Overview & Integration

Core 4:

Relationships

AQuA:

2D: Teaches participants to interact with one another in positive ways

1E: Promotes psychological and emotional safety through a culture of support, inclusion and mutual respect

CASEL Competencies:

Social Awareness & Relationship Skills

6DQ: Climate

Creating a climate of mutual respect between the instructor and the students

Overview

In a world full of different cultures and communities, we all have our own celebrations and traditions. All are beautiful in their own ways, and it is important to take time and learn about the traditions of others. Whether you eat turkey or chicken enchiladas for Thanksgiving and whether you wear a baseball hat or a hijab, we all celebrate our culture and our heritage with gratitude and thankfulness. In this season of gratitude, we can celebrate the uniqueness of culture and communities by expressing our gratitude for those around us! 

For every season there is a reason to be thankful, and you can learn to be grateful. It starts small with expressing gratitude and thankfulness to those who help us all the time. Thanking others for the little and big things they do to help us and others is an important part of building relationships! Take some time this week to express your thankfulness to the people who are always helping you.

Reflection Questions

  • What are you most thankful for in this season? 
  • What about your family are you most thankful for and why?
  • What does your family do for holidays? What do you enjoy most about celebrations with your family? 
  • What types of things do you wear for important celebrations or holidays?
  • What types of foods does your family like to eat for celebrations and holidays?
  • Share about someone who is always helping others. How does it feel when these people help you? 
  • Why is it important to express our gratitude and thankfulness?
  • Who is one person that you need to thank?  

Arts/Crafts Reflection Questions

  • How does it feel when someone helps you with your project? 
  • How does it feel when you help someone and they say, “Thank you?” 
  • How can you express gratitude in art? 
  • Who helped you today that you need to thank? How did they help you? 
  • What were you most thankful for during this activity? 
  • How can you incorporate your own culture into the projects we are doing?

Games/Physical Activity Reflection Questions

  • How did your team express thankfulness during the game? 
  • Who on your team are you most thankful for and why? 
  • What can we do if we forget to say “thank you” to someone when playing a game? 
  • Take a minute to tell your teammates why you are thankful for them. 
  • How can we express thankfulness and gratitude to other teams?  
  • What types of games does your family like to do for different celebrations or holidays?