October 23, 2024

Try this wonderful gratitude lesson for students!

Since I teach high school, below you’ll find my lesson plan for high schoolers. But this gratitude lesson can easily adapt it to all grade levels. And the icing on the cake? There is minimal prep and the materials are free.

An image of a pink letter that says "thank you so much".

This gratitude lesson for students is hands-down one of my favorite activities I do with my students all school year for two reasons…

The first reason is because I get to see the impact writing thank you letters has on students. It’s a real treat to see the students reflect, share, and write letters to the teachers, coaches, staff, and administrators who have made a difference in their lives.

The second reason I love this gratitude activity is the experience of getting to deliver these handwritten letters! The recipients often tell me that it’s one of the highlights of their entire year.

All in all, it’s certainly become an activity that spreads joy and fills the cups of the students writing the letters and the teachers, staff, counselors, administrators, and coaches who receive them!

Gratitude Lesson: Step-by-Step Instructions

To prepare for this lesson…

Step 1: Print class copies of gratitude article

Before we get to writing our thank you letters, as a class we read Giving Thanks Makes You Happier” by Harvard Health Publishing. This answers the “why are we doing this?” for students. Also, since I teach Health Sciences, it’s always a bonus for me if there is a health benefit to what we are doing.

To convert this article into a PDF to print, you’ll want to download PrintFriendly Chrome Extension. (I actually use this extension this alllll the time. It’s really upped the quality/versatility of articles we read in class!) I then print copies for each student.

Helpful tip #1

I write “Class Copy: Please Do Not Write On” on the top of the original that I make copies of. That way, I have the articles prepped and ready when I teach this gratitude lesson in the future.

Helpful tip #2

Once you print your first copy, number each of the paragraphs to facilitate a smoother read aloud. For example, you can say, “Taylor, would you please read paragraphs 3-8?”. Or if you ask students a question, you can easily reference the paragraph you are referring too. There are certainly more ways you can lean on these numbers, but overall it’s such a handy system.

Step 2: Make thank you cards for students to fill out

Thank You Card Option 1:

Use my free templates. Click on the image below to download, print, cut, and use!

Graphic of thank you templates to use with this gratitude lesson. Click on for free access to these thank you letter templates.

Thank You Card Option 2:

Head down to the print room and pick up some printer paper (I prefer to use color paper). Next, using the a paper cutter (which a TA can do for you!), cut into 4-6 equal pieces. You’re done!

Picture of stack of color paper as example of what to use to thank you letters.

Day-of Gratitude Lesson Plan

Step 1: Make your classroom cozy!

I’m all about making my classroom cozy!

My students are into Jack Johnson and Fleetwood Mac right now, so we’ve been listening to a lot of them. Did you know that you can pick a song on Spotify, click on the three dots on the right, and select “go to radio”, and it will create a playlist for you?

I cue my Smart Board up to this, this, or this and leave it on to set the cozy Fall gratitude vibes.

Next, I set out thank you letter templates.

I set out markers and colored pencils and any other supplies for the thank you notes (helpful tip: store markers in containers based on color. Ever since I started doing this, my markers and colored pencils stay organized!).

Picture of colored markers organized in bins.

Step 2: Read gratitude article

Pass out printed copies of “Giving Thanks Makes You Happier” by Harvard Health Publishing, and read article aloud as a class. Of course, there’s a time and place for silent, independent reading, but I prefer to read this aloud together, that way I can comment or ask questions as we read it. I also prefer that this lesson/day in class feels akin to sitting around a Thanksgiving table and sharing an experience, so…we share the experience of reading.

Step 3: Thank you letter writing instructions

Explain to students that we’ll be spending the rest of class writing thank you letters. Before turning students lose to write their thank you letters, ask students to think about any adult in the building who has made a positive or meaningful impact in their life. This can be a teacher from any year of high school, not just their current teachers. I also mention that this can include not just teachers. For example: janitorial staff, our student resource officers, coaches, administrators, and so forth. I also be sure to include that this could be a good opportunity to write an apology to anyone they were a knucklehead to – because it’s never too late to apologize!

My expectation is that they write a minimum of 3-4 letters. I’ve gone back and forth between putting this as a graded activity in the grade book. I’ve found that making it a graded activity has no impact on student participation. If I do, I grade it based on completion. Did you write 3 thank you letters? Okay, here are your points.

Step 4: Letter writing, turning them in, and delivery!

I have students turn them in to what I call the “fancy basket”. I use the fancy basket to collect assignments that are due, entrance/exit tickets, and quizzes. When I’m holding the fancy turn-in basket, this gives me an extra opportunity to connect and check in with students. Also, if a student doesn’t turn something in, I can do a quick check in with them about it. Plus, calling it a “fancy basket” instead of a turn in basket makes everything more fun, even if it’s turning in an assignment! Here are some fancy basket options: here, here, and here

Picture of multicolored woven basket filled with thank you letters I've received.

Organize thank you letters in stacks based on teachers. This makes delivering them more straightforward.

Deliver thank you letters! I try and hand deliver as many of these as I can. Even if this means taking 10-15 minutes before school starts the next day to make my rounds and hand them out, it’s worth it and so much fun! If I miss anyone, then I go down to the teachers’ lounge and put them in their mailboxes. Students often ask me if they can hand-deliver, which I always say yes to.

Here are some of the thank you notes I’ve received in the past.

Picture of thank you letters I've personally received when I've taught this gratitude lesson.

Picture of two thank you letters I've received when I've taught this gratitude lesson.

Picture of 5 thank you letters I've received when I've taught this engaging gratitude lesson.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if a student doesn’t want to write a thank you letter?

I have been doing this activity for 10 years, and I have never had a student not want to participate. Often what I’ve found is that they want to take time to write thank you letter to adults who have made an impact in their lives. See above for all the lesson details. At the end of the day, if they really do not want to, I wouldn’t force them to do it.

How did you turn your article to a printable PDF?

I used a website call Print Friendly PDF. I use this resource all. the. time. I’ve found it easiest to add the Chrome Extension, so whenever I want to turn a website, article, or anything else I want my students to read, I can do that a simple click. Another feature I love about Print Friendly PDF is that you can delete any images, paragraphs, advertisements, etc. You simply hover your mouse over the image or text box, and you’ll have the option to delete it. Again, this is something I use frequently in my classes.

When do you use this gratitude lesson? Do you use it more than once in a trimester/semester/school year?

Typically I use this activity the Monday of the week we go on Thanksgiving break. I don’t know about you, but a lot of my students are absent the day before we go on Thanksgiving break, so typically my lessons that week are high engagement, but also not a big loss for learning if you aren’t there. Also, if I do this later in the week there are fewer students present. Students really like doing this activity, so I try and do it when I know most of my students will be there.