I was in Minot this past weekend visiting family and heard the Black Eyed Peas are going to do a flood benefit concert in Minot on September 3 at the ND State Fairgrounds.  Tickets go on sale on Aug. 12 for the price of $100.  In case you didn’t know, Josh Duhamel (from the Transformer movies) is originally from Minot and is married to Stacy Ferguson, better know as Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas.  For more information visit http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/557276/Minot-to-host-Black-Eyed-Peas-in-flood-benefit.html?nav=5010 or minotrising.org.

This is a wonderful example of kindness.  Here are some activities from the Newspapers in Education tab “Count on Character” from KRP distributed by the NIE Institute. 

1. On a sheet of paper, write down five examples of kind acts that you have given or received in the last few weeks.

2. Divide into groups of four or five and share your examples.

3. As others are describing kind acts, jot down a verb that sums up the act, such as “helped,” “gave,” or “listened.” We’ll call these kindness verbs.

4. Decide as a group which makes you feel better: giving or receiving kindness.

5. List five things you can do in the next 24 hours to show kindness to others. Be as specific as you can.

6. While still in small groups, look through the newspaper to find photographs of kindness in action. How are these people being kind?

7. Jot down the consequences of their actions and talk about your answers.

8. Now, find a photograph or news story about a person or group being unkind. Write down the consequences of their unkindness and discuss how an act of kindness would have changed the story or the photo.

9. Turn to the comics and find the kindest character on the page. Try to draw that character — or cut and paste his picture —on a piece of paper. Can you find any unkind — mean, grumpy, or selfish — comic strip characters? As a class, discuss the things the characters do or say that make them kind or unkind.