Moral Focus Spotlight

Character building is just as critical to students’ growth and development as reading or math and you are in a great position to nurture positive character, one virtue at a time. Encouraging kids to be thankful for what they have is a positive message that will serve them well their whole lives. You can nurture student self-esteem and help build a more positive classroom environment.

November is the perfect time of year to explore the moral focus virtue of gratitude because it’s the official season of thanks. Although, Thanksgiving provides the perfect reason for presenting lessons on gratitude, you can model this virtue all school year.

In the article Gratitude Activities for the Classroom, Vicki Zakrzewski provides several “ideas on how to bring gratitude into the classroom with some easy-to-implement activities, many of which can be adapted to fit any grade level.” These can be done with minimal disruption to instructional time. I have identified two below that I really like. Please click here for more.

Gratitude Spies. Play the “Spying for Gratitude” game. At the beginning of the day, have each child choose the name of another student out of a hat without revealing the name. Each student spends the day “spying” on his or her chosen person and then shares one thing that he or she is grateful for about that person during an end-of-the-day circle

Gratitude Surprise Sticky Notes. Give each student one or more sticky notes to write something they’re grateful for about another person in the school community. Then have the students “deliver” the sticky notes by placing them where the person will see it, e.g., a locker, a phone, a cleaning cart.