Activity 1: (10 minutes) PYRAMID OF HAPPINESS

Review the Pyramid of Happiness anchor chart from the slides and practice the actions associated with each level of the pyramid:

• Basic Needs: Rub tummy and pretend to drink (food and water)
• Safety: Pretend to put on a helmet (safety) and make a roof overhead with arms (secure place)
• Connection: Hug yourself (love) and give a friendly wave (belonging)
• Believe in Yourself: Make a thumbs up and show off your muscles (esteem)
• Superstar Self: Jump high and land in a superhero pose (self-actualization)

Highlight the 3rd level of the pyramid (Connection) and its action (hug yourself and give a friendly wave). Read aloud the correlating poem stanza together from the slides. Showing our gratitude towards others makes our friendships stronger.

Highlight the 4th level of the pyramid (Believe in Yourself) and its action (make a thumbs up and show off your muscles). Read aloud the correlating poem stanza together from the slides. Showing gratitude helps us focus on the good things in our lives and helps us feel great.

Highlight the 5th level of the pyramid (Superstar Self) and its action (jump high and land in a superhero pose). Read aloud the correlating poem stanza together from the slides. Being grateful leads to a happier and healthier life. This makes us the best version of ourselves! Share the definitions of “thankful” and “gratitude” from the slides. Have a discussion: 

• What are you grateful for? (EQ)

Activity 2: (10 minutes) FEELING THANKFUL

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

Read the book Feeling Thankful by Shelly Rotner & Sheila Kelly or watch the read-aloud video until 3:00. As children listen, invite them to pay attention to things to be thankful for that were mentioned in the book. Have a discussion:

• What are some things we can be thankful for? (EQ)
• What does gratitude mean to you? 
• How can you show your gratitude for people and/or things?

Activity 3: (10 minutes) GRATITUDE CHAIN

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

Watch the video, “Kid President’s 25 Reasons To Be Thankful!” by SoulPanake until 2:55. As they watch, invite the children to think about things they are grateful for.

As a class, list things that you are grateful for. Try to make sure everyone has a chance to share something. Write the children’s ideas on strips of colored paper and staple, tape, or glue them together in a chain. Hang the chain in the classroom and add more things to the chain each day. See how long you can make the chain and remind students that the chain helps us remember that there are lots of things to be grateful for.

Activity 4: (15 minutes) THANK YOU CARDS

Pass out a copy of the Thank You Card handout to each child. Have the children draw a picture and dictate thank you notes to helpers in your school (e.g., principal, administrative assistant, specials teachers, librarian, custodian, cafeteria workers). Learn the following song and sing it as you deliver the thank you cards.

“Thank You very Much” (sung to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)

_______________________’s class says “Thank you very much”

“Thank you very much”, “Thank you very much”

_______________________’s class says “Thank you very much”

For ___________________________ every day.

Encourage the children to come up with verses for other helpers in their world.

Activity 5: (10 minutes) ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Explain that gratitude is often a matter of attitude. Sometimes it can be hard to find things to be grateful for when things are not going our way. It is okay to feel sad, disappointed, jealous, or angry, but having an attitude of gratitude can help us feel better.

Pose the following scenarios and talk about how we can use gratitude to turn a bad experience into something we can be grateful for. (Teacher Tip: Feel free to add to or amend the scenarios based on the needs of your students.) Have the children do a somersault or spin in a circle to “turn things around” before thinking of something to be grateful for in each scenario. Emphasize that when we can find things to be grateful for, it can help us be happier and live as our superstar selves.

Scenarios and Possible Answers:

• You wanted to wear your favorite shoes today, but they are too wet and dirty. (I am thankful I have shoes! I am thankful I had fun playing in the mud yesterday.)
• Your grownup served broccoli for dinner, and you do not like broccoli. (I am thankful for food to eat. I am grateful for healthy foods. I am grateful my body is healthy.)
• You wanted to play in the home center, but there were already too many kids playing there. (I am grateful for so many friends. I am thankful there are lots of toys to play with at school.)
• You wanted to go outside to play, but it is raining. (I am thankful for rain for the plants!)
• You wanted to stay home and play, but your grownup says you have to go with them to the store. (I am thankful for a grownup who loves me. I am grateful to get groceries.)
• Your friend got the toy you wanted for their birthday. (I am thankful for good friends. I am grateful I get to play with my friends.)
• It is time for bed, but you do not want to stop playing. (I am grateful for my fun toys. I am thankful for all the fun I had today and I am excited to play tomorrow.)
• Your favorite t-shirt is in the laundry, so you cannot wear it today. (I am thankful for clean clothes. I am grateful I have lots of shirts to wear.)

Activity 6: (10 minutes) STEPS TO GRATITUDE

Explain that gratitude is more than just thinking about what we are grateful for. Learning to be grateful takes 4 steps:

1. Notice: What are you grateful for?
2. Think: Why do you feel grateful for this?
3. Feel: How do you feel when you are grateful?
4. Do: What can you do to show gratitude?

Help the children practice these steps by talking about things they are grateful for. Use each of the steps in the discussion. Give each child a copy of the Steps to Gratitude handout. Have them illustrate a picture of something they are grateful for, and then dictate their answers about the think, feel, do portions of the page. Share the students’ journal pages with the class.

An alternative to this activity is to create a book that has a copy of the 4 Steps to Gratitude page for each child. After discussing gratitude in the classroom, send the gratitude book home with one child with a note asking each family to fill out one of the pages together. Send the class gratitude book home with another child the following day. Once each child has had an opportunity to take the book home, share the completed book with the class.