Planting Seeds
GRADES K + 1
The ThinkGive® Planting Seeds program integrates foundational skills instruction and reading comprehension with explicit social skills activities that foster students’ growth as responsible, caring, and collaborative people. Students explore planting "seeds of kindness" by taking action to care for actual seeds and then extending that same attention to themselves and others. They consider how their efforts—directed at their plants and others—are meaningful in creating something beautiful.
STUDENTS WILL EXAMINE
Different types of emotions and feelings.
How self-care includes their physical and emotional selves.
Different ways of caring for others and the environment.
PROGRAM LENGTH
Five lesson series; each includes five 20-minute lessons.
Teach lessons at a pace suited to your schedule and student needs.
SEL SKILLS PRACTICED
Self-awareness: Identifying emotions; self-care; self-efficacy
Self-management: Managing emotions; self-motivation; organizational skills; personal and collective agency
Social awareness: Perspective-taking; empathy; respect for others; gratitude
Relationship skills: Communication; social engagement; collaboration; relationship-building
Responsible decision-making: Curiosity and open-mindedness; ethical responsibility; reflecting
ACADEMIC SKILLS PRACTICED
English grammar and usage when writing and speaking.
Reading; acquiring and applying new vocabulary.
Exploring word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Designing and building a small project.
Participating in conversations with different partners.
Making conceptual connections.
Following directions.
Think, Give, Build!
GRADES 1 + 2
The ThinkGive® Think, Give, Build! program takes students on a construction-themed journey in which they take action to impact themselves and others positively. Lesson plans promote student engagement with visual, hands-on, and interactive activities. Students record their ideas, skills, and vocabulary words in a Toolbox Book (journal). Students are encouraged to take action between lessons and collaborate to build a construction-themed display to reflect on and share their experiences.
STUDENTS WILL EXAMINE
How building a foundation of self-care empowers them to care for others.
Recognizing and appreciating differences and similarities between themselves and others.
How small, authentic actions can have a big impact on others and their communities.
PROGRAM LENGTH
11 lessons; includes five lesson themes (each containing two 30-minute lessons) and a Wrap-up.
Teach lessons at a pace suited to your schedule and student needs.
SEL SKILLS PRACTICED
Self-awareness: Identifying emotions; self-care; self-efficacy
Self-management: Managing emotions; self-motivation; organizational skills; personal and collective agency
Social awareness: Perspective-taking; empathy; respect for others; gratitude
Relationship skills: Communication; social engagement; collaboration; relationship-building
Responsible decision-making: Curiosity and open-mindedness; ethical responsibility; reflecting
ACADEMIC SKILLS PRACTICED
English grammar and usage when writing and speaking.
Reading; acquiring and applying new vocabulary.
Exploring word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Participating in conversations with different partners.
Making conceptual connections.
Using drawings and/or descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas and feelings.
Take Root, Branch Out
GRADES 2 + 3
The ThinkGive® Take Root, Branch Out program explores what we can learn about kindness, strength, communication, and friendship from the lives of trees. Students practice caring for themselves, their families, their friends, their communities, and the Earth. Through read-alouds, movement, games, and hands-on observation, students discover that, like trees, they have visible and invisible strengths, grow continually and uniquely, communicate in various ways, and are supported by roots of family and community. Between lessons, students take small, kind actions and add to a Tree Bulletin Board that grows alongside them, reflecting on how their choices can make a big difference, even when nobody is watching.
STUDENTS WILL EXAMINE
Their own strengths and growth, and how these can be visible or less visible.
Who supports them, and how they can support and appreciate their families, friends, and communities in return.
How small, kind actions, such as reaching out to someone new or appreciating the Earth, can have a big impact.
PROGRAM LENGTH
12 lessons; includes an Introduction, 10 themed lessons, and a Wrap-up.
Teach lessons at a pace suited to your schedule and student needs.
SEL SKILLS PRACTICED
Self-awareness: Identifying emotions; accurate self-perception; confidence
Self-management: Goal setting; personal agency; risk-taking
Social awareness: Empathy; perspective-taking; gratitude; interconnectedness; examining norms; systemic influence
Relationship skills:Effective communication; relationship-building; interdependence
Responsible decision-making: Curiosity; critical thinking; advocacy
ACADEMIC SKILLS PRACTICED
Listening to and discussing read-aloud texts.
Observing and describing the natural world.
Using writing and drawing to express ideas and feelings.
Participating in conversations with different partners.
Understanding and applying metaphor to make conceptual connections.
Communicating through spoken language and body language..
