Classroom Activity

Caterpillar of Encouragement

A whole-class activity where every student writes words a teacher could say to encourage them, then connects their circle to build one big caterpillar.

A long, wavy caterpillar made of green, red, orange, and yellow paper circles taped across a whiteboard. Each circle has handwritten encouragement on it. The caterpillar has a smiling green paper head with two antennae.
The finished caterpillar, built by our class.

What you'll need

How it works

  1. Get your circle

    Each student receives one colorful circle.

  2. Think encouraging thoughts

    Spend 5 minutes thinking of words or phrases a teacher could say to make you feel encouraged and motivated.

  3. Write it down

    Neatly write your words of encouragement on your circle.

  4. Build our caterpillar

    When you're done, come to the front of the classroom and connect your circle to the caterpillar's head to make one big Caterpillar of Encouragement.

  5. Celebrate kindness

    Return to your seat, and we'll read and talk about all the encouraging words together.

What students wrote

Students decorated their circles with hearts, smiley faces, and flowers, and the messages sounded like real teacher voices.

Close-up of two paper circles. The orange circle reads: Beautiful work! You are unstoppable! The red circle reads: We are a team, no one gets left behind. I am proud of you! You are doing amazing! Both are decorated with hearts and smiley faces.
Two circles from the caterpillar.

Credit

Created by the LS 300 "The Bugs" team: Alexis Enriquez, Jaidin Flemming, Madison Mclaughlin, and Logan Pierson.