This month, we will be going into classrooms focusing on the topic of compassion and service. Our school-wide learning target is: I can define compassion and I understand why service to others is an important part of living in a community.
5th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a definition and discussion about compassion, what compassion means to them and when students have seen acts of compassion. The students will then watch a video clip (Struggling Baby Elephant) that evokes feelings of compassion and empathy. After, we will discuss the meaning of service when talking about service to others. The students will then create ornaments to give to various staff members in Corvallis School district.
6th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a reminder of the definition of compassion and discuss, what compassion means to them and when students have seen acts of compassion. The students will then watch a video clip (Tyler Trent ESPN story) that evokes feelings of compassion and empathy. After, we will discuss the meaning of service when talking about service to others. The students will then create gifts to give to their parent/guardian consisting of a decorated card and magazine cutouts depicting the things they love about their caregiver.
7th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a reminder of the definition and discuss what compassion means to them and when students have seen acts of compassion. The students will then watch a video clip (Meet Zach Sobiech) that evokes feelings of compassion and empathy. After, we will discuss the meaning of service when talking about service to others. The students will then create holiday cards to send to children's hospitals.
8th Grade: Because the ability to see things from other perspectives is an important skill when practicing compassion, we will be doing an activity that encourages students to see things from others’ points of view. Ms. Jo will compile narratives from people who are familiar to students (teacher, celebrities, etc.) who have overcome difficult circumstances or gone through times in their lives when they needed compassion.  When telling the stories, I will not actually disclose who the characters are. Students will then have a chance to talk about the people in the story—who they agreed with, who deserves compassion, who is being rude or kind or selfish or selfless, etc.  After they have settled on their opinion about the characters, I will tell them who the stories are actually about and discuss whether or not that changes their opinions.
