Character Education: Thankfulness - Creative Kindergarten

Easily teach thankfulness character education with these fun activities. Have your students reflect on how they can be thankful, and display their ideas on a meaningful bulletin board.

This time of the year is perfect for beginning a conversation with your students about thankfulness. You can start some great discussions on what it means to be thankful, and what they are thankful for.

Introduction

I always like to start my discussions with a book. They are great for explaining complicated subjects in a way that is easily digestible for young students. This I Am Thankful book is great, but there are many others that you could use (like The Thankful Book by Todd Parr). Once you have read a book together, you can start a classroom discussion about what everyone is thankful for, and create a list together.

You could also watch a video on the subject. There are some by Sesame Street and others (just always make sure you preview videos before showing them to your students).

Reflection

I Can Be Thankful character education activities. Teach students about thankfulness and have them reflect on their learning. Develop positive character traits with writing prompts, journal writing, class book and a bulletin board to display their work. #charactereducation #thankfulness #thanksgiving #thankful #creativekindergarten

Once you have had your discussions as a whole group, students can use a journal or writing prompt to do their own reflection. This is a great time for them to think about what they are thankful for. You could do the journal over a few days, and return to your group discussions in between. The writing prompt could be displayed on your bulletin board to showcase students’ learning.

Consolidation

Once your students have finished reflecting on what they are thankful for, they can make a class book together. Each student completes a page of the book, then you staple or bind the pages together with a cover to complete it. I like to put my class books in our classroom library so that they can be read anytime. Your students can read what others in their class are thankful for, and look back on it throughout the year.

Display

A thankfulness tree displayed inside or outside your classroom is a great reminder to everyone about what they have to be thankful for. I blew up the image of the tree to 200% and it printed on 4 pieces of paper that I cut out and taped together. You could make it even bigger depending on the size of your bulletin board.

Students can then write things that they are thankful for on the leaves and add them to the tree. This makes a great display for Thanksgiving. You can involve families in the process by sending some leaves home and having them fill out with a family member.

Want to use these activities for your classroom? You can find all of them included in this pack: