on a strip, cuts it out, loops it with the writing on the outside, glues the tab and links the next strip through the ring. Print on colored paper, or use the pastel strips as they are. Hang the finished chain across a door or a wall and add a link whenever someone is caught being kind.

Choose the strip that fits the child. 12 strips are write-your-own, with sentence starters such as "I was kind when" and "I can be kind at home by" and handwriting lines to finish them. 12 strips have a kind act already printed (for example "I shared with a friend.") with a heart to color and a line to write who. 6 "Caught being kind!" strips are for an adult or a classmate to write what they saw. Then a kind words sort has 8 cards to cut and glue, 4 kind and 4 not kind, one picture and one label on each card (pushing, sharing, teasing, helping and so on), named with an adult. Every student page has a "My name" line and one short instruction with a picture.

What'S Inside

• Start Here: how the chain works, which strip to use, how to run the sort, the three levels and a five-day plan
• Meet the chain: a finished three-loop model with a kind thing written on each loop
• Kind words: 6 words (kind, smile, share, gift, friends, thanks), each with a picture, to trace and write on handwriting lines
• How to make it: four picture steps with one short sentence each
• 30 strips to cut in five sets of 6: two sets of write-your-own strips, two sets with a kind act printed, and one set of "Caught being kind!" strips
• A kind words sort: kind and not kind boxes with 8 picture cards to cut and glue
• Writing on three levels: trace and draw, fill in the sentences with a word bank, or write freely
• My kind week: five days, three hearts to color each day and a line to write on
• A class page with the sort answers, a family letter and a credits page (font license)

18 pages in all, 13 of them for students.

Cutting Built For Small Hands

Every cutting page has pieces edge to edge with no gaps and a dashed cut line. 38 pieces to cut in all (30 chain strips and 8 sort cards). You will need pencils, crayons, scissors and glue sticks. A staple or tape also works to close a ring.

Three Skill Levels

A small shape beside the name line marks each leveled writing page (circle, square or triangle). Easier: trace and draw, strips with the kind act already printed, or take dictation. Harder: write freely, or write your own on the strips.

Who This Is For

PreK to 2nd grade classrooms, self-contained special education classrooms, and paraprofessionals who want a paper chain craft with writing attached, ready to print.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A printable PDF (print and cut). It is not Google Slides, Docs or PowerPoint, and it has no fillable fields. It does not score or measure anything, and it makes no claim about any student's age or rate of progress.