Kindness is Contagious

Title of Project: Kindness is Contagious

Schools and Teachers

Stratford School Teacher: William Kupferman

ENL Proficiency Level | ENL Program | Standards | Technology

Transitioning | Co-Teaching | (4RF3) (4L3a) (4SL5) | Buncee

Assessments

Formative: Written sentence completion activities as well as discussions with the ENL teacher

Summative: The Buncee presentation

Description

The idea of this project is to have the ENL student identify how he felt upon coming to the United States and then identify one act of kindness that someone did that made a true difference in his life. This act of kindness will then be shared with his classmates, who after hearing it, will be challenged by the ENL student to then perform a similar act of kindness for someone else. The acts of kindness will be kept track of so as to see what effect the challenge has made on the class.

Content

I can apply grade level skills in decoding words (4RF3).

Language

I can choose words and phrases that correctly convey my ideas and feelings.(4L3a).

Technology

I can incorporate digital media and visual displays within Buncee to emphasize central ideas (4SL5) .

Student work


Procedure

The ENL student will be prompted to complete sentences in English giving personal information (name, age, country of origin, date of arrival in the US, feelings when arrived, someone who kind to him and made a difference in his life, and what that person did). This will be done on a paper copy and then put onto Buncee slides. The degree of difficulty of the sentences will be language level appropriate for the student. The Buncee slides will incorporate appropriate images. The student will record his voice over each slide. The final slide will be a video of the ENL student talking briefly about the person who made a difference for him and then challenging his classmates to perform similar acts of kindness for his classmates. In order to scaffold this piece the student will be guided with questions by the teacher. The presentation will be played for the students on the Smartboard in their general ed classroom. Mainstream students who have now been “challenged”, will be briefed on the difference between everyday courtesy and a true act of kindness. They will be asked to drop a note in a jar in their classroom each time they perform an act of kindness with a small description of what they did. At the end of a month’s time, the acts of kindness will be looked at, and genuine acts counted. The ENL student will then add a slide to the Buncee presentation to summarize how the project went. If possible and relevant, students who participated in dropping acts of kindness to jar will also be invited to reflect.

Resources and Other Materials

  • iPad

  • Buncee

  • Smartboard

  • Classroom desktop computer

Reflection

This was a great activity. It allowed the ENL student to reflect on a crucial time in his life, discuss it in English, write about it, and use technology to prepare a presentation for his classmates. Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to make the presentation, as we were just preparing to do so when we had to begin school at home. I really liked the idea of him presenting as it would give him the opportunity to speak in front of his class, add to his confidence in his use of English and give him the opportunity to be the “star”. He did become more familiar with the Buncee program, which has become a productive tool for him. On a grander scale, I believe the activity would be a positive one for the class as a whole. The message was positive and I am confident that it would get the students thinking. In the future, I would have started the project earlier in the year to make it something that could be kept up with and revisited throughout the year.