Grades 1–4
Write a Thank-You Note
Write a real thank-you note to someone who helped you: who they are, what they did and how it made you feel, plus a picture.
SEL worksheet · Kindness and empathy
Kind Hands, Kind Words
A grown-up reads eight kind acts out loud, and kids sort them into kind hands, like a high five, and kind words, like “good job!”
- Grade level
- Grades K–1
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Topic
- Kindness and empathy
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Kindness, Empathy, Perspective-taking, Inclusion
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Grown-ups: read each one out loud. Is it something kind we do with our hands, or something kind we say? Kids write the number in the right box.
- Write each number in the right box.
- 1. Give a high five.
- 2. Say “thank you.”
- 3. Help pick up toys.
- 4. Say “You can play with us.”
- 5. Share a crayon.
- 6. Say “Good job!”
Teacher tip
Let kids show a kind hand or say a kind word for each act you read.
How to use it
- Catch kids being kind and name exactly what they did.
- Keep a kindness jar: add a pom-pom for each kind act you notice.
- Read scenarios aloud for younger kids and let them answer with a drawing.
Watch for
Kindness that is only for friends. Talk about being kind to people we don’t know well too.
Talk about it
- How do you think they felt?
- How might someone else see it differently?
Take it further
Write kindness notes for another class, the office staff or the custodian.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More kindness and empathy worksheets
Grades 2–5
Four Steps to Empathy
Number the four steps to empathy, notice, imagine, ask and show you care, then use them when a classmate drops a lunch tray.
Grades K–3
Roll a Kind Act
Roll a die to get a kind act for the day, like asking someone new to play, then write who you were kind to and how they felt.
Grades 2–5
Include or Leave Out?
Circle includes or leaves out for ten things kids do at lunch, at recess and in class, then plan one way to include someone this week.
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.