At Teach Starter, we say “Thank goodness for teachers!” every day. 

Because expressing gratitude isn’t just something we do at Thanksgiving or during National Gratitude Month (that’s November, by the way). 

It’s an act we believe should be practiced daily and an important habit for children to develop as part of their social-emotional learning. Feeling and showing gratitude is essential for helping little humans develop self-awareness, resilience, and a growth mindset that will continue to blossom as they experience more of the world around them. 

How to Use These Thanksgiving Task Cards with Your Students

As a writing center activity, we recommend punching a hole in the corner of each task card and placing them on a binder ring. This helps to keep the cards organized and together so you never lose a card in a pocket or under a desk.

Students can write answers to the task cards in their writing journals, blank paper, or the recording sheet provided. We also have a Gratitude Teaching Resource Pack that includes additional activities and tools to make expressing thankfulness a regular occurrence in your classroom.  

Some task cards ask students to write a thank you card. Consider having blank paper or other materials for students to create personalized cards based on the task card prompts. 

Additional Activities to Keep the Gratitude Flowing

Got students who are overflowing with thankfulness? Help them spread the love with the following activities:

Make a Gratitude Tree

Add a one-of-a-kind art installation to your classroom wall! Cut out a tree with lots of branches on kraft paper and several leaves on colorful paper (or have your students help you out with this). Pass out gratitude task cards and a paper leaf so each student has one. Have students answer the prompt on the leaf-shaped paper with whatever they are grateful for. Then add their leaf to the class gratitude tree added to the wall or your door!  

Create a Gratitude Jar

This activity is a great way to start the day and end the week! Grab a jar large enough to keep slips of paper in. Every morning, give each student a new task card and a scrap of paper. With our Gratitude Jar Cut and Assemble Kit, you can also save time and create a beautiful gratitude station in your room. At the end of the week, have each student pull a slip of paper from the jar and read it out loud. Hearing each other’s answers to the questions will remind them of even more things to be thankful for!

Use Task Cards as Exit Tickets

Encourage your students to bring their gratitude and mindfulness home at the end of the day. Keep these task cards on a binder ring by the door. Five minutes before class is over, pass out one card to each student and ask them to take out their journals or a single sheet of paper to record their answers to the prompt. This encourages students to reflect on their day, their week—whatever it is that triggers thankfulness. They are likely to carry those feelings home and share them with their families.  

How to Extend This Activity or Bring Others Up to Speed

Take this activity further by asking students to develop their ideas from the task cards into action plans for how to show gratitude to the organizations or people they have written about.

Teaching children gratitude can have its challenges. For learners who have trouble expressing themselves in writing, ask them to represent their ideas as pictures within the boxes on the recording sheet. Or, students can use a combination of pictures and words to communicate more easily.

Preparing This Resource for Your Students

Print the task cards on cardstock for added durability and longevity. 

To print ONLY the task cards:

1. Place 3 sheets of cardstock in your printer paper tray
2. Select “File” from the navigation bar, and click “Print” from the drop-down menu
3. From the dialogue box that pops up, click on “More settings”
4. Pages per sheet should be set to “1”
5. Leave the box empty next to “Print on both sides”
6. Click “Print using system dialogue”
7. On the pop-up, deselect “Two-Sided”
8. Under Pages, select From and enter pages 3 to 5
9. Click the “Print” button

Print the recording sheet on regular paper as usual:

1. Select “File” from the navigation bar, and click “Print” from the drop-down menu
2. From the Print dialogue box that pops up, click on “More settings”
3. Pages per sheet should be set to “1”
4. Leave the box empty next to “Print on both sides”
5. Click “Print using system dialogue”
6. On the pop-up, deselect “Two-Sided”
7. Under Pages, select From and enter pages 2 to 2
8. Click the “Print” button

As a center activity, cut out the task cards and punch a hole in each corner to place them on a binder ring. Print extra copies of the recording sheet and place everything in a folder or large envelope. 

Before You Download

Use the drop-down menu to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version. Teacher directions and a recording sheet are included in the download.

---

This resource was created by Meagan Lee, a teacher in Texas and a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Looking for more ways to include gratitude in your lesson planning? Your students are going to love these:

[resource:4656407]   [resource:4654647]   [resource:4655634]