I Am Thankful Lesson Plan

Download this Lesson Plan

What We Are Learning

 

Social and Emotional Learning Focus:

gratitude

 

Theme Vocabulary:

thankful

 

Skills We’re Practicing:

group discussion, critical thinking, vocabulary, relationship skills, counting/number recognition

  • Bear Says Thanks is part of Karma Wilson’s charming Bear series. After reading, ask children about things that they can give or share with others. Record their responses on chart paper and hang in the classroom.

School Community Thank-You Cards

Materials: construction paper, art materials

  • Show appreciation for school community helpers by making thankyou cards!
  • Gather children on the rug. Say that something we can all be thankful for is people who help us. Ask children who helps them in their school community. Make a list of their ideas on chart paper. If they need help, suggest people like the school nurse, who helps keep everyone healthy; the custodian, who helps keep the school clean; or the crossing guards, who help keep everyone safe. Then say that you can show gratitude for these helpers is by saying thank you. One way to say thank you is by making thankyou cards!
  • Pass out paper and art materials. Have children decorate the front of their cards. Circulate and have them dictate what they’d like to say in their cards. Then have children practice signing their name at the end! prewriting/gratitude

Materials: colorful pipe cleaners (or straws), large cup or jar

  • This activity builds on the issue by helping children identify different things they are thankful for.
  • Have children gather in a circle. Place an empty jar in the center. Give each child a pile of pipe cleaners, one of each color.
  • Remind children that when you are grateful for something, it makes you happy. Tell them that they are going to play a game and talk about things they’re grateful for. Say “Name a person you are thankful for and put a red pipe cleaner in the jar.” Have children share their answers and then put their red pipe cleaners in the jar. Continue with different categories, assigning a color for each one. Some examples might be a favorite food, a place, or a book.
  • When all the pipe cleaners are in the jar, say “Look at the rainbow of gratitude we have in our jar. We have so much to be thankful for!” gratitude