I've been keeping a gratitude journal on and off since Oprah first made it popular in the 1990s. The last few years, I've made it priority. Some days it hasn't been easy since Covid hit, finding 3 things to be thankful for, but I feel like that makes it all the more important.
It's also why I think it's so important to bring the practice of gratitude into the classroom. Students' lives have been a bit topsy turvy the last couple of years and focusing on gratitude is a great benefit for them as well. Studies have found that the practice of focusing on gratitude increases resilience, improves emotional regulation, increases the feeling of happiness and positive mood, and many other benefits.
I have 4 activities that I use in my classroom to practice gratitude.
1. A Little Thankful SPOT Book
Have you read any of the SPOT books by Diane Alber? I've read many of these books to my students this year as I saw a need for additional SEL this year. My students love these books and there are so many of them on so many social emotional topics.
I love A Little Thankful SPOT book to introduce the idea of gratitude. It explains what gratitude is and then gives many examples of things to be grateful for. It shows students that there are so many small and big things in their life that make them happy.
2. Smarties are Grateful Activity
This is a fun activity that can be used as an ice breaker or when you see a need for a little extra gratitude in your classroom. It can be done whole group or in small groups. Pass out packs of Smarties candies to your students. Display the picture below. Have the student randomly pull a Smartie out of the pack and answer the question that matches the color that they are holding. Have students go around and take turns answering the questions. When you are done, students get to eat their smarties.
3. Gratitude Journal
It's important for gratitude to be part of daily life. So I have my students do a gratitude journal. This can be as simple as stapling together a few pages of binder paper or giving students a blank notebook. Just have them write 3 things that they are thankful for every day. This would be a great bell ringer activity for students to do when they come back in from recess, or do it after your morning meeting. If they struggle with what to write, you could have a daily theme that you write on the board such as foods, friends, family, tv shows, etc.
I like to use this gratitude journal because in addition to students writing 3 things they are grateful for, they also set a goal at the beginning of the week and answer a journal prompt at the end of the week.
4. Gratitude Challenges
Gratitude challenges are a great way to mix things up a little bit and make it a little more fun for students. They're also great to send home over longer breaks to keep gratitude on students' minds.
Make a list of things for students to be grateful for and have them do as many as they can. For example, if you sent a challenge home over winter break, some of the things on your list might include: What are two things about winter that you're grateful for? Name 3 things about winter break that you're grateful for. What holiday tradition are you thankful for? What warm winter drink are you grateful for?
What are your favorite gratitude activities? Comment below and let me know!
~Jill
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