Woof! Woof!: The focus of this lesson is to recognize acts of kindness through reading and language experiences and to encourage children to share acts of kindness with someone special.

Teaching with Clifford’s Big Idea: Be Kind
Acts of kindness are not easily forgotten. When children are given opportunities to share kindness with others, they learn valuable social and emotional lessons that will influence them for a lifetime.

Teach: Cooking with Clifford!
Objective: The following activity nurtures essential:

• social and emotional skills
• literacy and language skills
• life skills

Help children express feelings and give examples of kindness that they have experienced at home and school. Identify kind people in their lives. Read Clifford Wants a Cookie by Norman Bridwell (Scholastic). Ask children to retell the story in sequence by following the pictures. Share details of Clifford’s time in the kitchen. Could a dog really make cookies? Provide the recipe from the book and encourage children to make Clifford’s cookies at home.

Practice: Sweet Kindness!
Objective: The following activity nurtures essential:

• social and emotional skills
• fine motor skills
• life skills

Stock centers with canned or pre-prepared white icing, sugar cookies, sprinkles, nuts or small candy pieces for topping, aprons, spreading tools, and small paper bags. Before beginning, have children express their feelings about someone that has shown them kindness. Explain to them that they are going to prepare a sweet treat of cookies for that person. Give each child a paper bag and crayons. Have them draw hearts, smiley faces, or designs of their own choice. Sign and date the bags. Ice cookies and add toppings. Divide evenly among children. Place cookies in bags. Fold top of bag, punch two holes 2-3 inches apart. Thread ribbon, tie in a bow and send home! Start the next day by encouraging children to share how this act of kindness made them feel.

Extend: Kindness can be shown in many ways throughout the school day!

• Keep a kindness jar filled with simple goodies. Have children draw small rewards out of the jar when they model acts of kindness in the classroom or on the playground.
• Read children newspaper or magazine articles that reinforce the concept of kindness. Valuable life lessons can be learned from real-life accounts of kindness that touch hearts and teach compassion for others.

Clifford’s Library: These books support Clifford’s Big Ideas and reinforce valuable early literacy skills:

• Clifford’s Class Trip by Norman Bridwell (Scholastic)
• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn (Child Welfare League of America
• Corduroy by Don Freeman (Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)