Why Gratitude?
Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; it is a readiness to show appreciation for something or someone. Practicing gratitude can enhance our self esteem as it shifts the way we see ourselves in relation to the world.
Overview
Gratitude Lesson Plan
This Lesson puts Gratitude at its center; first making the idea of Gratitude and the potential health benefits of practicing it, explicit. As is always the case, your current classroom culture, how familiar students are with each other and with you (the teacher), and possible prior classroom investigations into the Discussion Topics will affect how deeply each topic will need to be explored.
Teacher Priming
Locating Oneself within Gratitude
Write a Thank You note to an object that plays a role in your daily life.
Creative Routines
Circle of Compliments
It may be helpful to practice complimenting another person in a somewhat anonymous fashion before diving into the Gratitude Trophies Challenge. This short language driven activity provides that scaffolding.
List of Delights
In this activity, you’ll list 10 things and moments that enhance your life. Engage all your senses as you consider the small joys throughout your day.
Creative Challenge
Gratitude Trophies
This is an opportunity to foster belonging in any group, while also practicing metaphorical thinking and sculpting. Students sculpt a paper ‘trophy’ for a peer.
Working with constrained materials means that students are invited to experiment with and discover a variety of ways to manipulate the material. Assuming conditions for creative engagement are set, everyone comes away feeling appreciated for a quality that they bring to the group.
Reflections & Extensions
Reflections & Extensions for Gratitude
To extend your work around gratitude, we ask that you reflect with a series of questions designed to get you thinking about the areas in your life that bring you joy.
Resources
Additional Readings on Gratutide
We’ve assembled a collection of articles and other resources for further exploration in your classrooms!
Virtues List
A handy printable listing of some common virtues–great for your classroom wall!
