Each Kindness Activities and Comprehension Questions
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson focuses on kindness and making judgements based on appearance. Scroll down for activities and comprehension questions.
Chloe treats a new student unkindly because of her appearance and peer pressure. She learns too late the negative consequences of being unkind. The book gives you the opportunity to promote:
- Bullying and isolation
- Kindness and reaching out to others
- Socioeconomic differences
- Making judgements based on appearance
- Peer pressure
- Reflecting on actions and behaviour
You can also use the book to teach:
- Point of view
- Inference
- Character traits
- Making connections
- First-person narration
Scroll down for Each Kindness activities, discussion questions and videos.
Each Kindness Summary
Chloe and her friends won’t play with the new girl, Maya. Chloe doesn’t know why she acted this way. Maybe it was because her clothes are old and her toys were old fashioned and she ate strange food. Every time Maya tries to join in with Chloe and her friends they turn her away leaving Maya to play alone.
By spring, Maya no longer comes to school, leaving an empty desk. Chloe’s teacher demonstrates to the class how small acts of kindness can change the world. “Each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple into the world.”
Chloe reflects on her own behaviour and she cannot think of a kind action she has taken. She realised she lost an opportunity to make a difference in Maya’s life. She thinks about how Maya’s life would have been different if she had shown her kindness.
With Maya’s family moving away, Chloe is unable to treat Maya in the way she should have done from the start. “My throat filled with all the things I wished I would have said to Maya. Each kindness I had never shown.”
Related Books
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
- The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
- I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About A Simple Act Of Kindness by Kerascoët
- Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
Each Kindness Activities & Resources
I have created literacy graphic organizers for Each Kindness. You can find them at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. There are many activities for each literacy area to differentiate depending on your student’s ability/age. They include activities for:
- Author’s Purpose
- Cause & Effect
- Character Traits and Analysis
- Comprehension Questions and Writing Prompts
- Inferring and Predicting
- Main Idea and Theme
- Making Connections
- Point of View
- Problem and Solution
- Retelling, Sequencing and Summarizing
*Click on these links to discover book recommendations on these topics.
External Each Kindness Activities & Links
- British Red Cross: Wellbeing activities: being kind to yourself
- The NED Show: Each Kindness activities
- Quebec Reading Connection: Each Kindness
- Reading is Fundamental: Each Kindness resources
FREE Each Kindness Activities
Would you like free graphic organisers for Each Kindness?
I have a freebie that is part of a larger resource so you can try it out before buying anything!
Fill in the form below to get access to the FREE pack. Click on the image to see the full pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Each Kindness Read-Aloud Questions
Read aloud sessions are a wonderful way for children to understand the connection between written text and spoken language. You can model reading habits and strategies, reading fluency, tone and eye contact. You can also introduce different genres, authors and illustrators.
- Describe the problem faced by Maya. Was her problem solved? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Chloe reacted the way she did to Maya?
- Do unkind actions also ripple out into the world? How do you feel about that?
- Why did the children judge Maya on her appearance rather than getting to know her?
- How do you think Chloe feels about Maya not coming back to school?
- What do you think Chloe and Maya would say if they saw each other again?
- Why was Chloe negatively influenced by her friends? What connection can you make between Chloe and peer pressure?
- Describe Maya's internal traits that the other students didn’t take notice of.
- What acts of kindness could Chloe have shown towards Maya?
- How do you feel about the end of the story? How would you have liked the story to end?
You can find a full set of discussion cards in the Each Kindness Literacy Pack or as a separate pack.
Each Kindness Videos
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