Gratitude Tree Lesson Plan The Gratitude Tree: Growing Thanks
Lesson Plan • Social-Emotional Learning
Audience: 1st & 4th Grade
Time: 45-60 Minutes
Why This Matters
Developing gratitude helps students foster a positive outlook, appreciate their community, and build stronger social-emotional bonds with others.
Learning Objective
Students will be able to identify and express gratitude for people, experiences, and things in their lives, cultivating a mindset of thankfulness and strengthening social-emotional connections.
Materials Needed
Gratitude Tree Slide Deck
Gratitude Leaves Activity Sheets
Discussion Prompts Guide
Markers, crayons, scissors, tape
Large paper or whiteboard (Tree Trunk)
Teacher Preparation
Approx. 15 Minutes
Review the Gratitude Tree Slide Deck and familiarize yourself with the content.
Print or draw a large tree trunk and branches on a whiteboard or large paper in a central class area.
Prepare small leaf-shaped papers for the Gratitude Leaves Activity (or have students cut their own from the provided templates).
Gather markers, crayons, scissors, and tape/glue.
Instructional Steps
10m
Introduction: What is Gratitude?
• Begin with the Gratitude Tree Slide Deck (Slides 1-2).
• Engage students in a brief discussion using Gratitude Discussion Prompts to activate prior knowledge about thankfulness.
• Explain the lesson's objective: to explore and express gratitude through a collaborative project.
15m
Personal Reflection & Sharing
• Use Gratitude Tree Slide Deck (Slide 3) to guide students in thinking about things they are grateful for.
• Distribute the leaf-shaped papers from the Gratitude Leaves Activity .
• Instruct students to write or draw one thing they are grateful for on each leaf. Encourage 1st graders to draw and 4th graders to add a sentence.
• Have students share their leaves with a partner or small group to practice verbal expression.
20m
Building the Gratitude Tree
• Explain that together, the class will build a Gratitude Tree that will live in their classroom.
• Call on students to share what they wrote/drew on their leaves and affix them to the communal tree trunk.
• As the tree "grows," remark on the variety of things the class is thankful for.
• Conclude with the post-activity reflection prompts from the Discussion Guide .
Gratitude Tree Slides The Gratitude Tree: Growing Thanks
Let's explore what it means to be thankful!
Social Emotional Learning
Teacher Notes: Welcome students and introduce the topic of gratitude. Ask them what they think gratitude means.
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude is feeling thankful for the good things in our lives.
It's about noticing and appreciating people, experiences, and things that make us happy!
Examples:
Being thankful for family
Being thankful for a sunny day
Being thankful for a favorite toy
Teacher Notes: Define gratitude in simple terms. Provide a few examples that are relatable to 1st and 4th graders. Encourage students to share their initial thoughts.
What Makes Your Heart Happy?
"Close your eyes for a moment (or just think quietly). What are some things, people, or experiences that you are thankful for today?"
Family or friends
Pets
Favorite foods
Fun activities
Keep these ideas in your mind for our next activity!
Teacher Notes: Prompt students to think about things they are personally grateful for. This will lead into the activity.
Building Our Gratitude Tree
Today, we are going to grow our very own class Gratitude Tree!
1
On your special leaf, draw or write one thing you are grateful for.
2
Add your leaf to our tree to show all the wonderful things we are thankful for together!
Class Community
Teacher Notes: Introduce the Gratitude Tree activity. Explain that they will be creating leaves for the tree.
Gratitude Leaves Worksheet Gratitude Leaves Activity
Student Activity Sheet
Name:
Date:
Objective
To express individual gratitude and contribute to a class-wide Gratitude Tree.
Materials
Crayons, markers, scissors, and your imagination!
How to Grow Our Tree:
1
Think: Choose one person, experience, or thing you are grateful for right now. It can be big or small!
2
Create: Draw or write your gratitude inside one of the leaves below. Use lots of colors!
3
Cut: Carefully cut out your leaf along the dotted lines.
4
Share: Tape your leaf to our class Gratitude Tree and watch it grow!
Leaf Templates
Cut along dotted line
Examples:
• "My dog, Buddy"
• "Playing outside"
• "My teacher"
• "Pizza for dinner"
Gratitude Discussion Guide Gratitude Discussion Guide
Teacher Resource • Classroom Conversation
Use these prompts to guide a class discussion about gratitude before and after the activity. These questions are designed to work for both 1st and 4th grade students, with room for varying levels of depth.
Before the Activity
1. Defining Gratitude
What does the word "grateful" mean to you? Can you give an example of something you are grateful for?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
2. The Feeling of Kindness
How does it feel when someone does something nice for you? How do you show them you appreciate it?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
3. Noticing the Small Things
What are some simple things you might see or do every day that you could be thankful for? (Think about sunshine, a favorite snack, a comfy bed, etc.)
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
After the Activity
1. Class Reflections
Looking at our Gratitude Tree, what is something that surprised you that a classmate was grateful for?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
2. The Power of Community
How does it feel to see all the things our class is grateful for together? Does it make you feel happy or warm inside?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
3. The "Why" Behind Thanks
Why do you think it is important to think about the things we are grateful for?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...
4. Taking Action
What is one way you can show gratitude to someone outside of school today or tomorrow?
Teacher Notes / Student Responses...