Activity 1: (20 minutes) GRATITUDE COLLAGE

Invite students to think about everything in their life they are thankful for. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Using lined paper or in student journals, have students list as many things as they can think of that they are grateful for. After time is up, have students count up how many things they wrote down. Whoever wrote the most is the winner. (Teacher Tip: Consider offering a small reward for the winner of the challenge.)

Read the definition of gratitude from the slides. Emphasize that gratitude means more than just saying thank you. It is about noticing good things in your life and appreciating them, then showing gratitude through words or actions. Gratitude helps you feel happier, kinder, and even do better in school and life.

Give each student a blank piece of paper. Ask them to create a Gratitude Collage using pictures, drawings, words, and symbols that represent what they are grateful for. Encourage students to refer to their earlier lists. Their collage should include:

• People (family, friends, teachers)
• Places (home, school, nature)
• Things (hobbies, books, music, pets)
• Feelings or moments (peace, laughter, safety, joy)

Encourage students to design freely and to include artistry to express their personality. When students finish, invite them to share their collage with other fast finishers.

Have a discussion:

• Why is it important to stop and notice what we are thankful for? (EQ)
• How can gratitude change the way we feel or think?
• What does this collage tell you about what matters most in your life?

Activity 2: (20 minutes) EXPRESSING GRATITUDE

Ask students to think about someone they are grateful for. Invite students to turn and talk to a partner or share aloud with the class. Encourage them to think beyond the obvious—maybe think of someone they do not usually talk to.

Explain that gratitude is a skill that can be learned, and doing simple things to express gratitude can train your brain to feel more joy over time.

Pass out the Letter of Thanks handout to each student or provide blank paper. Review the instructions together, answer any questions, and set students to work. Encourage students to be thoughtful about what they write and include key memories that they share with this person that make them feel grateful. Invite those who finish early to share their letter with a partner. Have a discussion:

• How did it feel to write a letter of gratitude?
• How might your letter impact the person who receives it?
• Why do you think expressing gratitude with words matters? (EQ)

Extension: Set up a special mailbox in the classroom where students can “send” letters to teachers, staff, classmates, or anyone in the school. Deliver letters weekly.

Activity 3 : (20 minutes) FOCUS & NOTICE

Prior to this activity, watch the video and see if it is the best fit for your students.

Explain that slowing down and focusing on the world around us can help us feel gratitude. Watch the video, “Time-Lapse: Watch Flowers Bloom Before Your Eyes,” by National Geographic until 2:54. As they watch, encourage students to pay attention to what they noticed and how it made them feel. Have a discussion:

• Did this video make you think differently about flowers?
• Do you appreciate flowers more after watching this video? Why?
• How can slowing down to notice everyday things increase feelings of gratitude? (EQ)

Have students practice noticing by spending some time outdoors. (Teacher Tip: If the weather is not clear, you can use objects around the classroom for the following activity.) Each student should sit comfortably in a spot away from others. Ask them to pick 1 thing (e.g., clover, piece of grass, sky, rock, pencil) to look at carefully for 5 minutes. Students can touch, smell, and carefully examine their chosen item. You can even have students sketch the object in a notebook, while trying to capture as many details as possible.

Gather back together to debrief. Have a discussion:

• What did you notice that you may not have observed at first glance?
• How did your mind feel as you were observing?
• What did you notice that you feel grateful for now that you had not noticed before? (EQ)

Extension: Gratitude journals are great places to regularly jot down things that we notice and appreciate. Consider providing an empty composition book for students or have them make their own mini-book to use at home to record daily gratitudes.

Activity 4: (20 minutes) GRATITUDE & WELL-BEING

Ask students to think about what other words come to mind when they hear the word “gratitude?” Invite students to share words or ideas that come to mind. Create a class word cloud using an online tool (e.g., Mentimeter, Padlet, or Jamboard) or collect responses on the whiteboard or chart paper. (Teacher Tip: As students share, highlight emerging themes like kindness, thanks, people, moments, peace, helping). Using the word cloud as inspiration, have a discussion:

• How might gratitude affect our well-being? (EQ)

Review the 5 areas of well-being from the slides. As a group, discuss how gratitude can benefit each area of well-being. Consider listing student ideas on the whiteboard. If needed, some examples are included on the slides.

Watch the video, “The Amazing Effects of Gratitude,” by BrainCraft from 0:27–2:55. As they watch, encourage students to notice additional examples of how gratitude can positively impact each area of well-being.

Pass out the Gratitude Matching Cards handout to each student. Using the prompts from the slides, students will design 2 matching cards that illustrate something that they are grateful for. Provide scissors for students to use to cut apart their cards.

After sufficient time, sort students into groups of 4–5. Groups will combine their cards into a stack and shuffle them together. Have students lay the cards out in columns and rows and play a quick game of Matching Pairs by using the following steps:

1. Mix and lay the cards face down in rows.
2. Take turns. On your turn, flip over 2 cards.
3. Look for a match.
4. If the cards match, keep them and take another turn!
5. If they don’t match, turn them back over in the same spot.
6. Remember where cards are! That helps you find matches later.
7. Keep playing until all matches are found.
8. The player with the most matches at the end wins!

If time permits, gather back together and have a discussion:

• Did you notice any common themes in the cards created by your peers? (EQ)

Activity 5: (15 minutes) SHIFT YOUR THINKING

Ask students if they have ever had a bad day and still found something to be grateful for. Invite a few students to share.

Explain that one barrier to feeling gratitude is negative thinking. Fortunately, we can learn to shift our perspective by using the phrase “…but, I am grateful…”

Model how to do this with an example from the slides. Then let the students try to rephrase the other 2 sentence starters with you. Clarify that gratitude does not mean we ignore hard things. Rather, it helps us shift our focus toward hope and appreciation.

In pairs or small groups, have students write their own short “bad day” scenarios. Groups will then trade scenarios with another group and reframe the bad day using the reframing phrase “…but, I am grateful…” that they previously practiced. Ask for volunteers to share their reframes.

Gather back together and have a discussion:

• Do you think gratitude makes hard moments easier to handle? Why or why not?
• How can expressing gratitude help shift your perspective? (EQ)

Activity 6: (20+ minutes) DEMONSTRATING GRATITUDE

Ask students to think about what it looks like to show gratitude to people, places, or to a community. List students’ ideas on the whiteboard.

Sort students into groups of 4–5. Have them brainstorm a service project to demonstrate gratitude for something or someone at the school. Encourage them to decide on a time to complete their project. Ideas could include:

• Write a thank-you note to someone who serves your school.
• Pick up trash during recess.
• Volunteer to help the librarian during lunch.

Have a discussion:

• How can gratitude turn into action that makes a difference? (EQ)

Affirm that small acts of gratitude can indeed make a big difference.