In the glittery bustle of the holidays, teachers often scramble to fit in last-minute lessons and refocus students dreaming of vacation excitement. It’s worthwhile to pause in the middle of all that excitement to build in reflective moments of gratefulness.
Yet without a clear plan to foster classroom gratitude, we risk missing the improved attitude, improved physical and psychological health, and enhanced social and emotional skills that giving thanks can bring. Positive psychology suggests that learning to be thankful has benefits that extend far beyond the classroom walls, including lifelong happiness.
Growth Journaling
Thanking others is important, but it’s also essential to be grateful for our own life progress. This holiday season, I’m adding a contemplative tradition to our busy schedule. Growth journaling, where students write diary-like entries of reflection about their successes and improvements, pushes students to consider how they’ve changed and to reflect on the people who made their progress possible. Some studies suggest that writing about positive experiences—as one does in growth journaling—increases well-being by fostering a sense of gratitude.
Secret Acts of Kindness
For a stress-free version of the kindness exchange, I have my students focus on noticing acts of kindness. Each time they see a particularly thoughtful or considerate action, they post a shout-out on a digital kindness wall. A link on a classroom website, a Google Classroom page, or even a simple Google Forms questionnaire that you occasionally share with the class will allow students to offer gratitude for a peer’s kindness. The students are not thanked by name—for example, “Thanks to whoever organized the bookshelf, it looks great!” The notes serve as written high-fives and pats on the back to encourage kindness to be contagious.
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