November is the perfect time of year to incorporate thankful lessons and teach our students about gratitude. After all, its the season of giving thanks!
Truth be told, gratitude isn’t just a fun seasonal theme. Studies are showing the benefits of passing on this skill to our children go beyond good manners.
Why Teach Gratitude?
Gratitude leads to:
- Higher levels of happiness and optimism
- Improved sleep
- Less stress and an improved ability to cope with stress
- Reduced depression
- Less aggression
- Increased self-esteem
- Improved resilience
So how can we teach our kids to adopt an attitude of gratitude?
Read on for all the plans you’ll need to implement a week-long, literacy-rich lesson series that will give your students a new perspective on what it means to be thankful.
A Week of Gratitude
By the end of this week, with these thankful lessons, your students will have a deeper understanding about the concept of being grateful for a variety of things in their lives. Also, they will have a keepsake book of personal gratitude to share with their families and treasure forever!
The plan is simple to put into action. You’ll start your literacy block each day with a read aloud related to a different area of life to be thankful for. After the read aloud and discussion, your students will complete a new section of their keepsake book independently. Note: This lesson was created with 1st or 2nd grade students in mind.
Materials Needed:
I Am Thankful Lapbook Digital Version ~
I Am Thankful Lapbook Paper Version ~
- I Am Thankful Lapbook
- Manilla folders or construction paper
- Colored pencils or crayons
- Scissors
- Glue
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Read Alouds
(Note: YouTube links are included in the lesson details in the event that you do not own all four books.)
- Thank You, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco
- Duck for Turkey Day, by Jacqueline Jules
- Charlotte and the Quiet Place, by Deborah Sosin
- Look and Be Grateful, by Tomie DePaola
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Lesson 1: People I Am Thankful For
Read Aloud: Thank You, Mr. Falker
In this beloved story, the main character shares her gratitude for her teacher, Mr. Falker, who changes her life by teaching her how to overcome her struggles with dyslexia.
Read along on YouTube: Thank You, Mr. Falker, read by Jane Kaczmarek
Writing Activity
Select five to ten random students to share who they are thankful for popcorn style (without repeating the same answer as anyone before them!) Then give each student the materials they need for this section of the book. There are multiple tabs, so challenge them to think of LOTS of different people in their lives they are thankful for!
Lesson 2: Food I Am Thankful For
Read Aloud: Duck for Turkey Day
In this story, the author describes how a Vietnamese family enjoys duck instead of traditional turkey for Thanksgiving.
Read along on YouTube: Duck for Turkey Day
Writing Activity
Brainstorm all the different types of food your students love. Then give each student the materials they need for the “food I am thankful” section of the book. The interactive flaps give kids plenty of room to include a variety of different types of food.
Lesson 3: Places I Am Thankful For
Read Aloud: Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin
Read along on YouTube: Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin
Writing Activity
List a few of the places Charlotte describes in the read aloud (i.e kitchen, living room, bedroom, classroom, lunchroom, etc.), Ask students to vote with a show of hands whether each place is a location they enjoy. Invite a few students to share why they voted yes or no. From there, send the class to complete the “Places I Am Thankful For” section of the lapbook.
Lesson 4: Hobbies I Am Thankful For
Read Aloud
No read-aloud for this lesson.
Writing Activity
Begin this lesson by generating a word web. Write the word “hobbies” in the center of your board or chart paper. Ask the class to give you words to add that represent the things they like to do in their free time. Then, release your students to complete the corresponding lapbook writing activity.
Lesson 5: Acrostic Poem
Read Aloud: Look and Be Grateful by Tomie DePaola
Look and Be Grateful is a short book with a big message – appreciate the things you encounter each and every day – from a ladybug on a leaf to the people you love.
Read along on YouTube: Look and Be Grateful by Tomie DePaola
Writing Activity
Students will use the lesson 1-4 writing components to provide them with ideas for their acrostic poem.
Before having the students write their poem, brainstorm a list of describing words that begin with the letters in the word THANKFUL. Next, write a sample acrostic poem as a class using the describing words from the anchor chart. Then, release students to work on their own acrostic poem using the ideas they already wrote about earlier in the week (people, food, places, and hobbies).
Grab all the supplies to complete your lapbook here!
2 Ways to Get This Resource
Join All Access to download everything we've ever made.
Or... Purchase the bundle in our shop.
Looking to Revamp your Teaching Gratitude?
Check out these gratitude quick tips.
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