Genuine compliments are kind gifts you can give that cost nothing.
Genuinely and intentionally complimenting others is a meaningful skill that can be taught.
There are many ways to provide opportunities to practice giving compliments:
Compliment Share Circle:
Compliment Share Circle is a circle activity that can be done at circle meetings once routine and trust have been established. Students are invited to share a genuine compliment for a particular individual or any member of the class as the talking stick is passed around the circle. Students do have the right to pass. This activity should only be done after modeling and ensuring that a positive safe classroom community has been established.
Some key things to remember when students are writing compliments is:
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that they are genuine
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that they back up their compliment (i.e., don’t just say you are nice, but give an example of a time when they were nice)
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that they own their words and sign their name
Person of the Day:
“Person of the Day” is a low prep easy activity that has huge ripple effect in a classroom community.
Before starting, discuss what a genuine or authentic compliment is. Model some examples.
Put the names of all class members in a bag. Each day a new name is drawn.
Cut up slips of paper (all the same size) and hand out to all students. Insist on a quiet uninterrupted five minutes for students to write their compliment; be sure to write a compliment for the student yourself. The student whose day it is, uses their slip of paper to write their name in big letters as a cover page. All compliments are stapled together like a little book for the student to take home.
Compliment Jar:
A compliment jar is very similar to person of the day except all the genuine compliments are folded and put in a jar for the student to take home.
