Erin Loyd Wichita State University Grades 6-8 THE IMPORTANCE OF KINDNESS: JACQUELINE WOODSON’S ABILITY TO ENCOURAGE POSITIVE CHANGE

Jacqueline Woodson’s Each Kindness A new girl comes to school and tries to make friends. When Chloe, the narrator, is unkind, the girl keeps trying. And then the girl is gone and Chloe is left only with the memory of her unkindness. “At some point in our lives, we are all unkind. At some point, we are all treated unkindly. I wanted to understand this more. I think too often we believe we’ll have a second chance at kindness – and sometimes we don’t. I do believe, as Chloe’s teacher, Ms. Albert, says, that everything we do goes out, like a ripple into the world. I wrote this because I believe in kindness.” oks-ive-written/middle-grade-titles/

Jacqueline Woodson’s brown girl dreaming Raised in South Carolina and New York, I always felt halfway home in each place. In these poems, I share what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and my growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. It also reflects the joy of finding my voice through writing stories, despite the fact that I struggled with reading as a child. My love of stories inspired and stayed with me, creating the first sparks of the writer I was to become. oks-ive-written/picture-books/

Essential Questions What does it mean to be kind? How do you demonstrate kindness in your daily life? How does kindness define character? brown-class-clip-art-possibilities/

Media Examples Pay It Forward: 24 Acts of Kindness: Story of Martin Richard:

Activities to Foster Kindness Word Wall/Writing Response Socratic Seminar Introduction to Jim Crow Laws/ Reader’s Theatre “I am” Poem Courage to Stand Up Performance Task Assorted Summative and Formative Assessment Link to Wiki:

THANK YOU! quotes/