Time
2-15 minutes
Level
Primary / Junior / Intermediate
Material
Journal or binder
Purpose
To help improve students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and to shift the balance towards optimism
To frame the practice, consider reading the suggested supplementary resource as a class or in small groups, and ask students to pick out key ideas through a “think, pair, share”.
- During the day, ask students to write down/draw in their journal, two things they are grateful for.
- May be combined with a gratitude moment/circle, in which case students can also prepare to share one thing they feel grateful for with the class.
Book: The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha, “One act of kindness goes a long way”
- Gratitude can be expressed through drawings, quotes, pictures, etc., or by having a “gratitude wall” where students can add Post-its describing what they are grateful for that day.
- This tool can also be private for each student. It can be referred to if the student is struggling or if they need a positive motivation during their day.
Gratitude is a concept related to the positive psychology movement and reflects the value that has been shown in holding an optimistic worldview.
Students who were “counting blessings” reported more gratitude, optimism, life satisfaction and decrease in negative emotions and negative self-concept. The impact, however, was greatest on the increased feelings of school satisfaction (Froh, Sefick & Emmons, 2008) Toepfer, et al. (2012) found that writing letters of gratitude had, over time, a positive impact on individual well-being and supported a decrease in depressive symptoms.
NOTE: This is not a measure of major depression, nor is it meant as a treatment for depression.
Froh, J. J., Sefick, W. J., & Emmons, R. A. (2008). Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of gratitude and subjective well-being. Journal of school psychology, 46(2), 213-233.
Toepfer, S. M., Cichy, K., & Peters, P. (2012). Letters of gratitude: Further evidence for author benefits. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(1), 187-201.
I will continue to use this for the rest of the year. I have made coil books for students with extra paper to add anything they wish. I post daily quotations from a desk calendar on the board under a section “Keep the Quote” and many students have been pasting these into their books as well. I showed them my gratitude journal that I have had for over 20 years – filled with quotations, comics, notes, etc. They were very receptive to the idea of looking back at their own journals in a couple of years.
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