Thanksgiving is over, we have rested for a few days and are ready to return to our daily routine. Although the students have had several activities in which they had to thank for the good things in their lives, it is common that after the holiday they forget everything for which they feel grateful.
I strongly believe that the role of any person working in education must go beyond their specific work. No matter if you are a custodian, office assistant, school principal or a teacher, our number one responsibility is to help young people grow and mature so that they can face the world in the best way after they leave school.
That is why even though Thanksgiving is over, it is important that we continue working on the topic of gratitude in our classes. It has been proven that people who carry a JOURNAL OF GRATITUDE, where they write down two or three positive things that happen to them every day, become grateful over time. Gradually the journal becomes an album of pleasant memories. Gratitude and happiness go hand in hand. With this activity we can help our students to find a way to find happiness within themselves.
During my first class after Thanksgiving, I will ask my students to make a JOURNAL OF GRATITUDE. I will go to the Dollar Store and buy a small notebook for each one. (you can also have them make their journal from scratch or even keep a digital one on Google slides so they can decorate it). I will ask them to write the dates of the classes that we have left in the school year, one per page and that at the end of each class we will dedicate the last five minutes to write those two or three things that we appreciated from that particular day. You could always have your studnets journal just for the month of December as this is the time of the year where people are more used to express gratitude.
I think that this is an activity that can easily be adapted to the level of L2 proficiency of each class. From single words complemented with pictures, to complete sentences or more elaborated paragraphs. The fact that we are writing our journal in an L2 is liberating and often allows students to feel more comfortable expressing their most personal thoughts.
Read HERE to learn more about the benefits of writing a gratitude journal.
FIND THIS POST IN SPANISH HERE
@Copyright Diego Ojeda, this material is intended for educational purposes and it’s free. It is prohibited to profit from it in any way. For questions contact Diego Ojeda @ diego@srojeda.com
DIEGO OJEDA 