Time Required
5-10 minutes a day, daily for two weeks
How to Do It
In this exercise, you will guide students to complete the Gratitude Journal practice, where they make a list of things they feel grateful for.
To introduce the exercise, the following prompt may be helpful:
Grateful or thankful is the feeling we get when something good happens to us. Many of us feel grateful for family, friends, or pets. Feeling grateful could also come from a time when someone helped you. An example could be that you were having difficulty understanding your homework. You asked your older brother or sister or a parent to help you. They spent some time with you helping you to understand the assignment.
Think back over the past day and write down up to five things in your life that you are grateful or thankful for.
Research on this practice involved students in grades 6-7, but it can be adapted to other age groups.
When teaching about gratitude in a school setting, it is important to keep in mind that students differ in terms of culture, race, socioeconomic status, and religious background. This may mean that they also differ in the way they express and practice gratitude, including verbal expressions, gestures, acts of kindness or caring, rituals, or gifts. Welcoming discussion of these and other differences in the classroom will deepen students' understanding of gratitude.
In addition, the experience of gratitude may be challenging for children facing personal struggles, community suffering, or systemic inequality. Rather than simply encouraging them to “look on the bright side,” researchers Jeffrey Froh and Giacomo Bono suggest listening deeply, empathizing, and acknowledging their feelings. This can help them cultivate resilience, which—along with other qualities like self-compassion and hope—could help plant the seeds for gratefulness.
Comments
and Reviews
Thitipan
Michael Monahan
Elizabeth First
I know just how fortunate I am to have the life I’ve had before my diagnosis of Hypopituitarism on my deathbed that I had to help my doctors find before I allowed them to send me home with palliative care. Although I suffer the consequences of a very late diagnosis, I still fight daily with cognitive and pain issues, and now regular old folks ailments, I refuse to own it and try to live as normal a life as possible. If it weren’t for my husband I don’t know at times where I’d be or do. I’m so grateful for him and my grandchildren who keep their eyes on me as I do my regular house and work chores. I’m grateful every day for my fortunes of my family here and elsewhere. I am loved even though at times I don’t feel it. Then I remind myself of my fortunes.
The Greater Good Toolkit
Made in collaboration with Holstee, this tookit includes 30 science-based practices for a meaningful life.
The Greater Good Toolkit
Made in collaboration with Holstee, this tookit includes 30 science-based practices for a meaningful life.