About This Lesson
Explore the intersection of positive psychology and autism intervention by teaching your students Gratitude Letter Writing!
This comprehensive bundle includes everything you need to leverage Gratitude Letter Writing in the classroom, including teaching slides, a teacher's guide, printables for each activity, and supplementary resources. This is the perfect skill to introduce and teach in preparation for Thanksgiving and the holiday season!
Learning Objectives:
- Students learn to identify, recognize, and define gratitude.
- Students learn to notice, collect, and reflect on moments and people they’re grateful for in their lives.
- Students learn to gather memories in words or pictures, compile them into a Gratitude Letter or Scrapbook, and give them to a person who has had a positive impact.
Here’s what you’ll get:
An entire Gratitude Letter Writing unit, including,
- Student instruction and lessons in Google slides format
- Teacher's guide in speaker notes and also available as a Google doc
- Printable worksheets, activities, and materials for students
Begin teaching Gratitude Letter Writing!
- Activity 1: An Introduction to Gratitude
- Activity 2: Grateful/Not Grateful Sorting and Scavenger Hunt
- Activity 3: Gratitude Letter/Scrapbook Reflection
- Activity 4: Gratitude Letter Writing/Scrapbook Creation
- Activity 5: Gratitude Letter/Scrapbook Delivery
Integration into Current InstructionUtilize teacher modeling of gratitude letters and activities by creating a gratitude letter for your classroom and students. During a morning meeting or communal time with your students, share the letter to enjoy the positive benefits of expressing gratitude.
- Incorporate Gratitude Letters into your current content by having students write Gratitude Letters to characters in a book, historical figures, nature, or scientists that have positively impacted the world.
- During transitions, have students partner up and share one thing they are grateful for in their partner as they transition to the next location or activity.
Why you’ll love this unit study:
*The lessons and activities are easy to read and implement.
* You can use each lesson as a standalone activity or as part of a comprehensive, science-based unit study.
* The Gratitude Letter Writing Unit Study comes with activities, downloadable worksheets, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism
Ways to Use
- Use it as an SEL curriculum
- Integrate into small groups and/or individual counseling sessions
- Families can use this at home, too!
What is Gratitude Letter Writing?
Gratitude is often thought of as thankfulness, appreciation, or a sense of wonder. By intentionally practicing skills like Gratitude Letter Writing, we can all learn to experience, enhance, and express more gratitude.
A Gratitude Letter is more than just a thank-you note. It's a formal letter that you write to someone who has had a profound impact on your life and whom you have not yet properly thanked. This could be a family member, mentor, student, friend, or colleague.
Writing gratitude letters can help students and adults reflect on the people who have helped shape their lives — people who have taken the time to share their strengths, guide, or help in a meaningful way. It’s a way to thoroughly express their gratitude — describing, in detail, what the person’s role in their lives has meant to them. Once they have written the Gratitude Letter, hand deliver or read the letter to the person if possible. Something remarkable happens when gratitude letters are shared in person.
Science of Gratitude
The science is clear — pausing, reflecting, and writing gratitude letters can positively benefit both the writer and the recipient. Recalling past experiences through the lens of gratitude enhances positive affect, writing about them enables the mind to broaden and build, and taking the time to deliver and read gratitude letters to the recipient boosts both parties' wellbeing and has a positive impact on the relationship. Believe it or not, this positive intervention can impact your wellbeing for weeks or even months.
People who engage in the practice of writing gratitude letters are more likely to experience:
- Increased happiness
- Boosted immune system
- Increased positive affect
- Increased life satisfaction
- Enhanced gratitude
- Stronger relationships
Looking for more SEL resources?
- Explore the free full lesson plans and unit studies on the skills of happiness at our Skill Center. All units include teaching slides, additional worksheets and activities, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism.
- Did you know you can also write a gratitude letter to a movie, book, or show, sharing how it has positively impacted your life? Try this Inside Out Gratitude Letter Writing activity, where you can choose a specific character to write to.
Proof Positive's resources are and will always be free. Be well!
