What is 'The Gratitude Project?'
Updated: Sep 21, 2022
The Gratitude Project – a print and use resource to get your students thinking, asking questions and reflecting upon what it means to be grateful and thankful for in our lives. It is about students beginning a journey towards understanding how to recognise gratitude and the impact this can have on others. Interested in how it works? Read on…
Gratitude is such a valuable skill and habit for children to learn, and the great thing is – it can be taught!
There are so many scientific benefits of being grateful in our lives and no doubt this project will help improve your classroom environment to become a more happy, positive and thankful space. It will also open your student’s eyes to everyday things we often take for granted, such as running water, food to eat and a warm place to sleep.
Gratitude is not only about the big things we are fortunate enough to have but recognising the small things as well.
About The Projects:
Some projects require research or talking to each other. Whilst others include reflecting, writing or designing. We have included a reflective flipbook to scaffold and guide students in completing the gratitude projects.
Some examples of projects include:
Interview an adult. Ask them 3 things they are grateful for and why.
Consider your five senses. Which of your senses are you most thankful for? Justify your response.
Design and make 5 special gratitude business cards. Give them to different people that you are grateful for.
Each project is recorded on a heart foldable that you can put on display in your classroom. Instructions are simple and short to allow for students to choose and work on projects independently if needed.
How to implement in your classroom:
How you use this resource is up to you and your cohort of students.
Here are a few different ways we suggest you could use The Gratitude Project:
1. Create a display (bulletin) board
Each day/week/morning meeting choose a ‘Project’ as a class to complete and add that project heart to your display. By the end of the project, your class will be able to visibly see the 12 ‘Gratitude Hearts’ they have completed.
2. Give one project to each student
Differentiate according to the difficulty of each task. Ask them to complete and report back to the class community.
3. Complete each task as a whole class together
It doesn’t matter how you decide to implement ‘The Gratitude Project’ into your classroom, your students will benefit from learning about gratitude and reflecting upon what they and others are thankful for.
Other uses for this resource in your classroom:
This pack could also be used when celebrating Thanksgiving, ‘Grateful in April’ or when you are wanting to introduce a daily gratitude routine into your classroom.
The Gratitude Project is designed to encourage students to begin thinking with a grateful heart and acting with thanks towards others. It is a lifelong skill that every classroom will benefit from! Click here to view this resource.
Want more ways to encourage Gratitude in your Classroom? Check out this post where we talk about 7 ways to encourage gratitude with primary students.
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