InClass

You’re going to be extra thankful for these reflection and gratitude exercises. (And no, they’re not just for Thanksgiving!)

When thinking about November, we tend to focus on Thanksgiving and Veterans Day (and if you’re curious to learn about the history of Thanksgiving over the years, you can check out this short article from The Smithsonian). But being thankful for those around us and showing gratitude doesn’t have to be just in a single month. Take a look at these resources that you can use throughout the year to help students reflect and act on gratitude toward others and themselves. Choose a few to try out in your classroom (or even in your own life)!

1. First, if you’re unsure why gratitude is an important topic to reinforce with students, check out this article from Edutopia.


2. Check out this easy, printable DIY Gratitude Jar template. Just print it out and hand them out to your students to fill out.


3. You can use pipe cleaners, pencils, or any random assortment of objects for this Gratitude Grab Game.


4. You can change up the colors of the leaves in this Thankful Tree activity from HGTV.


5. Can you come up with 26 things you’re grateful for? Try this free ABC Thanksgiving printable. You can change the rules up and tell students to come up with three-syllable words, use alliteration with adjectives and nouns for each item, or even require the words to end in these letters instead of beginning with them.


6. Here’s a TEDxTalk from David Steindl-Rast that suggests that happiness comes from gratitude.


7. This article from Forbes describes the importance of gratitude even in the workplace.


8. No need to purchase any special die-cuts or spend lots of time with scissors: this easy clothesline activity gives students the opportunity to see and read what their peers are grateful for and appreciate. Bonus: You can rotate the purpose of the clothesline to showcase student work, too.