Gratitude Lesson Plan: Social Emotional Learning
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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP Jr. topic Gratitude, and supports the development of social awareness, a key component of social and emotional learning. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects
Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Ask students:
- Who is someone in our school community you are thankful for? Why do you appreciate this person?
Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE
- Play the Gratitude movie.
- Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and discuss it as a class. Then play to see how Annie answers it.
TIP: The pause button turns red to remind you to pause.
Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS
Students take the Easy Quiz or Hard Quiz, demonstrating what they learned about the topic while applying essential literacy skills.
Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND
Students express what they learned about gratitude while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student or grade-level needs.
- Draw About It: Draw a picture of something you are thankful for.
- Activity: Practice mindfulness with Moby.
- Talk About It: Do a Gratitude scavenger hunt and describe why you appreciate each item you collect.
- Write About It: Write a letter to someone important in your life, sharing why you appreciate them.
More to Explore
Feelings and SEL Unit: Continue to build understanding around social emotional learning by exploring more BrainPOP Jr. topics.
Teacher Support Resources:
