Lesson 1
The Domino Effect of Kindness
This lesson introduces students to the powerful idea that one generous choice can create a ripple of positive change throughout the community. By exploring the concept of altruism and using a visual “Domino Effect” demonstration, students discover how a single organ or tissue donation can save multiple lives and uplift countless others. Through guided discussion, mathematical reasoning, and systems thinking activities, students begin to understand kindness not only as a feeling, but as a meaningful civic action. The focus is on helping students grasp the enormous impact one person’s decision can have on families, friends, and society. This lesson sets the foundation for the Year 6 unit by inspiring curiosity, empathy, and a deeper appreciation of community wellbeing.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 2
Community Campaigns:
The Power of Perspective
This lesson builds students’ understanding of diversity and empathy by showing how different people in a community have unique values, questions, and perspectives. Through a series of investigative activities, students learn how kindness becomes more powerful when messages are shaped with respect and understanding. Working with audience profile cards, students explore how factors such as family, culture, tradition, and safety influence the way people interpret information. The focus is on developing clear, empathetic communication skills so students can design positive, fact-based messages for different audiences. By learning to listen first and tailor their message, students discover how empathy strengthens relationships and helps kindness reach further into the community.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 3
The System Challenge:
Mapping the Process Pathway
This lesson takes students behind the scenes to explore the incredible system that makes donation possible. Using clear metaphors and hands-on sequencing activities, learners compare two different pathways: the urgent “machine” pathway for organs and the carefully planned “material” pathway for tissues. Students step into the role of “Process Engineers,” discovering how science, teamwork, and precise coordination ensure every gift is used safely and respectfully. By breaking down each pathway into simple steps, students learn that organ donation is a race against time, while tissue donation follows a slower, methodical process. This lesson replaces confusion with clarity, helping learners understand the real-life system that supports the “gift of more time” for people in need. It encourages curiosity, scientific thinking, and deep respect for the teams who make donation possible.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 4
The Gift of Time:
Quality of Life & Future Maps
This lesson invites students to explore the idea that time is more than minutes on a clock — it is the ability to live, dream, participate, and move toward the future. Through the “Future Map” activity, students identify their own goals and understand how health allows them to pursue them. They then analyse a “Pause Profile” of a young person whose life is temporarily on hold due to serious illness, building deep empathy for what it means to have time “stolen.” The lesson concludes with a reflective writing task where students examine how donation restores potential, opportunity, and the ability to fill a life with meaningful experiences again. This powerful concept helps students understand that donation is ultimately the heroic Gift of Time — the chance for someone’s future to begin again.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 5
The Master Key:
Kindness & Communication
In this lesson, students discover the single most important human step in the donation process: the family conversation. Building on the Gift of Time explored in Lesson 4, students investigate powerful Australian statistics showing how much certainty and comfort families feel when they already know their loved one’s wishes. Through simple data analysis and guided discussion, students understand why sharing values early is an act of kindness and trust. The lesson also develops respectful communication skills. Students practise choosing the right words, tone, and timing to begin a gentle conversation, focusing on listening first and expressing values—not persuading or pressuring. By the end, students recognise the conversation as the “Master Key” that unlocks the entire process, offering clarity, support, and certainty to their future families.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 6
The Ethical Pledge:
Making a Choice
In this lesson, students explore how different communities make fair decisions through systems like Opt-in and Opt-out. Using the “Community Choice Challenge,” they discover how the way a choice is structured changes how people participate. Students then examine why Australia uses an Opt-in system for organ and tissue donation and learn that becoming a donor is a personal ethical commitment known as the Hero’s Pledge. The lesson connects this choice to the Master Key from Lesson 5, showing that an active decision only works when it is communicated clearly to family. Students conclude by creating their own values-based pledge, reflecting on the importance of clarity, responsibility, and sharing their commitments with the people who support them.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 7
The Legacy Gift:
Honouring the Donor Family
This lesson shifts the focus from the recipient to the people whose courage makes every donation possible—the Donor Family. Students explore the idea of Legacy: the lasting, positive impact a person leaves behind through kindness. Through an age-appropriate story, students learn that families often experience two powerful emotions at once: grief from their loss and comfort from honouring their loved one’s Ethical Pledge. Using empathy and reflective thinking, students analyse how fulfilling a wish can provide peace, pride, and meaning during a difficult moment. The lesson concludes with a sensitive writing task in which students craft an anonymous letter of gratitude, celebrating the family’s heroism and the enduring Legacy their loved one created through the Gift of Time.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 8
Spokes-Heroes:
Sharing the Legacy
In this lesson, students step into the role of Spokes-Heroes—community advocates who use facts, empathy, and positive language to share the truth about organ and tissue donation. Drawing on all the metaphors and key ideas from Lessons 1–7, students learn how to select the most powerful facts for a specific audience and craft a clear, gentle message that supports community wellbeing. Through a hands-on creative workshop, students design a “Good News” poster or digital flyer that celebrates the Gift of Time, honours the Ethical Pledge, and encourages families to have supportive conversations. This lesson empowers students as health advocates, recognising their ability to share accurate information with kindness and confidence.
“If you don’t have access to any of the books mentioned, you can substitute any picture book about kindness or sharing.”
Lesson 9
The Hero's Legacy:
Time Capsule Celebration
This final lesson brings the entire Year 6 unit together in a powerful celebration of kindness, reflection, and future commitment. Students revisit the major metaphors they have explored across the journey — from the Domino Effect to the Master Key and the Gift of Time — and choose the single idea that holds the greatest meaning for them as they move into secondary school. Through a creative workshop, each student designs a symbolic artifact that represents their chosen concept. These personalised items are then sealed inside the Hero’s Legacy Time Capsule, marking their final act of reflection and civic contribution. This uplifting ceremony honours the values of communication, kindness, and future responsibility, leaving students with a lasting sense of empowerment and Legacy.