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Lesson Plan Image

Showing Gratitude

Children will create a personalized thank-you picture and note for someone important in their life.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Being grateful and saying thank you are life skills that children learn at a young age. These traits can even provide health benefits such as lower anxiety levels, improved optimism, better sleep, and others. Read a book together, such as "The Thank You Book" by Mo Willems or "Thank You Day" by Farrah McDoogle and Gord Garwood. Discuss the ways the characters in the book expressed thanks and how it made them feel. Ask children to think of things and people they're grateful for and why.

  • Step 2

    Have children create a picture for someone important in their life. Encourage them to personalize it with images that are special to that person. They might also want to attach a small note of thanks to the picture.

  • Step 3

    Ask children to present their pictures to the class and talk about the person they chose and why. Encourage them to deliver the pictures and notes to the intended person.

Standards

SEL: Self-Awareness: Understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.

SEL: Social Awareness: Understand the influences of organizations and systems on behavior. Recognize family, school, and community resources as supports and express gratitude.

Adaptations

Introduce children to ways they can say thank you in different languages. For example, teach them "merci" (French), "gracias" (Spanish), "danke" (German), "shukran" (Arabic), and "todah" (Hebrew). Invite community members or students' relatives who speak those languages to visit the class and share other words of kindness such as "please," "excuse me," and "I'd like to learn more about you."

Have the class collaborate to create a thank you drawing for someone in the school, such as a maintenance worker, school nurse, cafeteria staff member, etc. Each child might add a picture and their name. Then present it to the individual.