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How 'Slow Looking' Can Help Students Develop Skills Across Disciplines | KQED

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Eight seconds - that's the latest estimate of the length of the human attention span. The push to cover more material in the same amount of classroom time also provides a challenge, especially when teachers are told that the skills (like critical thinking and creativity) their students will need in order to compete in the 21st century are ones that take time to develop.

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Reflective writing assignments

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With students currently at home because of the pandemic, it's helpful to provide learning opportunities that get them talking about what's happening in the world with trusted adults and peers.

These ideas for home assignments build connection and help our young people process this difficult experience while developing their writing skills.

11 Writing Assignments for the Current Moment

1. Interview senior members of the community: With our older community members at higher risk, hearing their stories has increasing significance. Generate interview questions with your students, and conduct a sample interview as a model.

Students can interview family members, senior members of the school staff, or others through handwritten letters, phone calls, or video chats. When students write up and share their interviews with the class, they will get a broader, more nuanced view of older generations' experiences.

2. Folding stories: In the traditional version of this activity, one person writes a sentence or two on a piece of paper and then folds the paper so that only the last word or phrase can be seen. The next person continues the story for a few sentences before again hiding all but the last word or phrase and then passing the paper on.

To do this remotely, set up a randomized list of all of your students. The first student sends you their contribution, and you send the last phrase of that to the next name on the list. Compile all the contributions in order in a Google Doc to create a single story. Once everyone has contributed, share the whole story with the class.

The format may allow students an imaginative outlet for anxious thoughts and predictions about the future, and the result is almost guaranteed to be hilarious and inspiring to both eager and reluctant writers.

3. Dialogue journals: A journal in which a teacher and student write back and forth to each other is an ongoing communication that helps teachers build relationships with each student while they model writing and observe students' progressing skills. Start this off by writing a first short entry for each of your students in separate Google Docs, choosing topics you already know they're interested in and offering personal details about yourself.

You can ask each student to write something once a week-and you'll respond to each entry, so this does entail a time commitment on your part. The benefit in relationship-building, so difficult to do in distance learning, makes this worth the work.

4. Student-to-student letters: Organize pen pals or small letter-writing groups. Ask students to write back and forth to one or more peers using provided prompts and sample questions. Teach students to consider their audience and to keep a written dialogue going over several letters as they write to different peers. Encourage students to include self-created activities in their letters to peers: They might make a crossword puzzle using the class vocabulary words, create a maze, or share a recipe or a silly joke.

5. Write to an author: A professional writer may be a great correspondent for a young fan, offering insight into key aspects of a favorite book. Follow #WriteToAnAuthor on Twitter for access to mailing addresses of authors who are standing by for letters from young readers. Provide your students with prompts, templates, samples, and feedback to support them in writing thoughtful letters.

6. Adapt a text to reflect current conditions: Lately any story we read or watch can be a painful reminder of how much is changing. Characters are dancing, hugging or shaking hands, and talking to each other in public places. Some students find it comforting to be immersed in that world, but others find these moments upsetting. Assign students the task of rewriting a scene from a story, show, or movie, considering what needs to change for it to be realistic in our current situation but still retain the original essential themes and meaning.

7. Letters to the editor: What do students think about our leaders, policies, and proposed solutions to this pandemic? Guide them through the art of writing a well-crafted letter to the editor, and post submissions on your district, school, or class website, if privacy policies permit that. Give your students guidelines that specify word count, style, and topics, just as official publications do.

8. Student-created blog: Begin by sharing strong examples of student journalism as mentor texts. Invite students to brainstorm ideas for articles and columns. Some students can assume the role of section editors-News, Features, Arts-and others can write articles, take photos, and work on the design and marketing of the website, which students can build using Edublogs.

9. "Slow looking" documentation: Shari Tishman describes "slow looking" as prolonged observation that occurs through all the senses. Students can use a variety of slow looking strategies to observe their setting and sketch or write about their observations. There are seasonal changes to observe, among other things. By practicing slow looking, students may learn to see things they never noticed before. When they share their observations with the class, everyone gains a broader perspective of how the larger environment is changing.

10. Covid-19 comics: The genre of graphic medicine-which uses comics to explore the physical and emotional impacts of medical conditions-shows that comics can be a good way for students to explore troubling experiences. Share comics related to Covid-19 that engage with the wider implications of the pandemic, such as feeling increased isolation, processing conflicting news, and coping with social distancing or unemployment.

Invite students to explore their experiences through an intentional combination of words and pictures. Make it collaborative by having students write text for a peer's drawings. Students can use Canva to make comics, or draw them on paper and then take photos to upload to the class learning management system.

11. Pandemic journals: A pandemic journal invites students to process their feelings and document their experience for future generations. To structure the assignment, provide prompts and templates. Suggest to students that they layer in artifacts such as news reports, a note received from a friend or neighbor, a copy of an online school schedule for a day, a snippet of an overheard conversation, or a sketch of a parent hunched over a laptop.

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11 Meaningful Writing Assignments Connected to the Pandemic

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With students currently at home because of the pandemic, it's helpful to provide learning opportunities that get them talking about what's happening in the world with trusted adults and peers. These ideas for home assignments build connection and help our young people process this difficult experience while developing their writing skills.

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How to teach online so all students belong..

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COVID-19 ejected students from the familiar hustle and bustle of the classroom into unexpected and prolonged isolation at home. This has destabilized their lives and challenged their sense of self.

It is their identity-who they conceive themselves to be-that they use to forge their ideas of self-worth, and that ultimately guides their decisions and behaviors. These decisions affect them both socially and academically. School was a constant source of messaging that had fed into their sense of self, both positive and negative. Suddenly, that source has been reduced to time-limited, two-dimensional phone and online interactions.

We've studied what happens when classrooms feel "identity safe" for students. An identity-safe classroom (online and off) is one in which teachers strive to ensure that a student's sense of self is an asset rather than a barrier to success in the classroom. The Stanford Integrated Schools Project was a year-long study of 84 classrooms. Observers documented the relationships, questions directed toward students, and use of diverse materials and activities in those classrooms, which we used to determine what approaches and resources were most favorable for learning. The study revealed that in identity-safe classrooms, students felt a greater sense of belonging, welcomed challenging work, and achieved at higher levels in class and on standardized tests.

So, what does an identity-safe classroom look like in a time of school closures and distance learning?

The principles are the same in both in-person and online environments: Rather than working with a colorblind approach and ignoring individual differences in language, race, gender identity, and personal experience, diversity is cultivated as a resource for learning. Together with a challenging curriculum, students come to feel accepted and supported as valued members of the learning community. Social and emotional safety is created by supporting students in exploring, discovering, and defining their identities; refuting negative stereotypes; and giving them a voice within the classroom. This is hard enough to do with students who are sitting right in front of us, but the guiding principles of identity safety can still support educators to serve students of all backgrounds, even if it's not always clear how to do that.

Here are some ideas for us to live up to the standards of identity safety now, during COVID-19.

Creating a caring online classroom

At this time, teachers can no longer stand outside the door and greet their students with high fives, respond readily to a student confused over a learning concept, or gauge group comprehension with a visual scan across the room.

Yet the promotion of trusting relationships, inclusive interactions, and a sense of belonging remain three important pillars for creating a caring environment, online or otherwise. Engaging in trusting and encouraging relationships allows students to gain confidence and thrive emotionally and academically. A distance-learning environment is more challenging and initially requires more effort-but the level of safety can still be achieved through direct contact with individual students and by setting up warm and caring group interactions.

In order to monitor the pulse of each student, educators can check in regularly by phone or video conferencing to ask them about their feelings and their lives, and to offer feedback on schoolwork. For self-contained classrooms, they can set a schedule for contacting each child. For middle and high schools, teachers can work with colleagues to divide students into manageable groups for check-ins.

Each and every student deserves equal value and treatment, yet due to inequities in access to technologies, many students are falling off the radar and not attending online classes or completing work. While many schools are working hard to provide computers and hotspots, it is not enough. One district remedied this situation by setting up a system to support every student, even if it meant performing home visits, leaving care packages and paper packets while practicing social distancing, and creating a database to track interactions. It is our hope that other districts will follow suit.

For group sessions, educators can create protocols for structured cooperative activities. Community agreements set the norms for ensuring respectful online communication. We can teach social and emotional learning (SEL) skills by articulating core values with a series of questions: What does empathy mean to you? How do you want to feel within an online group? Students can practice reflective listening skills, such as paraphrasing and asking clarifying questions. Teachers can assign roles to foster cooperation (e.g., facilitator, note-taker, timer). These strategies help students feel heard and included and build a solid foundation of trust.

Zoom has a feature called "breakout rooms," which can be used for structured cooperative activities. Small groups can discuss issues or research projects, work on jigsaws, study different aspects of larger topics-and then report back to the whole group. Teachers can "drop in" to the individual rooms to support learning, and to ensure respectful interactions and full participation. The teacher can ask each breakout group to reflect on how well they worked together before sharing their ideas with the larger group. The whole class can then discuss ways to improve their collaboration.

Inclusion and belonging can be fostered in academic lessons for all grade levels. One second-grade teacher asked each student to find geometric shapes around the house to share at their class meeting. A kindergarten teacher uses the Seesaw Class app to engage her students in video journaling where they can "see" each other's work when the teacher "turns on" that feature.

Supporting student identity through diversity

In identity-safe classrooms, the diversity among students is valued and differences are celebrated rather than ignored.

Those differences that comprise students' social identities are many and continually evolving. They encompass everything that makes them unique, including characteristics of their home and school social groups: ethnicity, race, talents, culture, gender, and more. In the real world and online, educators can help students examine and develop different aspects of their social identities and discover their unique voices, which is an essential component of identity safety. They'll develop confidence and a voice through the belief that who they are-and what they think and say-matters. Drawing from diversity as a resource supports students in developing pride in their backgrounds while accepting and valuing themselves and others.

Amid the uncertainty of the pandemic, students need encouragement and support in strengthening, redefining, and reaffirming their diverse social identities. Teens, especially, may worry about falling behind or losing contact with friends, and become anxious about their future. With support and constructive feedback, educators can express faith in their resilience and their aptitude to reach high expectations, contributing to an increased vitality in their identity.

Journaling is an excellent way for students to track their feelings and promote confidence in their expressions. The U.K.-based Linking Network offers activities to help elementary-level students explore their own identities; Facing History and Ourselves provides activities tailored for teens to do so. Students can also share diverse literature, read stories that focus on acceptance, and discover counter-narratives that empower and give agency to communities that have been marginalized. Interviews with family members, designing family history posters, writing personal narratives to tell stories that go with photos in family albums, or creating videos that show special family artifacts are examples of projects that acknowledge diversity and build a sense of pride.

Identity-safe teaching can be adapted into the current universe of distance learning because it is a flexible approach rather than a program with a fixed set of steps. Relationships and connection come first and lead all other identity-safety features. Creating a sense of identity safety includes recognizing each child's unique characteristics, strengths, and challenges. We foster identity safety through our screens by valuing the power of that diversity and supporting the ways students are adapting to these new circumstances and overcoming the obstacles they're meeting. This experience will, we hope, make students even stronger as we move forward and return to in-person teaching. The confidence, resilience, and hope cultivated from identity-safe practices during this pandemic can greatly ease entry into the uncertain times ahead.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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How to Teach Online So All Students Feel Like They Belong

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COVID-19 ejected students from the familiar hustle and bustle of the classroom into unexpected and prolonged isolation at home. This has destabilized their lives and challenged their sense of self. It is their identity-who they conceive themselves to be-that they use to forge their ideas of self-worth, and that ultimately guides their decisions and behaviors.

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The MindUP Program is a universal evidence-based SEL program that consists of four units with 15 sequenced lessons for children in Pre-K through 8th Grade.

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Without question, teachers are central to student success. Anyone who has taught knows how rewarding it is to witness student learning. Teaching can also be one of the most stressful, demanding, and undersupported professions, leading to national teacher strikes, shortages, and high rates of turnover. In fact, research shows that 46% of teachers report high levels of daily stress, which affects their health, quality of life, and teaching performance, and costs U.S. schools billions of dollars each year. Although almost everyone understands the importance of student well-being and how teachers impact students, there is much less consideration for the well-being of teachers themselves. Even when teacher well-being is considered, it is often narrowly defined and something teachers are expected to "fix" on their own. In honor of National Teacher Day in the United States, we explore why a more holistic approach to teacher well-being is needed to optimize success in schools.

Teacher well-being is often narrowly characterized by what it is not. As one teacher shares in an all-too-common scenario, "The hours are long, the pay is poor, and the paperwork piles up quickly; it's easy to lose sight of why I became a teacher in the first place." Research consistently shows that teachers who are more stressed are less likely to form close relationships with students, which can negatively impact student achievement.

However, well-being is much more than the absence of illness or stress, or even feeling content; it is about teachers flourishing more holistically. In contrast to the previous teacher's statement, well-being could manifest in the following ways, "I feel balanced and supported; I have freedom to use my creativity to help my students succeed; I have opportunities to learn and advance in my career; I am fairly compensated; I have a network of support to help me overcome challenges." Narrowly defining well-being as the absence of stress or the presence of a positive mood leads to equally narrow and short-sighted approaches to supporting well-being. We end up treating the symptom (e.g., teacher stress) instead of identifying and fixing root causes, such as the social, cultural, and historical influences (e.g., lack of support or growth opportunities, inadequate pay, policies that inhibit teacher autonomy, etc.). In other words, it is about more than just the individual teacher. A broader focus is needed when it comes to teacher well-being.

In fact, blog author, Amy Roberts, in collaboration with researchers at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, developed an ecological framework of teacher well-being (Figure 1), which identifies not only individual factors (shown in green) that are linked to teacher well-being, but also contextual factors (shown in blue). Although the framework was created with early childhood educators in mind, it is applicable to teachers working with students of various ages. By focusing only on the more "easily treatable" individual factors (sending teachers to trainings to build competencies, for instance), only a small sliver of well-being is addressed. If real change is to happen, the onus cannot be solely on the educators themselves; Workplaces, policies, and education systems must also work together to provide specific supports for teachers and change the culture around teaching to help reduce teacher stress, minimize the negative effects of that stress, and improve teacher well-being and student outcomes.

Figure 1: A conceptual framework for early childhood teacher well-being
Source: Gallagher, K., Roberts, A. M., & Rousseau, M. (2018, June). Teacher well-being: A conceptual framework for early childhood. Paper presented at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, Arlington, VA. Framework adapted from Brigham et al., 2018.
Understanding that there are multiple factors that contribute to teacher well-being is an important first step in creating more comprehensive approaches for supporting teacher well-being. But it is, indeed, just the first step.

The following research, practice, and policy recommendations can inform next steps:

Research-Use broader approaches to study teacher well-being. To do so, create and refine measures of teacher well-being that more accurately capture the complexity of well-being. Design and test more holistic interventions for supporting teacher well-being. Incorporate teachers' perspectives into studies.

Practice-Include teachers in the conversation. For example, gather information from teachers directly to understand what personal and contextual factors affect their well-being at work. Use this information to create more holistic approaches to support teacher well-being.

Policy-Multiple systems and organizations must work together to support teacher well-being. When policies are created or changed, consider how the policies will or do impact teachers. As much as possible, create policies that explicitly and holistically support teacher well-being. Teachers are the best reporters of their well-being, and as such, include teacher perspectives in policymaking decisions.

If the ultimate goal of education is to promote student success, teacher well-being must be a central consideration. Teachers cannot be expected to try harder, breathe deeper, and "fix" their well-being. Organizations, systems, and policies play a crucial role in supporting teacher well-being and our teachers deserve better.

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To promote success in schools, focus on teacher well-being

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Without question, teachers are central to student success. Anyone who has taught knows how rewarding it is to witness student learning. Teaching can also be one of the most stressful, demanding, and undersupported professions, leading to national teacher strikes, shortages, and high rates of turnover.

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If you would like to order multiple copies of this report, please visit Amazon for pricing information.

PERTS and UChicago Consortium have developed a survey for practitioners to gauge their students' academic mindsets, based on the research reviewed in this report. Click here for more information.

Learn more about the noncognitive factors associated with academic performance:

Teaching Adolescents To Become Learners summarizes the research on five categories of noncognitive factors that are related to academic performance: academic behaviors, academic perseverance, academic mindsets, learning strategies and social skills, and proposes a framework for thinking about how these factors interact to affect academic performance, and what the relationship is between noncognitive factors and classroom/school context, as well as the larger socio-cultural context.

It examines whether there is substantial evidence that noncognitive factors matter for students' long‐term success, clarifying how and why these factors matter, determining if these factors are malleable and responsive to context, determining if they play a role in persistent racial/ethnic or gender gaps in academic achievement, and illuminating how educators might best support the development of important noncognitive factors within their schools and classrooms.

The review suggests some promising levers for change at the classroom level, and challenges the notion that hard work and effort are character traits of individual students, instead suggesting that the amount of effort a student puts in to academic work can depend, in large part, on instructional and contextual factors in the classroom.

In addition, the review also presents challenges for future research on noncognitive factors.

This work was supported by Raikes Foundation and Lumina Foundation.

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Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners: The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Shaping School Performance

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This UChicago CCSR report summarizes the research on five categories of noncognitive factors that are related to academic performance, and proposes a framework for thinking about what the relationship is between noncognitive factors and classroom/school context, as well as the larger socio-cultural context.

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By
Being Kinder to Yourself

When you're caring so much for other people, how do you deal with your own stress? Psychiatrist Elizabeth Guinto tries a practice to be kinder to herself.

Audio fromThe Science of Happiness podcast. Try the Self-Compassion Break practice yourself.
Jane Park | January 2020

November 20, 2017
New research shows that being kind to yourself may help poor body image.

April 2, 2015
Two new studies investigate self-compassion in adolescents.

June 1, 2018
Despite what we might assume, research suggests that self-compassionate people aren't always compassionate.

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When you're caring so much for other people, how do you deal with your own stress? Psychiatrist Elizabeth Guinto tries a practice to be kinder to herself.

Audio from The Science of Happiness podcast. Try the Self-Compassion Break practice yourself.

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Maurice J. Elias

Prof. of Psychology, Director, Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab (www.secdlab.org), Director, the Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research and Service (engage.rutgers.edu)

Gratitude no longer has to be reserved for special occasions and amazing circumstances. Researchers, led by The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and Robert Emmons and Jeffrey Froh, have shown that there are benefits to expressing gratitude, even to "counting one's blessings." But doing so takes a bit of practice.

Classroom Activities

What follows are some practical ways you can have students reflect on and express gratitude:

Thank You Cards

Ask students to think of someone in the school who has been helpful to them in some way, large or small, to whom they would like to thank, or express extra thanks. For younger students, you may have to help them think of some different groups of people to consider -- teachers, office staff, custodians, school support staff, and aides. Have students write and/or draw a card that communicates their appreciation for that help. Once completed, arrange for these to be delivered within the school, ideally by the children. Afterwards, discuss as a group how it felt to write to these various people.

Appreciation Journals

Ask students to keep journals in which they make entries each day about things big or small that they appreciate. This can be coordinated with language arts curricula, in that they can be asked to use different writing styles, sentence lengths, vocabulary, etc. to express themselves. Have them review their journals periodically and, ideally, share with one or two classmates. Help students expand the everyday occurrences for which they feel a sense of gratitude.

Where Did That Come From?

In conjunction with ongoing curriculum emphases, pick common objects that you are studying and ask the question, "Where did that come from?" or the related question, "How did that get here?" A good example is an apple. Work backward with your students (using the Internet or other sources when necessary), to trace the path that led that apple to find its way from a seedling to your school. Other common items -- chalk, a ruler, a piece of paper, a musical instrument, a piece of sports equipment -- can be traced back to their origins so that students can develop a sense of appreciation for the many things that had to happen to bring these objects to your school, and to them.

Gratitude Poster/Gratitude Board

Put a Gratitude Poster/Gratitude Board in your room that students can write on. You can have a different gratitude-related theme each month or you can alternative between two themes, for example: "Things We Are Grateful For" and "We Did It!" The first theme is about basic gratitude and it provides the opportunity to broaden students' appreciation for people and things that affect their lives. The second theme is a listing of something a student accomplished and the names of one or more people who helped them to be successful. We want students to recognize the truth of the statement that in success, we stand on one another's shoulders. This does not take away from students' success, but in fact adds to it. Two examples: "I got a B+ on my test because my sister let me study" and "I learned a solo in a song in chorus because Thomas practiced with me."

Gratitude Reflection

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has a Gratitude Works program with resources that help bring a variety of gratitude approaches into schools, as well as connecting to the home.

One activity that NASP recommends is a process of reflecting on gratitude. Have students consider the following:

Why this good thing happened

What this good thing means to you

What you can do tomorrow to enable more of this good thing

What you learned from taking the time to name this good thing

What ways you or others contribute to this good thing

The Rationale

When we promote gratitude in our students -- and in our own children -- we are giving them a great gift. What we understand about the effects of gratitude is similar to what we understand about the benefits of giving up grudges and more generally embracing a stance of greater appreciation. Dwelling in negative emotions --including selfish emotions -- is not the optimal state for learning, growth, or well-being. One of the reasons why writing about trauma is so effective is that it helps dispel the negative emotions involved.

It does not and cannot change unfortunate and sometimes tragic events. But it can help shift perspective toward greater positive engagement with others and with life. So it is with gratitude.

How do you practice and teach gratitude in your classroom with your students? Please share with us in the comment section.

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Habits of Heart: Helping Students Reflect and Act on Gratitude

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Maurice J. Elias Prof. of Psychology, Director, Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab (www.secdlab.org), Director, the Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research and Service (engage.rutgers.edu) Gratitude no longer has to be reserved for special occasions and amazing circumstances.

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In January, our team published a report on social-emotional learning research that has taken on new importance during the past few months. Written in partnership with New Schools Venture Fund, the report sought out practices that lead to positive outcomes for students learning skills, such as goal setting, relationship building and independence.

Since this paper was originally published, the worldwide spread of COVID-19 has changed the educational landscape into an entirely different space-one that we find ourselves only marginally prepared to educate children in, and a space where social-emotional skills are more important than ever.

Millions of students have been home for months now and are unwitting participants in a real-time distance learning experiment. Parents and teachers are doing the best they can in these circumstances, but there are so many obstacles in the way-from equity issues such as having enough to eat and reliable internet connectivity to the new emotional landscape created by these drastic shifts. Even once the immediate threat of the pandemic has passed, students will inherit the legacy of deep rooted unexpected physical and emotional traumas.

The social fabric and security of students' lives has been entirely upended. To an adult, missing a graduation ceremony may seem trivial in the face of a pandemic. But to a student, this is the culmination of their life's academic and social world up to this point.

This is all to say that we are living in a deeply stressful time where we are literally drawing the map of how to move forward. While there is not specific research on the best practices for supporting students through a pandemic and its attendant stressors, there is information on how to navigate choosing the best tools to teach social-emotional learning, which is an increasing priority for people of all ages.

In pre-COVID-19 times, SEL was just starting to gain nationwide traction as a critical component of K-12 education. The outcomes are clear -students who have learned social-emotional skills attain greater academic success than those who have not. And intuitively it follows that if a child can develop the skill of recognizing and regulating her emotions, that's going to help her succeed well beyond academics.

After reviewing over a hundred articles, reports and whitepapers, we pulled together essential findings that shed light on promising practices when it comes to creating or evaluating social-emotional, or SEL, tools. Our initial report was written for edtech developers. But as a team of former teachers, we can see how valuable this information is for educators and decision makers who are struggling to choose effective and appropriate SEL tools amidst a rapidly expanding marketplace-especially now, when the stakes are even higher and the technology needs are even more specific.

Specifically, the research we studied indicates that students are more likely to experience positive outcomes when the tools used for social-emotional learning:

1. Prioritize teacher learning in addition to student learning.

2. Incorporate learning experiences that are Sequenced, Active, Focused and Explicit (aka SAFE).

3. Take a developmental approach to organizing content and presenting learning opportunities.

There are many contextual factors that influence the outcomes when a district begins using a new program or product-including leadership support, professional development and competing priorities. Yet based on our review of the research, it is clear that the combination of a strong plan for implementation, along with evidence of best practices within these feature areas, can increase the likelihood that schools and districts will get the most bang for their buck when choosing an SEL tool. For each of these feature areas, we recommend that teachers and decision makers look for evidence of the specific research-based best practices detailed in the next three sections.

You can't teach something you haven't practiced

As a public school student in the '90s, I did not receive any direct SEL instruction, nor was my social-emotional development supported in my undergraduate coursework or my teacher training program. If I were to go back into the classroom today, I would benefit from explicit instruction about the ways to engage in healthy social-emotional living as an adult, as well as best practices for teaching SEL to my students. Most of today's teachers are in a similar situation; SEL was not an explicit part of their school experience. The research backs this up: explicit teacher education is often crucial to the success of new SEL programs. When looking at new solutions, consider teacher learning on two fronts:

Teach social-emotional skills to adults, so that they can teach students. We cannot expect the kids to learn a new skill until the grown-ups have a good handle on how to model it! Prioritize tools that help teachers develop their own social-emotional skills and support them to build healthy social-emotional habits. Specifically, look for tools that support teacher development of the skills that will be addressed by the learning resource that will be adopted.

Provide professional learning experiences for teachers that help them understand how to use the new learning resources. In this case, prioritize tools that offer well-designed professional development. Look for professional development that is collaborative, hands-on and ongoing over an extended timeframe. Make use of your excellent teachers, instructional coaches and administrators to further support professional learning.

For example, if teachers will be responsible for teaching students to notice and name emotions as they arise during conflict, teachers must first be taught how to do this and be given opportunities to practice this skill and reflect on their progress. Social-emotional learning is not like math or language. You can feel secure in your knowledge and skills in the morning only to have them evade you later that same day. Ever try to engage in emotional regulation when you are hungry? Exhausted? Overworked? These things develop with consistent practice over time. In this way, social-emotional learning is more like strengthening a muscle than it is mastering a standard.

If and when teachers have some social-emotional foundation, they will then benefit from professional learning experiences that help them to understand how a given tool will be used to support students in developing this skill.

Social-Emotional Learning is SAFE

Relative to traditional academic subjects, there is less common knowledge about what is needed for SEL instruction. In math, for example, we look for elementary programs that include manipulatives and opportunities for students to demonstrate their thinking. In language arts, we look for activities that allow students to critically engage with fiction and nonfiction texts. Only in the past few years have states have begun adopting their own sets of SEL competencies. And because of this, what is accepted as good practice often varies by context.

So, what should you look for in an SEL tool? While this is still playing out in terms of education policy, a look at the research can help answer this question. It turns out, there is a handy acronym from University of Chicago researcher Joseph Durlak that sheds some light on the qualities of SEL curriculum that tend to promote positive outcomes.

Look for tools that make SEL instruction SAFE. Effective social-emotional learning is Sequenced, Active, Focused and Explicit. This means that tools offer learning experiences that are intentionally ordered, active/interactive, provide ongoing focus on essential topics and explicitly instruct students on these topics.

Many solutions excel in some areas of SAFE while glossing over others. Given this, it is important to keep in mind that the research indicates the importance of each criteria being covered by a single tool or program.

The SAFE method for choosing social-emotional learning tools. (Source: MBZ Labs)

Follow the yellow brick road

In the "Wizard of Oz," Dorothy follows a particular pathway to get home and she does so while making good friends and uncovering lasting truths based on her journey. This hero's journey has all the same characteristics as a research backed SEL tool. Dorothy develops healthy relationships, finds support in caring adults and follows a known path to learn what defines her. When evaluating SEL tools, look for the "Wizard of Oz" filter.

Put the social in social-emotional learning. Social-emotional development is more social than traditional academic instruction. Prioritize tools that foster healthy interactions among students and their peers, teachers, parents, and/or other supportive members of the community.

Consider known learning progressions. Good Glinda says, "It's best to start at the beginning." The same is true for SEL. Several social-emotional skills are known to be stepping stones for other more complex skills, indicating that for some aspects of social-emotional development, there may be common progressions of skills. Look for tools that "follow the yellow brick road" by drawing on age, developmental level, personal experiences and prior knowledge. If a tool is designed to teach SEL, be sure that it introduces skills in a way that follows developmentally appropriate sequences.

For more on learning progressions, we highly recommend checking out the Building Blocks for Learning framework by Turnaround for Children. They have an interactive infographic and whitepaper that can help readers see which social-emotional skills are foundational and which can be considered higher-order social-emotional skills. With this in mind, we can find tools that support our students in building from early stepping stones like attachment and self awareness to skills such as perseverance, independence and their own unique and lasting identities.

We know educators' inboxes are bursting with unread emails from companies offering the newest, greatest thing. This is a pivotal moment in education, and many companies are desperate to sell their products as a panacea.

Source: MBZ Labs. Find the full version here.

Hopefully, understanding the research behind what makes an effective SEL product can help you make decisions that are going to benefit students and help to equip them with necessary skills to cope in the trying times to come. While the exact shape of the future may be uncertain, you can make an educated guess about how things may play out for this coming school year. Likely, there will be a combination of distance and in-person learning, and the physical ways that students experience school will be a very different experience.

A good SEL tool will help students to adapt, but only if it works in your context. As best you can, take an inventory of what your needs and resources are before assessing available tools. Prioritize a strong alignment between your objectives and the content and features of the tool you are considering. Beware the marketing messages that are aimed at solving all of your problems, and instead weigh the specific evidence of effectiveness, and filter choices based on the research backed criteria for teacher learning. By understanding the limitations of your context and leveraging your understanding of these essential considerations, you are well equipped to make decisions that can make a real difference in the lives of children in this historic time.

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SEL Skills Are More Vital Than Ever. Here's How to Choose the Right Tools. - EdSurge News

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In January, our team published a report on social-emotional learning research that has taken on new importance during the past few months. Written in partnership with New Schools Venture Fund, the report sought out practices that lead to positive outcomes for students learning skills, such as goal setting, relationship building and independence.

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Resilience

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We lose our car keys and our wallet, we discover mold in the bathroom, our dearest friend moves across the country, a family member is diagnosed with COVID-19. How can we practice holding life as it is with conscious awareness, full-hearted acceptance, and grounded equanimity?

Even if I am having a meltdown, am falling apart, am going ballistic or retreating into a collapsed isolation, I can remember that I am a human being, and that all human beings have similar reactions to life's disappointments, difficulties, and even disasters. I can hold myself with compassion and care, finding the courageous action I need to meet the current challenges or crises.

Returning to the wisdom of our bodies can become the foundation for the practice of resilience, a practice to help us deal with all of the issues in our lives.

Many mindfulness practices use the wisdom of our bodies to return us to a state of ease and calm, no matter the cause of disruption to our well-being-allowing us to hold, to accept, and to work with anything at all. Returning to the wisdom of our bodies can become the foundation for the practice of resilience, a practice to help us deal with all of the issues in our lives, including the coronavirus pandemic that is triggering so much anxiety, confusion, and uncertainty.

Connect with Your Body's Wisdom in Moments of Stress

Our first response to any stressor begins in our bodies. Mindfulness helps us become aware of signals of stress or distress, and we can practice tools that will return our nervous systems back to baseline physiological equilibrium. This is how we "train" resilience.

The three types of research-backed practices-breath practices, healing touch practices, and movement practices-help you bring your attention gently into your body, in order to rediscover your equilibrium. Here's a guide to connecting with your body's wisdom throughout these stressful times.

3 Breath Practices to Regulate Your Nervous System

We learn tools of breath first, because we breathe all the time. The breath is always available, as long as we are alive. Breathing IS what regulates the autonomic nervous system. We can learn to very intentionally use this rhythm of breathing in and breathing out (as is done in yoga breathwork, elongating the exhales) to cultivate more calm in the body and access a deeper well-being.

1. Breathe naturally, gently, for five to ten breaths. Mindfully pay attention to the sensations of breathing in (cool air through the nostrils or throat, the gentle expansion of the belly and chest) and breathing out (warmer air flowing out, the relaxation of the belly and chest). Especially as you begin this practice, pause and repeat this practice many times a day. When you are doing "nothing" but breathing and paying attention to your breathing, you are doing "something" helpful in calming your nervous system and training your nervous system to come to calm. You are making a conscious choice: "I GET to regulate my nervous system."

2. The Box Breath Practice. This is a resilience practice taught to firefighters and police officers to use when they experience a moment of "startle." The startle response is hardwired into our nervous system by evolution, so that when our nervous system perceives danger, we automatically blink to protect our eyes; we crouch to protect our innards; we put both hands up to defend or fight. And that startle response is so hardwired in that we can't retrain the brain to not have that happen. Like a sneeze, it's going to happen.

When you are doing "nothing" but breathing and paying attention to your breathing, you are doing "something" helpful in calming your nervous system and training your nervous system to come to calm.

The box breath can help you train your brain for resilience in moments of high alert. You inhale to a count of four, you hold the breath for a count of four, you exhale to a count of four, you hold out the breath for a count of four. The breathing regulates your nervous system, as we just practiced. The counting requires your higher brain to stay on line. The focused attention on the counting, the use of symbols, the use of words, all require your higher brain to stay online, and keeping your higher brain online when you're startled is key to being able to discern and choose what action to take.

So when you notice your nervous system is so revved up-you're frightened or panicked or angry or enraged, you're not thinking straight, use that as your cue to practice box breathing to come back to your safety zone, your range of resilience, so that you can think clearly again. Likewise, if your nervous system is too shut down, numbed out, collapsed, immobilized, not taking any action at all, that's also not resilient. Box breathing activates your brain again. You can begin to re-engage with what's happening and decide what to do about what's happening.

3. A simple, audible sigh. You can extend the practice of using the breath to regulate your nervous system by giving yourself permission to sigh. Breathe in fully, then exhale fully, sometimes accompanied by a sound, ahhh, releasing tension from your body. A deep sigh (or several sighs) is the body's natural re-setter of the nervous system, even in a tense moment; especially in a tense moment. You can practice pairing any moment of tension with a deliberate sigh. In the midst of a tense or frightening moment, a deliberate sigh can shift the physiology of the body-brain into a more relieved and relaxed state.

The Healing Power of Touch

Touch is one of the fastest ways we have to both calm down the re-energize the nervous system and restore a sense of safety, according to Dacher Keltner, founder of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Warm, safe touch releases oxytocin, the hormone of safety and trust, of calm and connect. As Keltner notes in his book Born to Be Good, oxytocin is the brain's direct and immediate antidote to the stress hormone cortisol-and oxytocin repairs any damage to the physical heart caused by cortisol.

Even in this time of practicing social isolation as a way to contain the spread of coronavirus, we can add focusing our attention on warm, safe touch to help manage any anxiety or distress we are experiencing.

Even in this time of practicing social isolation as a way to contain the spread of coronavirus, we can add focusing our attention on warm, safe touch to help manage any anxiety or distress we are experiencing, and evoke a memory of feeling safe and cared about to deepen that sense of ease and calm.

Practice: The Hand on the Heart Exercise

This is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore a sense of calm and equilibrium in the body-brain. Anchored in both mindfulness and self-compassion, it is powerful enough to calm down a panic attack in less than a minute. It's powerful enough to prevent the stress response from even happening in the first place.

1. Place your hand on your heart. Breathe gently, softly, and deeply into the area of your heart. If you wish, breathe in a sense of ease or safety or goodness into this heart center.

2. Remember one moment, just one moment when you felt safe, loved, and cherished by another human being. Don't try to recall the entire relationship, just one moment. This could be a partner, a child, a friend, a therapist, or a teacher; it could be a spiritual figure, or a loving moment with a pet.

3. As you remember this moment of feeling safe, loved, and cherished, let yourself experience the feelings of that moment. Let the sensations wash through your body. Let yourself stay with these feelings for twenty to thirty seconds. Notice any deepening in a visceral sense of ease and safety.

4. Repeat this practice many times a day at first to strengthen the neural circuitry that remembers this pattern. If you practice five times a day for a full week, you will train your brain in this new response to any difficult moment. Then you can repeat it any time you need to, any time at all. It's portable equilibrium.

Why Hand on the Heart works: When you breathe deeply into the heart center, you're activating the calming parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. When you breathe in a sense of ease or safety or goodness, you're restoring a coherent heart rate variability which allows your heart to respond more flexibly to stress. When you remember a moment of feeling safe and loved and cherished with someone, you're activating the release of oxytocin, the brain's direct antidote to the stress hormone cortisol. You may actually feel the warm glow of the oxytocin as it washes through your body, coming to a sense of safety, trust, and calm.

Any time you move your body and thus shift your posture, you shift your physiology-the basic functioning of your body's systems. That includes shifting the activity of your autonomic nervous system and its state of stress and excitement. You may even experience shifts if you meditate sitting down, then lying down, then standing up. If you get sleepy meditating sitting down, stand up. If you feel restless and agitated, try meditating lying down. Moving the body is excellent rewiring for resilience. Here are a few other movement practices you may explore:

1. Grip and release: Bring your awareness to your hands, and slowly tense your hands into fists, and then release the tension into your open palms. Do that tensing-releasing a couple of times. Notice any shifting of your inner state.

2. Progressive muscle relaxation: This juxtaposition of tension-relaxation is the basis of progressive muscle relaxation, in which we are tensing a muscle group, counting for 7 seconds, relaxing that muscle group, counting to 15. Relaxing twice as long as tensing helps the body relax, a wonderful tool to use when going to sleep at night. Try this tension-to-relaxation shift in each part of your body, starting from your head, all the way down to your toes. And the counting, as in the box breathing, makes sure the higher brain is online but this time for the purpose of keeping attention focused on the task so the brain doesn't go into rumination or obsessive looping over the worries of the day.

3. Smile or frown: You can experience a shift when you place a pencil between your nose and upper lip; that makes you frown somewhat. Then place the pencil between your teeth; that makes you smile a bit. When you practice that sequence slowly enough, you can experience and notice shifting the state of your body and your emotions. Neuroscientists can see in their scanners: Smiling for even 20 seconds shifts the functioning of the brain.

4. Power Posing: You may already be familiar with the technique of Power Posing, used to shift the state of the body-brain from one of anxiety or tension to strength and calm. (It became famous thanks to Amy Cuddy's TED talk, the second-most-watched talk in the history of TED.)

To begin: Stand tall and erect with feet planted firmly on the ground, hip width apart. Lift up your spine, lift up your chest, lift your head, and stretch your arms high over your head, like tadasana, the mountain pose of yoga. Stay grounded in your feet and hips and torso, but feel the energy move up your spine, through your arms and the crown of your head toward the sky. It's getting the energy moving up the spine that is the most important part of the pose.

1. Before going into any situation that might evoke feelings of anxiety or shame-a job interview, a business meeting, a court hearing, a tax audit, a confrontation over serious misbehavior by a family member-find a quiet, private place where you can let yourself feel the anxiety or worry in your body that you want to shift. Gently not to overwhelm, and then move into the power pose. Stand tall and erect, feet about hip width apart, chest lifted and head held high, your arms held high over your head,, the mountain pose of yoga.

2. Let yourself feel strength and energy in your body. Experiment with different poses to learn what allows you to experience these feelings most reliably.

3. Then you can move back and forth between the posture of anxiety or worry and the posture of the power pose for about 5 minutes. Gradually letting go of the posture of worry and remaining in the posture of power, strength and courage.

4. Practice your power pose in the moments before you enter your challenging situation, and then walk mindfully into that situation with more inner strength and energy. With frequent practice, your power pose becomes a natural way to develop and tap into your inner strength, courage, and resilience.

As the poet James Russel Lowell wrote,"Mishaps are like knives, that either cut us or serve us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle." In this sense, mindfulness practice is about creating choices for ourselves-about how we perceive a stressor or a challenge, how we react, how we react to our reactions, how we perceive ourselves coping or not coping, how we choose to respond to the issues. And we learn that we can.

Getting back up when you stumble may seem easier for some than it does for others. The good news is, resilience is a like a muscle-here's how you can strengthen yours over time. Read More

Whether you're looking for live guided meditations connecting you to others, a quick practice to help you find your ground, or a free course on how to meditate, here's how the Mindful community is coming together to serve in the days and weeks ahead. Read More

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Resilience Expert Offers Three Ways to Tap into the Wisdom of the Body - Mindful

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We lose our car keys and our wallet, we discover mold in the bathroom, our dearest friend moves across the country, a family member is diagnosed with COVID-19. How can we practice holding life as it is with conscious awareness, full-hearted acceptance, and grounded equanimity?

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https://www.gonoodle.com/

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Classroom Gratitude Activities

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Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to help students cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." And what's more, research shows that it's really good for both them and their teachers!

Among other benefits, gratitude helps kids feel better about school and makes educators feel less emotionally exhausted.

Need some ideas on how to bring gratitude into the classroom? Here are some easy-to-implement activities, many of which can be adapted to fit any grade level.

Classroom Gratitude Book. Create a gratitude book to send home with a different child each week. Ask each student's family to add a page of pictures and descriptions of what they're grateful for. At the end of the year, be sure to celebrate your completed classroom gratitude book!

Gratitude Photos. Have each student write what they are thankful for on a large piece of paper and then take a picture of the child holding up their paper. Frame the photo and send it home as a holiday gift.

Gratitude Collage or Bulletin Board. Have children cut out pictures of things they're grateful for and then use the pictures to create their own collage or to decorate a classroom gratitude bulletin board.

Gratitude Paper Chain. Have children write what they're thankful for on strips of paper and use the strips to make a gratitude chain to hang up in the classroom.

Gratitude Pairs. Hold a "Special Friends Day" one or two days before Thanksgiving. Ask each student to invite a special person to class for a 45-minute period, such as a grandparent, nanny, neighbor, parent from another classroom, or family friend. Have each pair write and/or draw something they're thankful for and post it on a bulletin board. Note: Scheduling this activity close to the holiday increases the likelihood of out-of-towners being able to attend.

Gratitude Spies. Play the "Spying for Gratitude" game. At the beginning of the day, have each child choose the name of another student out of a hat without revealing the name. Each student spends the day "spying" on their chosen person and then shares one thing that they are grateful for about that person during an end-of-the-day circle.

Gratitude Quilt. Give each child a 5"x5" blank piece of paper on which to draw something they are thankful for. Mount each square on a 6"x6" colored piece of paper and then piece the squares together to create a classroom gratitude quilt.

Gratitude Graph. Have each child write one thing that they are grateful for on a sticky note and then plot it on a classroom gratitude graph. Categories might include people, things, places, actions, animals, etc.

Gratitude Circle. Begin or end the day sitting in a circle with each person sharing one thing that they are grateful for and why. Note: Younger students will need a lot of modeling to explain why they're grateful for something.

Gratitude Journals. Have each student create a gratitude journal or decorate the cover of a pre-made one. Once a week, have students write three things they're grateful for and why. Be sure to limit this activity to once a week, otherwise, according to research, the activity loses its impact.

Gratitude Surprise Sticky Notes. Give each student one or more sticky notes to write something they're grateful for about another person in the school community. Then have the students "deliver" the sticky notes by placing them where the person will see it, e.g., a locker, a phone, a cleaning cart.

Gratitude Letters for the Community. Write letters of gratitude and deliver them to people in the greater school community, e.g., janitor, food staff, school administration. Expand this exercise to include the local community, such as police, fire station, bank, grocery store, hospital, electricians, etc.

Gratitude Quotes. Give students their own gratitude quote (here's a great list of quotes) and have them reflect upon and write about what their quote means to them.

Gratitude Discussions. Use gratitude researchers Jeffrey Froh and Giacomo Bono's gratitude curriculum to deepen students' understanding of gratitude. Have students think of something they're grateful for and then re-frame it as a gift. Then ask students to 1) notice that someone saw they had a need and acted upon it; 2) appreciate the cost incurred by the person extending the gift; and 3) recognize the personal value of the gift they received.

Gratitude Research and Action. Share and discuss with your students the research that shows the tremendous benefits of practicing gratitude. Here's a list of findings from the Greater Good gratitude webpage. Ask students to come up with ways they might incorporate more gratitude into their lives. After hearing about the research on gratitude from their teacher, one group of 8th graders from a high-needs school took it upon themselves to form "The Breakfast Club"-a secret club dedicated to performing kind acts for the school staff. After several months of clandestinely delivering Starbucks coffees (donated by Starbucks), pizzas, and other fun treats, the Breakfast Club members revealed their identities at a school assembly-and were hailed with loud roars and cheers!

Many thanks to Head-of-School Steve de Beer and all the teachers at Friends' School in Boulder, Colorado, and social-emotional learning expert Kim Schonert-Reichl at the University of British Columbia for sharing their ideas with me!

Have a favorite gratitude classroom activity you'd like to share? Please leave a comment below or on the Greater Good Facebook page.

Wishing everyone a gratitude- and joy-filled Thanksgiving!

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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Looking for some ways to bring gratitude into the classroom this Thanksgiving season? Here are some ideas to get you started.

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Every teacher I know has had a back-to-school nightmare. We forget our lesson plans. We come unprepared, and students are depending on us. We make fools of ourselves in the very public setting of our classroom. And it's the first day of school, so the students don't know us yet. We haven't yet established a connection. We're in a room full of strangers-our new students-and we're exposed as incompetent.

This is the traditional back-to-school nightmare, and I've had somewhere in the vicinity of hundreds of them (I'm the type who remembers my dreams, lucky or not). I recently caught a thread on Twitter from my edtech friends. It was all about those nightmares, which have now escalated to waking dread and feelings of vulnerability because of all of the current unknowns.

There's so much uncertainty right now, and it's understandable that we're feeling it intensely. In times of great change, the thing we all crave as humans is control. To have control, or even a perception of agency, in times of complexity can change our mindset and approach. So how can we convert these feelings of dread and powerlessness into something we can use to our advantage?

It involves staying aware, assessing current conditions and understanding that we have a capacity for what we can affect. Not only do we have limits, but we can choose how we self-assess and how we perceive our own weaknesses. In short, we need to reappraise our own vulnerability by giving it a makeover.

I've introduced the V word because it's the modern hero's secret weapon. All we have to do (and ~800,000 of us are doing this already, at least on Twitter) is listen to Brené Brown, reigning guide and authority on naming vulnerability as a strength and asset. The evidence she uses to support her judgment of vulnerability has to do with re-appraisal, turning negative connotations into positive ones. What we are feeling is not wrong. We can embrace it and even use it to our advantage, gaining more authority in the process.

In other words, it's not exactly the weakness that's the asset, it's our re-framing of the perception of weakness that's necessary. We need to train ourselves to embrace and appreciate what is weak and vulnerable. We don't need to struggle to look for it right now; that vulnerability and uncertainty is all around us.

Let's put this in context of teaching and learning. We're about to start the next school year, and there are many great unknowns. We feel weak in certain ways. This links to Brown's research and expertise on guilt and shame. She distinguishes guilt as feeling badly over an action ("I feel guilty that this happened"), and shame as feeling this is attached to our identity ("I feel shame about who I am because this happened.")

We might be feeling guilt over the experiences of the end of the 2019-2020 school year, for example, and letting those emotions carry over into how we anticipate the fall ("I didn't do enough" or "It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to"), which can translate into anticipatory guilt over what's coming in the fall ("I can't do enough" or "It won't be able to look or feel the way I want it to"). We might even be suffering some shame over what we've experienced and what we anticipate experiencing ("I wasn't enough" or "I won't be enough"), and we feel we don't have the capacity to face what's coming.

These feelings are both natural and toxic, because they represent our limiting beliefs that cause paralysis and fear instead of agency and action. To give vulnerability a makeover, we need to start by looking at it in the face, and reappraising what we see.

I see you. Educators, I have seen you throughout this first half of 2020. I see all that you're doing and for all that you're carrying right now, even bearing through the summer as these back-to-school nightmares might be looming. Many of us working in education might feel inundated by well-intentioned postings of listicles and return-to-school guides that just don't seem to meet our real needs on a personal level. We feel the heaviness of expectation, coupled with the inevitability that things will be as messy as they need to be at each stage.

So let's choose it. Let's embrace the messy, with courage from the heart, with passion for what we love that brought us to teaching in the first place, and with a nurturing self-compassion that is needed right now, for ourselves and for our communities.

Here are five research-grounded practices that will help give vulnerability that active makeover, inviting it to improve our daily quality of life.

Get Grounded

It's important to feel a quality of connected groundedness, because this allows us to be able to respond and adapt to changing conditions with a sense of resilience and rooted connection. Being grounded is not static-it means that we feel support in our core and our roots, which allows us to embrace vulnerability. We can use physical exercises to help with this. I recommend starting with this simple mindfulness exercise in grounding, centering and feeling your feet. It can be combined with any sport or movement practice that focuses on balance and stability. Feeling these qualities in our body gives us a feeling strength when we're embodying an openness to change and vulnerability, focusing on how the body feels, so that we can emphasize looking to actively adopt a stance or posture of stability even as we acknowledge vulnerability. Use your own body as a testing ground and see how it feels to get grounded and connect as a core exercise.

Work on Stories

Ask yourself at the beginning and end of the day: What is the story I'm telling myself? Address this as an active practice. Pay attention to the stories we take in as beliefs, who and what we listen to, and what we're telling ourselves. Try placing your cellphone farther away from arm's reach beside your bed at night, so that the first and last thing that gets a chance to come into your consciousness comes from yourself and your own mind, and not from reading the news or receiving a text. Wake up to an idea that you want to define as your intention for the day. Repeat it to yourself. Let it come from and speak to your heart. Integrating these practices gives you the opportunity to change your quality of sleep, rest, mindset and more.

Invite Emotional Awareness and Self-Compassion

We talk about SEL-social-emotional learning-all the time in our teaching practices, yet how often do we give ourselves the chance to practice and hone emotional awareness skills in our own personal life? It can help us to get more in touch with our feelings of vulnerability, and also explore how those feelings are showing up in physical ways (maybe causing us strain in our shoulders or a feeling of tightness in the chest, for example). Writer and mindfulness practitioner Tara Brach developed a useful self-compassion guided practice called R.A.I.N., which guides a listener through an emotional awareness meditation. Try it out, following this meditation Tara Brach leads, or by listening to the recording I made this summer as I was trying out the practice for myself.

Reappraise Stress

Feeling vulnerable undoubtedly causes a rise in our stress levels. Stanford psychologist and researcher Kelly McGonigal says it's not actual stress, but our approach to stress that's the problem. McGonigal says, "One simple mindset reset that can help us face and find the good in the stress in our lives is to view it as an opportunity to learn and grow."

Try to look at each challenge that causes you anxiety, value it and see what small active steps you can take to address it. Create a budget for stress and give it a certain mental allowance for what attention you give it, and focus on the things you have the power to change. Even aim to embrace your stress and worry about the future, using it as a sign that you value and find meaning in your work. Take steps to acknowledge what you value, journal about it and reach out to friends and experts for support. Remember to breathe through this anxious time. I have a sign above my computer that reads: "Blink and breathe." It's the little things here that can make a difference.

Keep Talking about the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

After all, it's "all good" in this new brave new world of embracing vulnerability! You're showing up. Recognize your strengths and take time to give yourself credit for both what you have done and what you continue to do. I see many brave educators who have rapidly and valiantly transitioned classes online in the past few months. And I see them continue to adapt. Robert Frost says "the only way out is through"-and, managing that "through" part is often the beautiful and messy part we might feel we can't openly talk about. But we can and must talk about it.

Part of our work with vulnerability involves being open enough to share stories in these moments of courageous uncertainty, as we're still in the middle of facing great unknowns. There's no one right way, but there's consciousness, care, and a feeling of connection that we can instill in this period of immense change. Vulnerability can be reframed as strength. We know it hasn't been and it won't be perfect. But it will continue to be real, and meaningful. And our experiences will continue to have great impact.

Let's choose daring to be messy, with courage, from the heart. In this way, vulnerability can get the makeover it needs to actively transform our mindset-and we can improve our quality of sleep this summer, too.

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Vulnerability Can Be a Strength for Educators. Let's Embrace It. - EdSurge News

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Every teacher I know has had a back-to-school nightmare. We forget our lesson plans. We come unprepared, and students are depending on us. We make fools of ourselves in the very public setting of our classroom. And it's the first day of school, so the students don't know us yet.

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May 2019 | Volume 76 | Number 8
What Teens Need from Schools Pages 12-16

Cathy Vatterott

Often when I am invited to middle and high schools to work with teachers, it is because school leaders believe their teachers' homework practices are causing students too much stress. They complain that students are overwhelmed, overworked, and that many students are perfectionists, unhappy with anything but an A. These schools may be private or public, but typically serve an affluent community with Ivy League expectations. "Our school has a reputation as a pressure cooker," the school leaders will say. They are not sure if the fault lies with the school, the students, or the parents. They just know something needs to be fixed.

Homework is a good place to start. It's a visible and pervasive practice and an easy place to lay blame. But although excessive homework is often a problem, it is only a symptom of an education culture that wrongly equates rigor with workload and that values achievement at all costs. In many high-achieving schools, parents and teachers often believe everything they are doing is justified as a means to an end. There is almost a superstition that if anything is changed, it could all fall apart. But what's falling apart are the students.

The impressions of teachers and administrators in these schools are strikingly similar:

We've seen an uptick in students with anxiety. It just wasn't this bad a few years ago.

They are so driven. They want to be in all these activities and take all these AP classes, and then they get stressed out because they are overscheduled. They act like they've got it all together, then the smallest thing has them in tears or leads to a meltdown.

We have a lot of students who are perfectionists, especially girls. I give a simple homework assignment that shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes. They come back with something way beyond what they needed to do.

There's this hyper-competitiveness, that if you are not the best, you're nothing. If their paper isn't better than everyone else's, they feel like they failed. And heaven forbid they get a B on something. To them, it may as well be an F.

What's Missing

What seems to be lost in the conversation is less obvious. Why are so many teens stressed out and disheartened at a time in their lives when they should be happy and carefree? However they got there, whether from the influence of parents, peers, society, or the school, the kids are not alright. I see a teen epidemic of what I call rudderless box checkers-four AP classes, check; debate team, check; two sports, check; honor roll, check. These students are joylessly going through the motions, not sure why, except they've been told this is what successful (but not necessarily happy) people have to do. This relentless focus on achievement crowds out the important psychological needs of teens. For those teachers and administrators who are sensitive to it, they see a general malaise, an emptiness that exists in the hearts and souls of too many teens today.

For elementary students, many parents and teachers say, "Let kids be kids"-and they reel in the homework load and prioritize play, because that is what is developmentally appropriate. That message seems to disappear when students reach middle or high school even though those students have developmental needs too. What about letting teens be teens? Teens after all are becoming. They are forming their identities, values, and views of the world. They need a balance of intellectual, emotional, and dare I say, spiritual experiences to help them grow into happy and well-adjusted adults, not just to prepare them to be college students. Teens need to:

Experience learning as joyful and exciting.

Read for pleasure.

Play a game where winning doesn't matter.

Figure out who they are and what they value.

Fall in love, not with a person, but with a passion.

Discover not what the world can do for them, but what they can do for the world.

Reflect, wonder and dream, breathe, and live in the moment.

What do teens need most in today's schools? Time to just be teens.

How Can Schools Help?

Reorienting a school's culture to be less intense is a long-term goal that requires a comprehensive plan. But it is possible for educators, in the meantime, to bring more balance to students' lives. If what teens need most is free time, there are several school practices that could be changed to provide it. The same practices that steal time can give it back. Here are some places to consider starting.

Limit Homework

Students in high-achieving middle and high schools identify homework as the number one school stressor. And it is particularly troubling that, when surveyed, only 20 to 30 percent of students found their homework "useful or meaningful" (Pope, Brown, & Miles, 2015). Research fails to show any benefit to piling it on beyond an hour in middle school or two hours in high school (all subjects combined). Schools that have reduced the homework load, even in advanced classes, have seen no detrimental effects on achievement. Many schools have mandated homework-free breaks or have banned weekend homework (Abeles, 2015). Another popular practice has been to push back the fall semester so final exams are before Christmas, allowing students to have a work-free holiday break (Vatterott, 2018).

In addition, schools should limit how much homework counts. The more homework counts in the grade, teachers observe, the more stressed students become and the more likely they are to cheat. Many schools are limiting homework's impact to 20 percent, 10 percent, or even 5 percent of a grade. Schools that have implemented standards-based grading often no longer count homework in the grade. In these instances, teachers would still give feedback on homework, sometimes by a mark indicating level of mastery or with a temporary grade that carries zero weight (Vatterott, 2015). When homework is taken out of the grade, it takes the heat off stressed students. Contrary to the myth that "they just won't do it," not grading homework empowers students to self-assess and to complete only those tasks they actually need to do to demonstrate mastery (Vatterott, 2018).

Coordinate the Workload Across Classes

In a traditional high school schedule, students take courses from six to eight different teachers, each of whom may assign homework and schedule exams and projects without consulting each other. To avoid students being overloaded, a shared calendar can help teachers and coaches track due dates for major projects, exams, and events (Abeles, 2015). If needed, the administration can limit the number of assignments or exams given per day or week. Another strategy schools rely on is to designate specific days of the week for homework or tests in specific subjects (such as, all math tests are on Tuesdays, all science tests are on Thursdays, and all major English papers are due on Fridays).

Rethink the Schedule

In many high schools, students juggle anywhere from six to eight courses each day. And then to add to the craziness, they have five minutes or less to travel from one class to another and to shift focus from one subject to another. Is that arrangement for the benefit of teachers, the students, or is it simply tradition? Even in college, a typical load per semester is four or five courses. So many saner options exist, from a modified block of four courses every other day, to a 4x4 semester where students take four courses each semester, to many hybrid models.

Provide Student and Parent Education

For students, parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators to work together toward effective school change, all parties need to have a basic understanding of what teens need for optimal health and school engagement (Pope et al., 2015). The entire school community can benefit from examining a variety of topics that impact teens: the value and limitations of homework; brain research-how physical and mental health affect the efficiency of learning; the value and limitations of AP courses; and the concept of "best fit" colleges.

In San Mateo, California, Junipero Serra High School has a parent-education coordinator who organizes presentations on topics such as stress, mental health, and the transition to college. Students and faculty attend the presentations during the school day, while parents attend in the evening. Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, has developed a parent-education series funded by the PTA, which has offered talks on sleep, drug and alcohol use, suicide, college admissions, and mental health (Pope et al., 2015).

These strategies are good first steps in reducing student stress and giving teens back the gift of time. They also send a powerful message that we value the well-being of our teens.

What Teens Need to Know

We worry about preparing them for their future, but today's teens need so much more than academic training. Some of the most important lessons that students need to learn aren't in the curriculum at all but could be learned with changes in how we teach, the way school is structured, and the learning climate we create. What teens need from school are lessons that put school in perspective to life. Teens need to know that:

School is not the real world and that in the real world, the rules will differ from place to place.

Their worth is not determined by their GPA or how many activities they are in.

Focusing only on the future insults the value of the present.

Failing a test or even a course does not make them a failure.

Their success is not enhanced by someone else's failure.

In pursuit of the almighty GPA, something is getting lost. Our teens are giving up a part of themselves. But we can help these youth rediscover a sense of joy and passion, if we can just give them what they most need in their overscheduled lives-time.

References

Abeles, V. (2015). Beyond measure. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Pope, D., Brown, M., & Miles, S. (2015). Overloaded and underprepared: Strategies for stronger schools and healthy, successful kids. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Vatterott, C. (2015). Rethinking grading: Meaningful assessment for standards-based learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Vatterott, C. (2018). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Endnote

For resources to reduce student stress and educate parents, visit www.challengesuccess.org.

Cathy Vatterott is a professor of education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is considered an international expert on the topic of K-12 homework and is the author of four books including Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs, 2nd Edition (ASCD, 2018) and Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards-Based Learning (ASCD, 2015). Follow her on Twitter.

KEYWORDS

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May 2019 | Volume 76 | Number 8 What Teens Need from Schools Pages 12-16 Cathy Vatterott Often when I am invited to middle and high schools to work with teachers, it is because school leaders believe their teachers' homework practices are causing students too much stress.

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Teachers adjusting to teaching from home while schools are closed may need to work out new routines to stay grounded.

atracurium_ / Alamy Stock Photo

As a teacher of online courses for many years, I've grappled with working from home. Whether we're planning and teaching virtually or managing projects, working from home for extended lengths of time can be challenging as work time blends into personal time. It's too easy to slip into being on call 24/7 as we tackle emerging challenges and requests from learners anywhere and at any time.

But setting boundaries that separate work time from personal time is only a first step. To help and support others, we must become avid caretakers of ourselves.

Tending to our personal health seems important but also really difficult in situations like the current pandemic, when our time feels consumed with urgent work issues. We may feel that if we don't get a task done, our students will suffer or programs will fail. However, if we become mentally exhausted, overtired, or drained of energy, we risk a complete shutdown mentally or physically-and at that point, no tasks will get done.

Fortunately, there are many ways that we can take care of ourselves so that we can meet the needs of others from home. The following are my suggestions for personal care and sharing with others. They are just suggestions: The most important thing is to think about the three areas-physical, mental, and social care-and do what works best for you and what you know you'll be able to do regularly.

Physical Care: Sleep and Exercise

Tending to basic needs is important for managing stress and replenishing the energy reserves needed for tackling tasks. Numerous studies reinforce the value of adequate sleep-seven to eight hours a night for adults. One value of sleep is that it helps " maintain many vital functions " of the body, giving cells and tissues worn out by daily life time to recover, according to a research review by the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Pair sleep with good eating habits and an exercise routine. It's no secret that exercise can promote good sleep, as well as provide the energy needed to perform throughout the day.

Maintain a routine that includes a consistent bedtime. Plan to get the rest you need so that each day you can better address your students' needs.

Explore sleep apps that offer real-time data regarding your sleep hours and patterns. Apps vary in accuracy, but they may capture a picture of your depth of sleep and wakefulness. The site Tom's Guide offers an updated list of sleep apps. Sleep Cycle is my current go-to. Some fitness bands include sleep tracking.

Establish an exercise schedule. This could include quick successes such as a walk or bike ride. I sometimes walk up and down the stairs in my house for 30 minutes or ride a stationary bike. Too busy? Set aside 15 or 20 minutes a day to walk or pace inside or outside.

Try out fitness apps like DownDog and Peloton, YouTube videos, or fitness console games like Just Dance or Ring Fit Adventure. An extra feature of many fitness apps is the ability to document your food intake, which can be important especially if you're concerned about stress eating.

Simple ideas for getting better sleep and regular exercise include:

Mental Care: Mindfulness and Learning

Set up blocks of time for work and family-but also for yourself. Loved ones see you at home working and naturally want your time. Share meals and walks, or other breaks from work, but while family and work colleagues both need your attention, protecting some personal time can help you recharge and be present for them.

Schedule activities that promote calm: meditating, growing spiritually, doing yoga, completing puzzles, or playing digital or physical games. I play Minecraft to relax and subconsciously generate ideas for creative learning. There are helpful apps that support a Zen state of mind-my favorite is Calm.

Try to keep learning by reading articles, listening to podcasts or favorite playlists, and watching instructional videos. Growing your professional practice and hobbies is valuable to rejuvenating yourself.

Social Care: Stay Connected With Others

Teachers are generally very able to keep track of time in the classroom, but we may be more challenged when working at home. Between lesson planning, researching learning experiences, and attending professional meetings, it's possible to forget to eat and stay connected with friends and family. Since a strength of virtual learning is access to the world, use those same resources for personal growth.

Stay in contact with family and friends by using video conference tools like Zoom, Google Hangout, Skype, WhatsApp, and FaceTime. Video meetings are better than a phone call-when you have a good connection-because you can see the people. Communication is more than voice-it benefits from facial expressions and other visual cues.

Have meals and conversations online with family and friends. Every Tuesday, my family has lunch with my parents using FaceTime or Zoom on a phone or tablet. Seeing each other and sharing updates really lifts my parents' and my kids' spirits. There are other avenues for socializing at a distance: Participate in discussion groups or book clubs. You might really benefit from seeing a smile, even if it's just on the screen. Social distancing doesn't have to mean social isolation.

We are role models for our students and our children, and we can set an example and practice what we teach about lifelong learning-which is now more important than ever. Managing our physical, mental, and social well-being can give us the energy to be present to those we are responsible for and set an example for them of how to cope with our tough current situation.

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Prioritizing Self-Care While Working From Home

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Teachers adjusting to teaching from home while schools are closed may need to work out new routines to stay grounded.

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https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/simple-brain-gym-exercises-and-its-benefits/

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EducationWorld is pleased to present this article contributed by Aimee Hosler. Passionate about education, Hosler is a writer for teacherportal.com and a mother of two.
Image: Public domain, Pixabay
Character building is just as critical to students' growth and development as literacy or math, and educators are in a great position to nurture positive character, one trait at a time. Encouraging kids to be thankful for what they have is a positive message that will serve them well their whole lives. What better time of year to explore gratitude than November, the official season of thanks?

Here are a few fun, creative activities that can help instill a sense of gratitude in your students this Thanksgiving season and all year long.

Garland of Gratitude
This simple craft can be adapted in a number of ways. Just extend string across a portion of the wall or along the edge of students' desks (clothesline style) and provide students with a few clothespins. Ask students to write down one thing for which they are thankful on each of several pieces of colored cardstock, which could be decorated or cut to look like leaves and pumpkins. Use a clothespin to attach each blessing to the string, forming a garland. You can create a community garland, or help students create individual ones to share with their families.

Postcards of Thanks
This activity is an excellent way to nurture gratitude and other important skills, especially among younger students. Ask students to choose at least one person in their lives for whom they are thankful. Provide cardstock and craft supplies and show them how to design a postcard, complete with a note of gratitude for the recipient. This activity nurtures early literacy and fine motor development. It also reinforces other life skills, such as addressing and mailing letters.

Joy in a Jar
This is a simple but ingenious way to count down to Turkey Day, and all you need is a jar and some paper scraps. You may have one community classroom jar, or have each child keep his or her own jar to be taken home for the holidays. Each day, ask students to write down one thing for which they are thankful and place it in the jar. On Thanksgiving, students can share the notes with their families, or-if it is a community project-teachers can read submissions aloud during the last day before Thanksgiving break.

Thanksgiving Tree
Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree is a popular children's book about an utterly selfless tree and the boy for whom it provides a lifetime of resources. The story provides a natural segue into discussing the virtues of giving-and being thankful for what you receive. Read the book to your students, and then ask them to create a tree craft using cutouts of their handprints as leaves. Ask children to jot down one thing for which they are thankful on each "leaf," then take the tree home to share with their families. You could also plant a tree (or glorified plant) on the school grounds as a gift to fellow students and teachers, and then ask students to decorate it with their handprint blessings.

Stone Soup
Stone Soup is a classic fable that illustrates the value of community and sharing: A poor, hungry man enters a village and asks its inhabitants food, but they do not give him any. He finds a rock and tells the stingy villagers that he will use it to brew up a pot of delicious stone soup, and that he will be more than happy to share it with anyone who contributes to it. Villagers donate pots, vegetables and spices for the concoction, which the whole town shares. Recreate this fable by asking each student to bring in a particular vegetable or other food item that can be used to cook up a large soup for the entire class. Note that this is also an excellent way to weave in a lesson or two about kitchen safety and nutrition.

Secret Turkey
Most children love exchanging valentines, so why not harness that enthusiasm in a way that promotes gratitude and cohesiveness among your students? Have each child secretly draw the name of one other student in class, just as you would with a Secret Santa game. Instead of exchanging gifts, however, ask students to produce a card or letter in which they showcase their drawn classmates' strengths. You may choose to read these notes aloud.

Nurture gratitude throughout the year
Thanksgiving provides the perfect reason for presenting lessons on gratitude, but you need not reserve them for this season. By practicing these activities-especially those that engage the entire group-year-round, you can nurture student self-esteem and help build a more positive classroom environment.

Education World®
Copyright © 2013 Education World

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Six Classroom Activities to Nurture Gratitude

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EducationWorld is pleased to present this article contributed by Aimee Hosler. Passionate about education, Hosler is a writer for teacherportal.com and a mother of two. Image: Public domain, Pixabay Character building is just as critical to students' growth and development as literacy or math, and educators are in a great position to nurture positive character, one trait at a time.

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Well-Being

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Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology.

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What Is Well-Being? Definition, Types, and Well-Being Skills

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Want to grow your well-being? Here are the skills you need.

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The thought ended almost before it started: "This is so overwhelming." It was all one teacher managed to type before she stopped short, vexed into silence, perhaps, by the sheer size of the problem. In the pregnant pause that followed, undoubtedly, every teacher tracking the unspooling thread-about the dizzying, rapidly escalating viral crisis that was closing schools across the country-recognized the chasm they were all facing as well, and took a deep breath.

In the next few hours, over 500 teachers joined two Facebook conversations about teaching during the coronavirus pandemic, spilling out their concerns and anxieties: What will we do if the schools close for months? How can I shift to online learning if we're closing tomorrow, or even in a few hours? How will special education students be cared for, and IEPs administered? What about children who have no internet access, or who will be required, as Keith Schoch thoughtfully noted, to "become de facto babysitters" for their brothers and sisters. "There is no digital divide, but there is a digital abyss, and America's rural poor are living at the bottom of it," said Anne Larsen, with devastating concision. What if, in the end, the school systems decide that online learning is working just fine, and never reopen?

The panic was all perfectly understandable.

But there were plenty of teachers in the mix who had weeks of crisis experience under their belts by that time-several in Hong Kong and Italy and the state of Washington, for example-and others who had long careers in online and distance learning. In the end, too, there were many fantastic, highly creative teachers providing strategies as fast as the obstacles appeared.

At the highest level, a shift in mindset would be required-even the most optimistic educators conceded the point. There are plenty of strategies and tactics we're covering at Edutopia-and we'll continue to-but here are the crucial emotional and psychological scaffolds that our audience agreed would be needed to teach in this new paradigm.

Expect Trial... and Plenty of Error

Start by being reasonable with yourself. It is, in fact, impossible to shift to distance learning overnight without lots of trial and error. Expect it, plan for it, and do your best to make peace with it.

"I can tell you, now that we're in week 7 of online learning, that much of what you will do will be trial and error," wrote Stacy Rausch Keevan, who was teaching in Hong Kong. "Don't stress about that-it won't do you any good. For my middle school English and humanities classes, I'm offering the same lessons I would normally do live, but in smaller doses."

Acknowledge the Extraordinary

Reset your baseline. We're all operating in the shadow of a global pandemic, and it is disorienting and limiting. Business as usual is unrealistic.

The real "points to consider" are not "the strict adherence to 'regular' conditions and norms," wrote Amy Rheault-Heafield in a reply to a question about how to structure distance learning like more typical learning experiences, "but how to provide a rich experience to all learners who are now without 'traditional' teachers standing beside them in classes."

So while you should try to provide "meaningful activities," cautioned elementary teacher John Thomas, "we should remember that on short notice-and because many of us have limited PD utilizing these tools-we can't tackle everything immediately. In other words, we should give ourselves the time and the permission to figure this out."

Reduce the Workload (for Yourself and Your Students)

If your district allows it, you should plan to do less. Students won't be able to work as productively, anyway-so if you can't scale back you'll be sending them work they cannot do-and your own life and family need added care.

"Feedback from students and families over the last 10 days in Italy is 'less is more,'" commented Jo Gillespie. "Consider that parents are trying to work from home, and siblings are vying for computer and Wi-Fi time. Try Google quizzes using Forms, a reading log, some short live sessions with teachers and classmates, maybe vocabulary extension, maths and geometry problems (but not too many). And that's probably enough."

And Keevan, the teacher in Hong Kong with weeks of experience, confirmed that time and distance play funny games during a crisis: "What would normally take you one class period to teach in the classroom will probably take you twice as long."

No Person Is an Island

Humans are social animals. Working from home, or worse, from quarantine, is isolating and often depressing for both teachers and students.

Make a concerted effort to speak to other colleagues and trusted professionals to provide emotional and psychological context to your work. Teaching at this moment is extraordinarily hard, and you'll need the virtual company of people who are experiencing what you are.

And don't forget to "reach out to students as often as you can," said Keevan, who still teaches classes live despite a (slightly inconvenient!) 13-hour time difference. Or you can facilitate peer-to-peer communication. John Thomas assigns pen pals in his first- and second-grade classes, so that kids with no internet can feel like they belong.

Everyone Thinks They Can't-Before They Can

Some degree of pessimism and self-doubt comes with the territory. Teachers in the Facebook thread advised more perspective-taking and being more patient with yourself: You know how to teach, and you will figure this out in time.

"We are in week 7 and I have three children of my own at home," wrote Salecia Host, a teacher in Tianjin, China, reflecting on the arc of her emotional response to the crisis. "Just take it day by day. It gets less overwhelming and more routine."

Try to remain calm-though you'll have a few moments where that goes out the window-and keep plugging away: "Being open-minded and flexible is key," said Kaz Wilson, who also works in China. "Everyone thinks you can't until you pause, talk it out with folks who are doing it, and know that you'll get through it."

Mind the Gap

Your work will be hard, but there are students facing more severe challenges. Students with no internet or no computer will need support, as will those with learning differences or other circumstances that make distance learning especially difficult. Supporting these students was on almost everyone's mind-it came up dozens of times in the Facebook thread.

"I'm in Italy. Our schools closed a few weeks ago without any previous warning. We shifted to online immediately. It is hard and exhausting," admitted Eleonora Borromeo, before providing a ray of hope. "Equity is an issue. Assessment is an issue. But the students are doing their best and giving us the strength to go on."

Solutions from our audience of teachers focused on the old analog approaches: paper-and-pencil tasks, workbooks and activity packets that can be mailed home, and updating parents and students via phone calls daily.

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Teaching Through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment

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The thought ended almost before it started: "This is so overwhelming." It was all one teacher managed to type before she stopped short, vexed into silence, perhaps, by the sheer size of the problem.

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UNICEF Kid Power empowers kids to save lives by connecting their everyday activity-like moving or learning-to real-world impact. Free for all educators!

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Gratitude Activities

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We usually show our gratitude to others when we feel indebted to them, when we have benefitted from their actions, and when we want to make our feelings towards them known.

Showing gratitude is sometimes a required or expected thing, but at other times, a spontaneous "thank you" to someone who has unknowingly made our day. On most occasions, we show gratitude to bring the good feelings we have been gifted back to the gifter.

While it is admirable to want to share our gratitude and good feelings with others, we rarely stop to think about what giving others our gratitude does for us.

As it turns out, it does quite a lot for our brains and mental wellbeing.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients connect to more positive emotions and enjoy the benefits of gratitude.

Research shows that gratitude can (Morin, 2014):

Help you make friends. One study found that thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek a more lasting relationship with you.

Improve your physical health. People who exhibit gratitude report fewer aches and pains, a general feeling of health, more regular exercise, and more frequent checkups with their doctor than those who don't.

Improve your psychological health. Grateful people enjoy higher wellbeing and happiness and suffer from reduced symptoms of depression.

Enhance empathy and reduces aggression. Those who show their gratitude are less likely to seek revenge against others and more likely to behave in a prosocial manner, with sensitivity and empathy.

Improve your sleep. Practicing gratitude regularly can help you sleep longer and better.

Enhance your self-esteem. People who are grateful have increased self-esteem, partly due to their ability to appreciate other peoples' accomplishments.

Increase in mental strength. Grateful people have an advantage in overcoming trauma and enhanced resilience, helping them to bounce back from highly stressful situations.

With all of these benefits to practicing gratitude, your next question is probably "How do I do it?"

If so, you're in luck! Read on to discover some of the most popular exercises and activities for this, as well as tips to cultivate your own gratitude practice.

13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises and Activities

There are infinite ways to show our gratitude to others, to ourselves, and to a higher power or even "the universe" itself.

However, it can be tough to get started without practical ideas. These gratitude exercises and activities are some of the most well-known and proven ways to practice and enhance your gratitude.

1. Journaling

Writing down a few things you are grateful for is one of the easiest and most popular exercises available.

The purpose of the exercise is to reflect on the past day, few days, or week, and remember 3-5 things you are especially grateful for. In this way, you are focusing on all the good things that happened to you in a given set of time.

What is the appropriate amount of journaling one should do per week? Some people propose doing it every day while others suggest once per week. The arguments against doing it every day are that it can be tedious and forced. It becomes a practice you feel you should do or need to do instead of something you want to do.

When journaling becomes a banal task and not an enjoyable practice then you need to adjust the amount of journaling you do.

Besides the benefit of focusing on the wonderful things, this practice actually can increase your quality of sleep, decrease symptoms of sickness, and increase joy (Marsh, 2011).

It is important to cater your practice to what you need. Perhaps journaling every day for a short amount of time works for you, but over time, it feels better to journal every Friday.

Paying attention to what you are grateful for becomes easier as you practice it.

Imagine your life without the things or people that matter to you, before you begin writing. That should definitely boost your gratitude barometer.

2. Gratitude Jar

The gratitude jar is a stunningly simple exercise that can have profound effects on your wellbeing and outlook. It only requires a few ingredients: a jar (a box can also work); a ribbon, stickers, glitter, or whatever else you like to decorate the jar; paper and a pen or pencil for writing your gratitude notes; and gratitude!

Step 1: Find a jar or box.

Step 2: Decorate the jar however you wish. You can tie a ribbon around the jar's neck, put stickers on the sides, use clear glue and glitter to make it sparkle, paint it, keep it simple, or do whatever else you can think of to make it a pleasing sight.

Step 3: This is the most important step, which will be repeated every day. Think of at least three things throughout your day that you are grateful for. It can be something as benign as a coffee at your favorite place, or as grand as the love of your significant other or dear friend. Do this every day, write down what you are grateful for on little slips of paper and fill the jar.

Over time, you will find that you have a jar full of a myriad of reasons to be thankful for what you have and enjoy the life you are living. It also will cultivate a practice of expressing thanks.

If you are ever feeling especially down and need a quick pick-me-up, take a few notes out of the jar to remind yourself of who, and what, is good in your life.

3. Gratitude Rock

This exercise may sound a little silly. You may be thinking, "A rock? How can a rock help me practice gratitude?"

The secret to this exercise is that the rock is a symbol, a physical object you can use, to remind yourself of what you have.

The instructions are about as simple as instructions can be: just find a rock!

Make sure to pick one you like, whether you like it because it's pretty because it is smooth or has an interesting texture, or because you picked it up from a special place. If you have another small object you'd rather use instead, feel free to substitute that for the rock.

Carry this rock around in your pocket, leave it on your desk where you will see it throughout your day, or even wear it on a chain around your neck or your wrist.

Whenever you see it or touch it, pause to think about at least one thing you are grateful for. Whether it's something as small as the sun shining down on you in this moment or as large as the job that allows you to feed yourself or your family, just think of one thing that brings you joy or fulfillment.

When you take the stone out of your pocket or off of your body at the end of the day, take a moment to remember the things that you were grateful for throughout the day. When you put it on or in your pocket again in the morning, repeat this process to remember what you were grateful for yesterday.

Not only will this help you remember the things you are grateful for, but also it can trigger a mini-mindfulness moment in your day. It will bring you out of your head and into the present moment, giving you something to focus your attention on. It can also act as a switch to more positive thinking.

When you flip this switch multiple times a day, you will likely find that your average day has become much more positive.

4. Gratitude Tree

The gratitude tree is a great activity for children, and it can also be effective for adults who are open to experiencing a childlike sense of fun and wonder. You will need several double-sided colored sheets of paper, string or ribbon, scissors, twigs or tree branches, some stones or marbles, a vase, and a sense of gratitude.

Step 1: Make one or more leaf cutouts to use as a template for your leaves. Trace leaves on your colored paper.

Step 2: Cut out the leaves, punch a hole at the top of each leaf, and loop your string or ribbon through each hole.

Step 3: Put the stones or marbles in a vase and stick the tree branch or twig in the middle.

Step 4: Have your (or your child) draw or write things that you (or your child) are grateful for on the leaves. You can also use photographs if you'd like.

Step 5: Hang the leaves from the branches, and behold your gratitude tree!

This activity is easy and results in a pretty reminder of the things that bring you or your child joy throughout your daily life. It may be intended for kids but there is no age limit on finding creative ways to cultivate your gratitude, so get to drawing!

Here's a quick how-to video on the gratitude tree:

5. Gratitude Garden

The gratitude garden activity is a good activity to follow creating gratitude trees. This is also intended for children, but adults can certainly follow along to get into the gratitude spirit.

Follow these steps to journey to the gratitude garden (All Done Monkey, 2012).

1. Start the Journey: Stand up in front of the group, with the Thankfulness/Gratitude Tree in clear view. Explain that you are all going on a trip to the Grateful Garden, but to get there you have to go through three dangerous places. (Insert a word other than "dangerous" if more appropriate to the age group). The Thankfulness Tree will help you get through each one so you can make it to the Grateful Garden.

2. The Frowny Forest: The first stop is the Frowny Forest. Have the kids all mimic you as you frown, cross your arms, and hunch over. There is a lot of wind in the Frowny Forest, so mimic being tossed about by the wind, turning back and forth as if you are trying to fight it. The only way to leave the Frowny Forest is to feel happy again, so ask the kids to shout out things they are grateful for (using the Thankfulness Tree as a prompt). After they have named a few things, mimic great relief, with a big smile.

3. The Sad Swamp: But, oh no! Just beyond the Frowny Forest is the Sad Swamp! Hunch over again, swing your arms down low, and walk (in place) in big, heavy steps, as if walking through mud or water. Again, have the kids shout out things they are grateful for, so you can all leave the Sad Swamp.

4. The Mad Mountain: Past the Sad Swamp is the Mad Mountain. Have them imitate you as you pretend to climb up the mountain with great effort, making angry faces. Again, have the kids shout out things they are grateful for, so you can all feel happy again.

5. The Grateful Garden: Finally, you have all arrived at the Grateful Garden! What a good job they have done! To celebrate, everyone can do a Happy Hop!

Going through each of these negative emotions can be a fun and interactive learning opportunity for kids. For older children (or young-minded adults!), you can even add in a few other, more complex negative emotions, like the "Disgusted Dock" or the "Petty Pier."

To read these instructions, click here.

6. Gratitude Box

The gratitude box is a thoughtful way to share your feelings with loved ones and cultivate your own sense of gratitude.

This is another easy activity that requires only a box, some paper, and a pen or pencil to write down gratitude messages. You can make the box yourself or buy one, the prettier the better!

On the paper, write down a heartfelt message of gratitude to your loved one. If you're not sure how to start, here are some suggestions to begin your message:

1) "Thank you for..."

2) "What I love about you..."

3) "My holiday wish for you..."

You can also collect messages from others about your loved one, to pack the box with multiple messages of gratitude and love.

Place the message(s) into the box, wrap it up or put a bow on it, and give it to your loved one as a special gift, to both your loved one and yourself.

Read more about gratitude boxes here.

7. Gratitude Prompts

Gratitude prompts are a great way to get started, continue your practice, or kick-start a stalled gratitude practice. This is also a relatively simple exercise, with only one instruction: fill in the blank!

These prompts provide several ways to begin a gratitude statement, with infinite possibilities for completion. They cover multiple senses, colors, people, and things. The goal is to identify at least three things in each category that you are thankful for.

The prompts include:

I'm grateful for three things I hear:

I'm grateful for three things I see:

I'm grateful for three things I smell:

I'm grateful for three things I touch/feel:

I'm grateful for these three things I taste:

I'm grateful for these three blue things:

I'm grateful for these three animals/birds:

I'm grateful for these three friends:

I'm grateful for these three teachers:

I'm grateful for these three family members:

I'm grateful for these three things in my home:

I'm grateful for these three people who hired me:

Etc.

This simple exercise is a great way to identify all the things you are grateful for. To see all of the categories and examples for each category, click here.

8. Gratitude Amble

This exercise only requires your sense of gratitude and a pair of feet or wheelchair.

When you are going through a particularly rough time, try cleansing your mind with a gratitude walk. Just as the combination of meditation and gratitude can combat stress or increase feelings of wellbeing, walking with a gratitude focal point can offer the same remedy.

Walking is therapeutic in itself.

It has health benefits like increased endorphins that decrease stress, increased heart health, and circulation in the body, decreased lethargy, and decreases in blood pressure. Couple this activity with a grateful state of mind and you are bound to nurture a positive mind and body (Rickman 2013).

The goal of the gratitude walk is to observe the things you see around you as you walk. Take it all in. Be aware of nature, the colors of the trees, the sounds the birds make, and the smell of the plants. Notice how your feet feel when you step onto the ground.

The effects are more potent when you can enjoy a gratitude walk with your partner or a friend. In this way, you can show them an appreciation for being able to spend the time walking together.

9. Gratitude Reflection

Reflection is an important part of mindfulness meditation and the cultivation of a sense of self-awareness. These practices can lead to an enhanced sense of wellbeing, among other benefits, although enhanced wellbeing is enough of a benefit for most of us.

To practice gratitude reflection, follow these steps (Still Mind, 2014):

1. Settle yourself in a relaxed posture. Take a few deep, calming breaths to relax and center. Let your awareness move to your immediate environment: all the things you can smell, taste, touch, see, hear. Say to yourself: "For this, I am grateful."

2. Next, bring to mind those people in your life to whom you are close: your friends, family, partner.... Say to yourself, "For this, I am grateful."

3. Next, turn your attention onto yourself: you are a unique individual, blessed with imagination, the ability to communicate, to learn from the past and plan for the future, to overcome any pain you may be experiencing. Say to yourself: "For this, I am grateful."

4. Finally, rest in the realization that life is a precious gift. That you have been born into a period of immense prosperity, that you have the gift of health, culture, and access to spiritual teachings. Say to yourself: "For this, I am grateful."

10. Gratitude Flower

The gratitude flower is similar to the gratitude tree, except that instead of creating leaves of gratitude, we create flower petals of gratitude.

Start by cutting out a circle from colored paper. Yellow is a popular color for this piece since it will be the center of the flower.

On the circle, write "Things I'm Thankful For" or write your name or family name, or even an overarching thing you're grateful for (i.e., "my family").

Next, use a template or freehand cut to create flower petals. You can use several different colors for a bright and vibrant flower, or the same color for a more uniform looking flower.

On the flower petals, write down things you are grateful for. These can be things like the sunny weather, having wonderful parents, or a promotion at work.

Glue or tape these petals to the center to create a flower. This is your gratitude flower!

11. Gratitude Letter or Email / Gratitude Visit

This might be the most powerful gratitude exercise. Write a hand-written letter to a person you are particularly grateful to have in your life.

Be detailed. Express all the wonderful qualities about this person, and how they personally have affected your life for the better.

If you have the time personally deliver this letter to the person yourself.

Do it unexpectedly. Your level of gratitude should skyrocket, as you observe the bliss the receiver gets from your generous act. It will probably be one of the greatest gifts you will ever receive.

The positive effects of this gratitude exercise were researched and carried out by Kent State professor Steve Toepfer, associate professor in Human Development and Family Studies.

In his 2007 study, his undergraduate students experienced enhanced levels of life satisfaction and happiness, as well as decreased symptoms of depression. Toepfer's goal of this study was to determine the psychological benefits, if any, for the authors of these gratitude letters (Vincent, 2007).

The results of this study are quite straightforward. If you wish to increase your gratitude and happiness levels then intentionally script letters to inspiring people in your life.

If you are feeling down and maybe even depressed, you should most certainly give this practice a try. For an even further joy boost hand deliver your letter to the receivers so you can witness the receiver's reactions for yourself.

This activity can be either an email or a letter which you can send off in the mail or deliver personally.

Think about a person who has recently done something good for you, to whom you have not yet expressed your gratitude. This person may be a friend, family member, coworker, teacher, or mentor.

Try to pick someone who you can visit within the next week if you are practicing the visit component.

Next, write them an email or letter. Use these guidelines to write an effective and grateful letter:

Write as though you are addressing the person directly.

Don't worry about getting your grammar or spelling perfect (unless you are sending the email/letter to them).

Describe what this person has done that makes you grateful, and how they have impacted your life. Be as concrete as possible here.

Describe what you are doing in life now, and how frequently you remember their act of kindness or generosity.

Try to keep your letter to about 300 words or so.

If you are writing an email or a letter to be mailed, go through the letter to make sure it is clear and you get the intended message across. Hit the "send" button or drop it in a mailbox.

If you are delivering your letter in person via a gratitude visit, follow these steps:

Plan a visit with the recipient. Let him or her know you would like to meet with them to share something, but be vague about what you have to share.

When you meet this person, let them know that you are grateful and that you would like to read them a letter you wrote expressing your gratitude. Ask that he or she does not interrupt you until you are done reading the letter.

Take your time reading the letter. While you read, pay attention to the reactions of both you and the recipient.

After you have read the letter, listen to his or her reaction to the letter and be ready to discuss your feelings together.

Remember to leave the letter with this person when you leave.

If you are located far away from this person, you can arrange a phone call or video chat instead.

12. Meditation

Gratitude meditations are a double-whammy for wellbeing. You are performing two of the most impactful happiness practice at the same time.

Meditation isn't always easy especially when the mind is aggressively wandering and distracting your attention, but if you practice this kind of mediation consistently be prepared to experience incredible upgrades in gratitude and joy.

Unlike a normal meditation where intentionally become aware of your breath and keep your mind clear, during a gratitude meditation you visualize all the things in your life that you are grateful for.

It is important to give each person or item the concentration it deserves. You can take the time to go through all the people you are grateful for or all the physical objects you are grateful for.

I like to simplify this sometimes and show gratitude for the things that are often taken for granted: the ability to breath, hands to touch, eyes to see, legs to walk and run, etc. There are numerous advantages to meditating. These advantages magnify when you take the time to target your reasons for gratitude.

Spend some time really taking stock of the things you are grateful for and I am certain you will feel much better afterward. It is a powerful exercise.

13. Collage

This is similar to the gratitude journal, except you are going to take pictures of all the things you are grateful for. This gives you the opportunity to visualize your gratitude.

Try taking a picture of one thing you are grateful for every day for a week. Notice how you feel. Take a look back at the pictures every week. You don't have to find grandiose things to be grateful for. A simple picture of a flower will do.

The more you do this the easier it will be for you to spot out the things you are grateful for. You will no longer take these simple things for granted.

Perhaps you will document multiple pictures in a day. After a given time period put all your pictures together in a collage and simply be grateful for all that you have.

A Gratitude Trick That Marie Forleo Learned from Robert Emmons

The following video shows the results of a USC study where students kept a gratitude journal for 10 weeks. Watch what happened when the three groups had different prompts-and results.

If one of the three prompts mentioned in the video resonate with you, why not give it a try? If not for 10-weeks, for two weeks? You might be surprised with the slow and steady benefits this simple tip brings.

Gratitude Exercise: The Can of Beans

The following gratitude exercise was invented by Seph Fontane Pennock. For this exercise you're going to need:

Many of us can buy a can of white beans without thinking much, let alone the food many of us are fortunate to put into our bodies. For this exercise, we invite you to have a meal of a can of beans. Nothing else that night. Just the beans.

There's no warming them up or pouring the beans into a nice cup. That beats the purpose of the exercise. You simply grab a spoon, open up the can, imagine you're sitting around the campfire at the foot of the Sierra Madra, and dig in.

What is the purpose of the exercise?

The purpose of this gratitude exercise is to realize and appreciate what we have. Appreciation. It can make you realize that every day, you are able to eat all sorts of foods, flown or shipped in from all over the world for you to eat. It is quite extraordinary if you think about it, but it can be easy to take for granted for those who have food security.

During this exercise, you may start to compare the beans that you're eating with other meals you crave. This allows you to take a moment and appreciate those usual foods, and how they fuel you.

The benefits:

Performing this gratitude exercise once a week:

1. Makes you a more mindful eater.

2. Makes you appreciate what you have in life, or at least, what you eat.

3. Makes you realize that we don't need so much in order to satisfy our basic human needs.

4. Allows you to actually enjoy the ritual and experience positive emotions while your eating beans that tend to last throughout the whole evening.

The most powerful thing about this gratitude exercise is its simplicity. Performing this exercise is easier than its alternative, which means cooking up a whole meal (and ending up with the dishes).

What about your spouse or kids?

In case you are living with someone or if you have kids, you're going to have more of a challenge in performing this exercise.

You can either explain the exercise to them and invite them to join you if they wish (it's important that they decide to do so themselves), or do the exercise on one of those evenings that you don't get to eat together with your family or spouse.

2 Gratitude Quizzes and Questionnaires

Looking for a quick way to assess how grateful you are? These quizzes and questionnaires are readily available on the internet.

1. Greater Good at Berkeley Quiz - This 20-item quiz is based on a scale developed by psychologists, Mitchel Adler, and Nancy Fagley. It is available online, and completion will give an overall gratitude score, as well as being given steps on how to promote further gratitude in life.

2. This is the GQ-6, a brief questionnaire that may take as little as about 30 seconds to complete. It was devised by Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D., Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D. The GQ-6 gives an impression of how grateful a person is already. It consists of 6 questions, with responses in a Likert-type scale from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree'.

Handy Gratitude Worksheets

If you like easy to follow worksheets, we have several suggestions that can help you get started practicing gratitude.

Try one of the following worksheets.

Gratitude Exercises

This handout describes several useful gratitude exercises, some of which are included above, in a short paragraph. Consider this your master list of the best gratitude exercises with a quick and easy explanation.

You can find this worksheet here.

To learn about these gratitude exercises in more detail, try the worksheets below.

Gratitude Journal

This worksheet is a quick and easy way to document the things you are grateful for each day. It begins by noting that keeping a journal helps to improve your mood. The worksheet then instructs the user to write at least three entries for each day.

This simple worksheet lists each day of the week with five sections of blank space to fill out with things that make you grateful. Gratitude Journal

Why I'm Grateful Worksheet

This simple worksheet helps you find things you are grateful for, complete with prompts to get you started. These prompts cover multiple areas of life and dive deeper into your sense of gratitude.

Instead of just helping you identify what you are grateful for, this worksheet digs into why you are grateful.

The prompts include:

"I am grateful for my family because..."

"Something good happened this week..."

"I am grateful for my friendship with... because..."

"I am grateful for who I am because..."

"Something silly that I am grateful for..."

"Something else I am grateful for..."

Simply fill in the blanks on this worksheet to discover more to be grateful for in your life! Click here to use this worksheet.

Gratitude Letter

Produced by Allina Health, this sheet looks at 'overlooked blessings' and reflections on positive things about the individual's health and body, activities they enjoy, and relationships they are grateful for.

Finally, the worksheet prompts individuals to write a gratitude letter.

Daily Gratitude

This worksheet provides a template for a daily gratitude journal, with room to record three things in the last 24 hours the client is thankful for, and three things that they are looking forward to in the next 24 hours.

Gratitude Journal Activity

This provides a gratitude journal activity creating a list of 100 things an individual is grateful for by completing 5 mini-lists, each containing 20 lines. For example, the prompt for the first list is to "list 20 things that you are grateful worked out for you...evidence that the universe is on your side."

Examples of Gratitude Interventions for Adults

Many of the gratitude exercises described above have been used in interventions to increase gratitude, with varying results. Check out the following studies.

Gratitude as a Psychotherapeutic Intervention

A paper by Robert A. Emmons and Robin Stern (Emmons & Stern, 2013) describes how gratitude can have a positive impact on patients and clients in therapeutic relationships.

The authors also outline several different methods of applying gratitude interventions to adults, including keeping a journal. The article includes a case study of a woman facing severe stress and multiple challenges in her life.

Susanna was suffering from thoughts of leaving her marriage, her husband's motorcycle accident, the reveal of an extramarital affair on the part of her husband, and finding out that her husband had been hiding a gambling addiction that had nearly bankrupted them.

Susanna's therapist worked with Susanna to develop a course of treatment that heavily incorporated gratitude. Her therapist encouraged Susanna to reflect on all of the things she had to be grateful for and helped her "self-right" her perspective to truly appreciate each moment in her daily life while building a new life that better suited her strengths, weaknesses, and her circumstances.

This treatment improved Susanna's ability to function and helped her to remain emotionally available to her children and more self-aware.

The authors end by noting the ways that gratitude interventions differ from most other types of interventions.

First, the prosocial and relational nature of gratitude can build unique pathways to happiness and wellbeing. Gratitude is also a fulfilling practice, facilitating an appreciation of both the current moment and one's past.

There is much evidence that gratitude interventions result in many positive benefits, and that incorporating gratitude into therapy can help clients and patients realize these benefits.

Using a Gratitude Intervention to Enhance Wellbeing in Older Adults

This study (Killen & Macaskill, 2015) utilized the "three good things" exercise to enhance gratitude in adults 60 years and older. This exercise involves writing down three good things you have to be grateful for each day, generally at night.

The study was conducted on a group of 88 healthy adults aged 60 or over and lasted for 45 days. Results showed that this gratitude intervention improved wellbeing via flourishing, at multiple points throughout the duration of the study. Perceived stress also decreased over the first 15 days.

This intervention was effective whether administered via paper or online and showed that gratitude journaling can have a significant positive effect on older adults.

Gratitude and Wellbeing: The Benefits of Appreciation

This piece by Randy A. Sansone and Lori A. Sansone (Sansone & Sansone, 2010) explores the effects of gratitude on wellbeing.

The authors describe several studies that have provided evidence of a link between these two constructs.

For example, the authors describe three journaling methods for investigating these effects undertaken by gratitude researchers Emmon and McCullough, including one group that journaled about negative events or hassles in life, one group that journaled about things they were grateful for, and one group that journaled about neutral life events.

The group focusing on things they were grateful for reported significantly higher wellbeing than the other two groups.

Another study pitted a group who completed the "counting one's blessings" exercise, in which participants wrote about things they were grateful for or for which they felt blessed at the end of each week, against a group who identified challenges or hassles in life and a control group. Those who counted their blessings seemed to experience a boost in wellbeing.

The authors conclude that gratitude can be an effective way to enhance wellbeing, and suggest several exercises that can be used as interventions in therapy, including:

Journaling about things for which to be grateful.

Thinking about someone for whom you are grateful.

Writing and/or sending a letter to someone for whom you are grateful.

Meditating on gratitude The "count your blessings" exercise.

Practicing saying "thank you" and really meaning it.

Writing thank you notes.

If you are religious, incorporating your gratitude in prayer.

To read about these examples and learn how to measure gratitude, you can read the paper here.

4 Gratitude Lesson Ideas for Teachers

The modern classroom sees teachers educating about far more than literacy and numeracy. Social and emotional learning is now incorporated into the curriculum. Teaching gratitude provides students with powerful life-skills. Here are some resources to utilize in planning gratitude lessons.

1. What is Gratitude?

After an initial 'activation of thinking' exercise, brainstorm about gratitude. Then, students can watch a video, such as Gratitude HD, Moving Art on YouTube, and jot down reflections from it on post-it notes. Then, in pairs, students work through guiding questions and the teacher introduces a book that is age-appropriate.

After the story, in pairs, have students discuss what they noticed in the book, what they connected with, and what they are thankful for.

Use photos, calendar images or Visual Talking Cards to provide a starting point for a discussion about gratitude and sharing knowledge among the class. Before closing the lesson, use an ABC Brainstorm Template (available from the link provided below) to generate a list of things students are grateful for.

Find the lesson idea here at its source (Heart-Mind online, 2014).

2. Acts of Kindness (Grades K - 2)

This lesson is designed for students to be given the opportunity to identify ways that they have acted with kindness and caring towards others.

Firstly, provide an explanation to the class about feeling grateful and have a discussion. Then, have the students close their eyes and visualize someone they have been kind to or helped, and to recall how this made them feel as well as what the other person said or did.

Ask students to open their eyes and share what they visualized. Then, ask students to draw a picture of what they visualized and write a caption to go with it. Alternatively, students could write a short paragraph about it.

To extend this lesson, older students could be encouraged to record times when they show kindness to others, the reasons why they did, and how they feel, in a gratitude journal. Or, the class could be prompted to talk about an act of kindness they could do for someone in the school and the teacher can help them put this into action.

3. Food Gratitude (Grades 3 - 5)

The class lists as many different fruits as they can. Then, they vote on which fruit is the favorite fruit for most people in the class.

Guide students through a visualization of all of the people or resources who made it possible for them to enjoy this fruit.

In groups of four, students discuss the visualization and on a large piece of paper, draw all of the people, tools and natural elements necessary to produce the fruit. As students draw, discuss the many people involved in the process of making the fruit available, and prompt the class to think about how they would show gratitude to all of the people-they then add this to the drawing.

The following day, bring in some of the fruit that the students selected (being sure no student is allergic) and ask them to think of all of the properties of the fruit and reflect upon all the people involved in its production.

Finally, before the class enjoys eating the fruit, invite them to recall the expressions of gratitude that they wrote on the drawings and to feel that gratitude.

4. People Who Made a Difference (Grades 6 - 8)

This exercise is designed to help students understand that they can feel gratitude to people whose actions benefit the whole of society and these benefits can last for centuries.

Students identify a historical figure who did something that they feel grateful for. Then, helps students visualize the person, what it would be like to be with them, and the sense of gratitude the student has. Following this, students write an essay looking into what the person did that they were grateful for, and consider the intention and motives of the person.

Students should also think about the 'cost' of the figure's actions, not only in terms of money but more general personal sacrifices. Ask students to reflect upon how they have benefited from the person's actions and how the whole of society may have benefited.

To conclude the lesson, the class can present brief summaries of the historical figure they researched.

Here are the original sources for Lesson Plans 2-4 above (Zakrzewski, 2016).

Gratitude Games and Ideas for Kids

By now, you're probably thinking about all the good things that can happen when gratitude is incorporated into one's life. This is particularly true for children and using gratitude to boost resilience, enhance wellbeing, and encourage a positive outlook on life.

7 Tips for Fostering Gratitude

This piece describes seven ways to encourage the development of gratitude in children.

These tips include:

1. Model and teach gratitude. This is the best way to teach any trait you want your child to develop.

2. Spend time with your kids and being mindful with them. Quality time is not only a positive experience for both children and adults; it also offers opportunities to model empathy and cultivates a sense of appreciation for the things you love.

3. Support your child's autonomy. Allowing your children to be semi-autonomous helps them to build their strengths and talents, and encourages them to take ownership of their actions.

4. Use your children's strengths to fuel gratitude. Create opportunities for your children to be helpful and cooperative with others, enhancing their ability to feel and express gratitude.

5. Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals. In steering children away from the pursuit of materialistic goals and toward intrinsic goals, you can help children fulfill their own higher-level needs and aid in their development. Savor their accomplishments with them as one way to boost their sense of gratitude even more.

6. Encourage children to help others and devote time to nurturing relationships. Volunteer to help others with your child, and encourage them to offer a helping hand to loved ones in need of support. Helping them to develop strong, positive relationships is a great way to make sure they have something to be grateful for.

7. Help kids find what matters to them. Assisting your child in finding what he or she is passionate about is a good way to help them find gratitude as well. A sense of purpose or meaning in life helps us all to discover what we love, contribute to society, and practice gratitude.

More information on cultivating a sense of gratitude in children can be found here.

Gratitude in the Classroom

If you'd like to build gratitude in your children or the children you teach or mentor, try these suggestions:

1. Create a classroom gratitude book for each child to take home and add a page of pictures and descriptions of what they're grateful for. Switch out each week so every child has the opportunity to add a page.

2. Take a picture of each student holding a large piece of paper with one thing they are grateful for written on it, frame the picture, and send it home as a gift.

3. Create a gratitude collage or bulletin board, with pictures of things each student is grateful for.

4. Have each child write down something they are thankful for on strips of paper, and use the strips to create a gratitude chain, which can be hung around the classroom.

5. Hold a "Special Friends Day" before Thanksgiving, in which each student brings someone special to class. Each pair will write or draw something they are thankful for, which will be posted on a bulletin board.

6. Have the children create gratitude surprise sticky notes. Hand these sticky notes out to students and have them write down something they're grateful for in regards to someone else around the school, then encourage them to "deliver" the note to that person's locker, mailbox, or classroom door.

For many more classroom gratitude ideas, visit this website.

Gratitude Exercises for Children

The website www.blissfulkids.com also provides popular gratitude exercises that can help develop gratitude in children.

The top three gratitude exercises according to Chris Bergstrom and Blissful Kids are:

1. The Gratitude Journal. Provide your child with a journal and encourage them to write down five things they are grateful for each day. Bedtime is a great time to practice this exercise since children will have the whole day from which to choose what to write about.

2. The ABCs of Gratitude. Have your child sit comfortably and close their eyes. Tell them to list things they are grateful for, beginning with "A" and working all the way through the alphabet to "Z." Don't be surprised if this exercise gets a little silly-it's bound to get silly at some point, so just embrace it and enjoy the laughter with your child!

3. Bedtime Thank Yous. This can be incorporated into the gratitude journal or practiced as a standalone exercise. Help your child to think of happy things that happened to them during their day. They can simply say these things aloud, write them down in their journal, draw a picture of them, or simply think of them. This exercise can ensure that your child drifts off to sleep with a heart full of love and gratitude.

How to Develop Your Own Gratitude Ritual

Creating a gratitude ritual can be tough, just as starting any new habit can be difficult to stick with at first. Like most other practices, the more you do it, the easier it will get.

Try these tips to help you cultivate a fulfilling and impactful gratitude ritual (Rodrigues, 2017):

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and take several slow, deep breaths.

Think of something good that has happened to you recently.

Think of a person or animal you love.

Think of an occasion when you were honored or appreciated by others.

Think about your present situation and what is going on in your life.

The popular website www.tinybuddha.com also provides several useful suggestions on implementing and sticking to a gratitude ritual.

Their steps are as follows (Russell, 2016):

1. Commit to your practice. There will be days when you feel like doing anything other than finding reasons to be grateful, but pushing through these days will empower you and help you build the strength and resilience necessary to push through other challenges.

2. Begin your practice. Just do it! Sit down with a pen and paper or a computer and start simply, with a prompt like "I am grateful for..." You may need to sit and think for a while, but that's okay. If you give it time and put in the effort, it will come!

3. Write it down. Sometimes thinking about what you are grateful for will not be enough. Be sure to write down what you are grateful for. Writing can have a powerful impact that just thinking may not bring about.

4. Feel it. Allow yourself to fully experience gratitude. Let it come up from your heart and throughout your body. Savor the feeling.

5. Choose a set time of day. This can be extremely helpful when starting a practice. Some popular times to practice gratitude are first thing in the morning and last thing at night, but choose a time that works for you.

6. Practice present-moment gratitude. While you may be writing these things down at the beginning or end of the day, make sure to notice all of the things for which you are grateful as they pop up throughout your day. Allow yourself to be in the present and to fully appreciate each thing you are grateful for as it arises.

7. Share the gratitude. Find a gratitude partner to share your list of things you are grateful for with, to discuss your challenges and your successes with, and to motivate you when you are not feeling up to the task (and vice versa).

8. Don't stop when you start noticing results! Although counterintuitive, it can be tempting to stop any practice once you start seeing the benefits. Make sure you are committed to your practice, whether it feels beneficial in the current moment or not.

9. Allow yourself to be human. It's alright to miss a day once in a while, and it's alright to feel grumpy about having to follow through on your commitment when it's the last thing you want to do. We are human, and we will make mistakes. If you're having trouble coming up with anything, at least write something like "I am grateful I am writing my gratitude list."

The popular dating website eharmony also provides tips on how to cultivate gratitude, especially in the context of dating and relationships. They suggest four steps (Libby, 2016):

1. Breathing. Simply close your eyes and take a deep and intentional breath, repeating until you feel calm and grounded.

2. Awakening your awareness. Allow yourself to meditate on your truth in the present moment.

3. Recognize your blessings. Think about what you are experiencing with your five senses if you have trouble getting started.

4. Emotions flow. Allow your emotions to come and go, to rise and fall as they will. Focus your attention on enjoying the feeling of gratitude working its way through your mind and to your heart.

5. Finally, Chris Libby from www.livehappy.com provides four rituals that you can implement to build gratitude in your life.

These rituals are (Libby, 2016):

Amazing Grace. Reflect on what you are grateful for at the dinner table before you begin eating, whether alone or with your family.

Focus on the "Haves." Instead of thinking about what you are missing, think about what you have. Write down at least three things you are grateful for each night.

The Write Stuff. Write a letter to someone you are grateful to or for, and read the letter aloud to them if possible. you can find more instructions for this exercise earlier in this piece.

Thankful Awareness. Try something new and fulfilling, such as volunteering at a food bank or soup kitchen, or handing out toys at a children's hospital. Witnessing the trials and challenges of others can often be a spur for you to notice the good things in your own life.

Gratitude Apps That Help You Stick to It

Sometimes, even when we know all of the right steps and have all of the right tips, practicing regular gratitude can be difficult. This is where an app can help! Try one of the gratitude apps described below to help you keep a regular gratitude practice.

1. Gratitude Journal

This classic gratitude exercise is put into digital form, with a daily journal for you to fill with things you are grateful for. It includes space for writing down several things each day, ratings of your feelings, daily quotes, and up to three photos per journal entry.

This app is available through iTunes here.

2. Gratitude Garden App

This app not only allows you to recall and record the things you are grateful for each day, it also rewards you with points for journaling. You can build up a gratitude garden with these points, a pretty space that can bring you joy by reminding you of what is good in your life.

You can also receive gratitude cards, which contain suggestions for further actions that can increase gratitude and happiness.

This app is free, and you can download it on iTunes here.

3. Grateful: A Gratitude Journal

Grateful was developed to make expressing gratitude both easy and fun. By recording your blessings in Grateful, during those 'down' moments you can be reminded of all the things in your life that you have to be grateful for.

Available here from iTunes.

4. Happyfeed

This is a private gratitude journal app allowing you to record happy moments each day. As well as securely recording these moments as they happen, Happyfeed also writes fun, silly, and informative daily reminders.

The more you use this app, the more valuable it becomes.

Head here to get the app.

6 Podcasts Focused on Gratitude

Podcasts are a convenient way to hear from experts, and can also be a good use of time such as when on public transport. There are some available on the topic of gratitude. Here they are...

1. The Gratitude Podcast is by Georgian Benta. It is devoted to all things gratitude, with over 500, 000 downloads. It includes interviews with successful people and getting them to share fascinating stories about how gratitude has helped them get to where they are now.

2. Episode 18 of the 'Being Well' podcast sees Dr Hanson and Forrest discuss the 5th of 12 strengths to be examined in the series - gratitude. They look at the role of positive emotions generally and especially the value of "thankfulness".

3. This podcast, "Why Gratitude Works" is by Christine Carter and Rona Renner. In it, these experts discuss the science of gratitude and the reasons why consciously practicing gratitude can improve people's happiness so markedly.

4. Featuring acclaimed author and grounded theory researcher, Brene Brown, the topic of this podcast is "On gratitude, vulnerability, and courage". When gratitude and the power of appreciating the smallest moments were discussed, the podcast became emotional.

5. This relatively short podcast, featuring Lewis Howes from the School of Greatness, looks at developing an 'attitude of gratitude'. Howes shares both expertise and personal experience - such as almost losing his father in a car accident, and how he learned not to take things for granted.

6. This podcast is slightly different to the others discussed above. It looks at gratitude as a skill, and how to build this skill. There is a lot covered in the podcast. If you don't have the time, or the inclination, to listen to a podcast a summary of the points covered is available on the site which is accessible from the hyperlink provided.

A Take-Home Message

I hope you have found this piece useful. I'm grateful for you, as a reader, who took the time to process some of these ideas.

The "gratitude muscle" is like any other muscle, in that it must be flexed periodically to remain strong.

Return to this page whenever you need a reminder about why gratitude is important to practice, or suggestions on how to boost your own sense of gratitude. Visit the section on developing gratitude in children to encourage your own children, clients, or students to commit to a lifetime of gratitude and happiness.

Thank you for reading, and please be sure to find at least three things to be grateful for today.

Do you have a regular gratitude practice? Are there other gratitude exercises that work for you? Please let us know in the comments section below.

We love hearing from you!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free.

For further reading, we suggest:

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13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises & Activities

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We share gratitude exercises for your private practice or for teaching others about the science of happiness. Worksheets included!

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Nadine, depressed and alone, has been living her life in the dark. A gift from a friendly neighbor gives Nadine something to live for. With a new life, Nadine has a chance to pay it forward.

http://bloomanimation.blogspot.com/

This animation was made at SJSU by students of the Animation & Illustration department. 
www.sjsuai.com

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What every teachers needs to know about neuroscience...

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Ian Kelleher and Glenn Whitman

We are the first generation to develop a deep understanding of how the brain learns, works, changes, and thrives. Yet, schools have changed so little as a result of what we have learned. What if we could change that? What if we took the most promising research- and evidence- backed strategies and trained every educator-from those in training to enter schools to those who are already leading classrooms, schools, and districts? Every educator would have a toolbox of strategies informed by the best of what we know works as well as the skill and confidence to adapt them to their particular context.

We teach in the classroom every day and benefit from being in a school that has, for the past 12 years, been systematically using research evidence to improve all aspects of teaching, learning, and the whole child's school experience. We can confidently say that we are exponentially better in how we design each of our classes and work with each of our students because of our own training in the science of teaching and learning.

Three Grounding Principles

In order to support the commitment to continuously train all of its faculty and administration in how the brain learns best, our school launched the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) in 2011, the first Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) research center based in a pre-collegiate school. In addition to serving its own teachers, the CTTL works with educators around the world to help translate brain research into everyday classroom and school practices.

These educators often ask us: What should all teachers and leaders know about the learning brain? We start by saying that teachers should be experts in the subject areas and developmental levels of the students they teach. Further, our work with schools around the world suggests that the following three principles from Mind, Brain, and Education science are the foundation that needs to be in place before educators can translate research into everyday actions.

All Brains Are Neuroplastic

Our brains alter over time in reaction to our environment and experiences. Brains are never "set"; neurons are always being formed, connected, and pruned throughout our lives. The discovery of neuroplasticity is possibly the most important research-to-classroom instruction contribution from neuroscience. It means that all teachers must see themselves as "brain changers" and that every student, regardless of race, class, or gender, can learn through deliberate practice, scaffolded support, and positive relationships in school.

Emotion and Cognition Are Intertwined

Students bring their emotions, identities, and whole mental and physical selves to learning. For example, the emotional center of the brain, the amygdala, is part of the brain's limbic system, which also includes the hippocampus, one of the key memory centers. The limbic system is also the pathway for information to pass through to the prefrontal cortex, the brain's higher order thinking region. When students experience trauma, toxic stress, or even episodic stress, the fight, flight, or freeze response makes learning difficult to impossible. Teachers can recruit students' emotions in support of learning by first cultivating a sense of belonging in their classrooms and school. Without this emotional connection, students will be less likely to engage in challenging work or see the relevance of their learning.

Neuromyths Are Detrimental to Pedagogy

One of the barriers to creating learning environments that align with current research in Mind, Brain, and Education science is the persistence of neuromyths; for example "learning styles." Taking time to define a student's learning style, let's say as a visual learner, and designing lessons and assessments targeted to the learning style does not lead to higher achievement and can even make things worse. The idea that students fall into learning-style categories contradicts what we know about neuroplasticity and leads teachers, students, and even parents to have a fixed mindset about how students learn. Instead of falling for this neuromyth, teachers should design lessons using multiple modalities, choosing them based on what works best for the content to be taught. Students, in turn, must learn to judiciously apply learning strategies from a toolbox of options.

Bringing Mind, Brain, Education to Scale

Research suggests that increasing a teacher's understanding of the science behind how the brain learns leads to enhanced teacher efficacy and instructional variation, as well as enhanced student efficacy (Hardiman et al., 2013). And yet, in educator prep and school-based professional development, teachers and leaders are largely not required to have a foundational understanding of how the brain best learns. This lack might be the greatest irony in education. It is equivalent to going for a visit to your cardiologist and having them say "I want to make you healthier, but I have never studied the heart." In the case of too many educators, they might say, "I want to help you achieve more, but I have never studied the learning brain." Transforming the design and delivery of educator PD is essential if we are to capitalize on the benefits of neuroscience in the classroom.

Fortunately, organizations like researchED and Deans for Impact are working to bridge the gap between research and classroom practice. Turnaround for Children has "building blocks" to address the traumatic experiences that get in the way of learning for so many kids. Books like Why Students Don't Like School?, Rosenshine's Principles in Practice, and Neuroteach are written in a teacher-friendly way. The Learning Scientists and the Learning Agency are producing resources and podcasts for teacher consumption and "next day" application. MBE microcredentials are now available through Digital Promise. With the support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the CTTL launched Neuroteach Global, a novel microlearning experience that uses the science of teaching and learning to teach the science of teaching and learning.

The Work Ahead

When we survey the teachers and leaders we work with through the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, only about a quarter say they have a foundational knowledge of how the brain best learns. Closing this gap by using the science of teaching and learning to teach the science of teaching and learning is thus one of the great opportunities and challenges that we face. We must be willing to transform how we traditionally deliver professional learning experiences.

Research-based strategies around novelty, choice, metacognition, play, memory, cognitive load, executive function, and sleep that are being used to help elevate K-12 student achievement should also be applied to the redesign of professional learning experiences for teachers. Our students deserve better. Our adult learners deserve better. Leveraging how much more we know about the student and adult learning brain provides a pathway to help all children, and their teachers, meet their full potential in classrooms, schools, and districts throughout the world.

Reference

Hardiman, M., JohnBull, R. M., & Rinne, L. (2013). Professional development effects on teacher efficacy: Exploring how knowledge of neuro- and cognitive sciences changes beliefs and practice. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, San Francisco.

Ian Kelleher (@ijkelleher) teaches science and is the Dreyfuss Chair for Research for the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Md. He is an internationally recognized speaker and teacher workshop facilitator. Glenn Whitman (@gwhitmancttl) teaches history and is the director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at St. Andrew's Episcopal School. In 2017, the CTTL was awarded the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society's "Mission Award." Ian and Glenn are the coauthors of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016) and codesigners of Neuroteach Global.

More on This Topic: The Answer Is Right Behind Your Forehead

ASCD Express, Vol. 15, No. 18. Copyright 2020 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

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Every Educator Needs to Know How the Brain Learns

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Ian Kelleher and Glenn Whitman We are the first generation to develop a deep understanding of how the brain learns, works, changes, and thrives. Yet, schools have changed so little as a result of what we have learned. What if we could change that?

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Why Gratitude is important..

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When you feel down in the dumps or find yourself in a funk, how do you cope?

Do you turn to junk food, self-medication, shopping, etc.?

One healthy, powerful, and free strategy to rise from this temporary emotional state is to practice gratitude.

Gratitude turns what little you have into abundance.
Gratitude is so much more than saying thank you.
Gratitude changes your perspective of your world.

But yet you wonder how you can find the positive when everything seems so bleak? Read on to learn how to identify the positive when it seems there is nothing to be grateful for. We'll also explain the importance of gratitude, how to show it to others, and share gratitude and appreciation videos.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients connect to more positive emotions and enjoy the benefits of gratitude.

What is Gratitude - Its Meaning & Definition

Gratitude is an emotion similar to appreciation. The American Psychological Association (n.d.) more specifically defines this phenomenon as a sense of happiness and thankfulness in response to a fortunate happenstance or tangible gift.

Gratitude is both a state and a trait (Jans-Beken et al., 2020). Better explained, one can experience gratitude for someone or something at a certain moment in time, and someone experience gratitude more long-term as a positive character trait.

According to Dr. Robert Emmons, the feeling of gratitude involves two stages (Emmons & McCullough, 2003):

First comes the acknowledgment of goodness in one's life. In a state of gratitude, we say yes to life. We affirm that, all in all, life is good and has elements that make it worth living. The acknowledgment that we have received something gratifies us, both by its presence and by the effort the giver put into choosing it.

Second, gratitude is recognizing that sources of this goodness lie outside the self. One can be grateful to our creator, other people, animals, and the world, but not to oneself. At this stage, we recognize the goodness in our lives and who to thank for it.

The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. Through this process, we recognize the fortune of everything that improves our lives and ourselves.

Further, gratitude can be considered either a dispositional trait or a state of being.

As a trait, an individual practices gratitude as part of their daily life (McCullough et al., 2002), and it is considered a character strength. It is important to remember that gratitude is a strength that can be enhanced with awareness and practice.

When a person experiences the emotion from someone expressing gratitude for them, it is referred to as a state (Watkins et al., 2009).

Gratitude & Positive Psychology - What is the Connection?

As we already know, positive psychology focuses on positive thoughts and behaviors. Its constructs include optimism, hope, and, you guessed it - gratitude (Iodice et al., 2021).

As part of Seligman's PERMA model, which includes positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement, a key positive emotion includes gratitude (Lianov, 2021).

Robert Emmons has led positive psychology's expansion of research on the importance of gratitude. Emmons has authored several papers on the psychology of gratitude, showing that being more grateful can lead to increased levels of wellbeing (Emmons & Crumpler, 2000).

Some of Emmons's work has also specifically dealt with gratitude in a religious setting, highlighting how gratitude towards a higher power may lead to increased physical health (Krause et al., 2015). There will be more on gratitude and religion later.

Why Is It Important to Be Grateful?

Passmore and Oades (2016) assert that as expectations have changed, gratitude has diminished in western society. Possessions and health are expectations for many individuals rather than considered personal 'blessings' that are appreciated. "Gratitude has, for many, been replaced by disappointment, anger, and resentment when these expected 'blessings' either do not appear or they disappear" (Passmore & Oades, 2016, p. 43).

We have learned gratitude helps people focus on the positive aspects of their life. Gratitude can help build and maintain relationships with others, resulting in hope, life satisfaction, and more proactive behaviors toward others (Passmore & Oades, 2016).

If you still aren't convinced, you may wish to pick up one of the books suggested in our Gratitude Books article.

The Importance of Gratitude in Life

Gratitude is strongly related to wellbeing (Jans-Beken et al., 2020; Wood et al., 2010). The positive effects of experiencing and expressing gratitude are endless.

Gratitude has been found to be beneficially associated with social wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing (Jans-Beken et al., 2020). It is no surprise that trait gratitude is an important "predictor of wellbeing and other desirable life outcomes" (Portocarrero et al., 2020, p. 6).

Gratitude appears to have a domino effect. If a person experiences gratitude, they are more likely to recognize the help and then later reciprocate that help (Wood et al., 2010). People who are thanked are presumably more apt to extend help to others in the future.

Likewise, people who are not thanked may not be expected to provide reciprocation in the future. The expression of gratitude is beneficial for both individuals and society (Bono et al., 2004).

Further, gratitude is an element in many religions. For example (Passmore & Oades, 2016),

Buddhism - Gratitude is indicative of the concept of dependent origination, which implies that everything is interconnected. For Buddhists, awareness of our interdependent and interconnected existence evokes gratitude for the web of life that sustains us.

Judaism - Individuals practicing Judaism may start the day with Modeh Ani, a short Hebrew blessing thanking God for life.

Christianity - Christians denote gratitude to God by stating blessings. These blessings are said in a prayer form and are created for food, family, life, and any other blessings that God may grant.

As if you needed any more convincing, in a review of the literature, Cregg and Cheavens (2021) found that gratitude has a positive affiliation with positive affect, life satisfaction, extraversion, forgiveness, and a negative affiliation with substance abuse and neuroticism, as well as an inverse relationship between gratitude and anxiety and depression.

The Importance of Thanksgiving

If you are from North America, then cornucopia, turkey, Pilgrims, and Native Americans may come to mind when you mention the word 'Thanksgiving.' Thanksgiving is more broadly explained as a day to give thanks. Countries such as Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia also celebrate Thanksgiving, while countries like Brazil and the Philippines celebrate it unofficially (Vicens, 2022).

The Netherlander town of Leiden and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island also celebrate this holiday (Vicens, 2022). Similarly, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan celebrate a fall harvest, where people also give thanks.

So why is there an entire holiday created for giving thanks?

For many, "Thanksgiving is a collective ritual that celebrates material abundance through feasting." (Wallendorf & Arnould, 1991, p. 13). Thanksgiving is important because it is a designated time assigned to encourage us to pause to be mindful of the blessings we have. Many of us get so caught up in our day-to-day routines that we fail to stop and acknowledge our fortunes.

To demonstrate and celebrate gratitude, you don't need a particular holiday to show thankfulness. Conveying gratitude should be practiced daily.

How to Show Gratitude and Appreciation

Gratitude can be demonstrated in many ways. It can be shown with merely a simple, verbal "thank you" or it can be indicated by a more elaborate practice, such as the strategies detailed below.

To improve your gratitude, reflect on how better you can show your appreciation to others. When verbally expressing gratitude to someone, consider reflecting on your emotions and on the effort involved. Here are some examples:
'Your birthday gift to me makes me overjoyed. I appreciate the length you went to in order to find this limited edition book by my favorite author. I value that you know me so well and did this especially for me.'
For more examples, read our article How to Express Gratitude to Others.
'Mom, I am grateful for the life you have given me. Even though it took 15 hours to deliver me and raising me was full of challenges, you have done the best you could and I appreciate that.'
Gratitude journal
'Our Father in Heaven, you have blessed me with ten fingers and ten toes, eyes to see and ears to hear. I am grateful for the wonder of your creation and for sparing my life every day.'
A gratitude journal involves jotting down a few things that you are thankful for and can be done daily or weekly as you so choose. Keeping a gratitude journal is a good first step toward establishing gratitude, and it will help you identify and reflect on people, things, or events for which you are thankful.

Nawa and Yamagishi's (2021) research involving university students concluded that completing a gratitude journal not only positively impacts academic motivation, it favorably influences goal-directed behavior in general.

In this study, 84 students were placed into either an active manipulation group (gratitude group) or a neutral control group. For two weeks, the active manipulation group was asked to list five things they were grateful for and evaluate various aspects of their daily lives, while the control group was only asked to do daily self-evaluations. Unsurprisingly, the gratitude group demonstrated significant enhancements in academic motivation.

You can make use of our gratitude journal article, which includes journal worksheets with prompts to guide you into the good habit of daily gratitude journaling.

Gratitude letter

Writing a gratitude letter is a form of written communication that conveys an appreciation for someone in your life. These effectively communicate the impact someone has had on our lives.

Further, the gratitude research conducted by Iodice et al. (2021) concluded that individuals who wrote about things they are grateful for showed better mood, coping, and physical health. In this study, participants were assigned to one of three groups: Group one wrote about things they were grateful for, group two wrote about daily hassles, and group three wrote about a neutral topic.

Within their review of literature, these researchers also cited Emmons and McCullough (2003), whose findings suggested that individuals who practiced gratitude by writing about things they are grateful for showed better mood, coping, and physical health than the other participants.

The gratitude visit

Take the gratitude letter a step further by visiting the person to whom you are giving the gratitude letter and reading it aloud to him or her. A study by Wood et al. (2010) suggests that gratitude visits are a practice that is even more beneficial than a gratitude letter and practitioners of this strategy reported more happiness.

In their preliminary research, Wood et al. (2010) referenced two studies involving gratitude visits. In a study by Seligman et al. (2005), adults from an internet sample were instructed to write and deliver their gratitude letter within 1-week. Those who went on the gratitude visit reported more happiness and less depression than the control group.

Another study by Froh, Kashdan et al., (2009; Froh, Yurkewicz et al., 2009) resulted in similar findings. A sample of children and adolescents from a parochial school were divided into two groups: a group who conducted a gratitude visit and a group who wrote about daily events. Findings indicated that the youth who experienced the gratitude condition reported greater gratitude and positive affect than the youth in the control condition.

Meditation

As we know, meditation is a method for focusing attention (Pascoe et al., 2021). Pascoe et al. (2021) conducted a systematic review of studies assessing the impact of meditation on psychological processes. They found that meditation, does in fact, "decrease distress experienced resulting from psychological stressors by influencing psychological processes" (p. 3).

Although meditation doesn't directly demonstrate gratitude towards others, meditation and focusing attention on people or things you are grateful for indicates appreciation to yourself, which could help to foster even more gratitude.

No matter how small or grand the gesture of gratitude is, it is essential to show thankfulness in our everyday lives. After all,

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

William Arthur Ward (Brainyquote.com, n.d.)

We have a dedicated article offering gratitude meditation guidance for you to peruse.

And finally, if these four suggestions were not enough to get you started, we share an extensive list of methods in our article Most Popular Gratitude Exercises and Activities.

5 YouTube Gratitude Videos

These five handpicked gratitude videos will not only inspire you to practice gratefulness but also inform you of the importance of daily practicing this state or trait. If you'd like to enjoy an even greater selection, our blog post Best TED Talks And Videos on The Power of Gratitude shares over 30 excellent videos.

Gratitude is: A poem & animation - Macarena Luz Bianchi

Gratitude Is is a short, light-hearted poem accompanied by animation. This poem is also a full-color gift book available on Amazon as a highly-rated read. This would be a great video to share when beginning to discuss gratitude with a class.

The power of choosing gratitude - Tye Dutcher

Tye Dutcher, an international paralympic athlete, describes how gratitude changed and continues to change his life. After he experienced a horrifying accident at just 11 years old, Tye had a choice. He chose gratitude. He explains his thankfulness for what he has and the blessings he will receive.

The power of gratitude - Titan Man

If you practice gratitude daily, no matter how much or how little you have, you will be happy. This is the message Titan Man delivers in his video narrated by Oprah Winfrey. This video would be beneficial in serving as a daily reminder to show gratitude.

Gratitude is good for you - John Templeton Foundation

If you would like to know the additional benefits of gratitude, this short video by the John Templeton Foundation is fast-paced and engaging. Several strategies for growing gratitude are shared.

The power of gratitude - Psych2Go

Being grateful will make you healthier and happier. While you may have already gotten this message, this video explains the research conducted with adults and children that completed a type of gratitude journal. Gratitude in regard to mental health is discussed in greater detail.

A Take-Home Message

Someone could have everything and still feel like they have nothing. Someone could have nothing but still be happy with what they have. Recognizing gratitude towards non-tangibles, such as health and relationships, is a good start.

As we have learned in this piece, gratitude has endless benefits for both individuals and society and has deep roots in positive psychology.

It can be identified in many religions, as well as in the secular world. It is crucial to understand that gratitude can be defined as both a state and a trait. Perhaps with the exercises provided in this article, you will be able to move from a grateful state to a healthy trait.

There are various ways to demonstrate gratitude. Regardless of the method you choose, it is critical to convey thankfulness. Additionally, you don't need to wait for a holiday to show appreciation.

Gratitude is the key to a happy life and should be continuous, practiced daily. Another important takeaway is that gratitude can have a snowball effect. You never know the positive effects your gratefulness will have on others and the future impact it will have.

Gratitude is a perspective - it is a choice. We hope that you choose gratitude today and every day. We'd like to leave you with this quote,

"Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift."

John Ortberg (Zito, 2022).

To read more inspirational gratitude quotes, kindly refer to this article by Barbara Bellise Zito.

Who or what are you grateful for? How are you going to convey this thankfulness? Please let us know in the comments, or better yet, let that person know! Until next time, please know that we are thankful for YOU, our gracious reader!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free.

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What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?

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Down in the dumps? An attitude of gratitude can change your life! See here how to find and appreciate the gifts that surround you.

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Nadine, depressed and alone, has been living her life in the dark. A gift from a friendly neighbor gives Nadine something to live for. With a new life, Nadine has a chance to pay it forward.

http://bloomanimation.blogspot.com/

This animation was made at SJSU by students of the Animation & Illustration department. 
www.sjsuai.com

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Effects of Trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences) on SEL

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Effects of Trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences) on SEL

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Why we need to make compassion a verb...

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Why We Need to Make Compassion a Verb Again | Dr. Chris Kukk | TEDxNashvilleWomen

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Teens

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

Three social and emotional learning activities that are designed to address high school students' need for status and respect.

According to a 2018 survey, current and recent high school students don't believe their schools have done enough to help them develop socially and emotionally, and most graduates don't feel prepared for life after high school.

We're also learning that some social and emotional learning approaches simply aren't as effective with teens as they are with children. Why? It may be that teens need more opportunities to actively explore who they are and who they want to be in the world.

So how can we better address teens' developmental needs?

Researcher David Yeager and his colleagues argue that it's important to address teens' need for status ("How do others treat me?") and respect ("Am I granted the rights I expect to be granted as a student?"). If teens feel competent, autonomous, and valued in their community-if they have a sense of high status and respect, in other words-they're likely to be more motivated and engaged.

Here are three ways you can help teens develop greater self-awareness-and ultimately enhance their sense of status and respect among peers and adults.

Invite Students to Use Their Character Strengths

If teens crave respect, it's important to create a school climate where their strengths are recognized and valued.

Take time in class to have your students identify their personal strengths, such as hope, humility, honesty, kindness, and perseverance. You can begin by asking them to take a 10-minute online survey designed by positive psychology researchers.

After they learn about some of their key strengths, ask them to choose one strength to focus on every day for a week. Have them describe the strength in writing and propose several different ways they might use it each day, and challenge them to act on that strength throughout the week.

For example, if a student wants to capitalize on kindness as a strength, he might perform a random act of kindness for a peer, write a thank-you note to a teacher, or volunteer to care for abandoned animals at a local shelter over the weekend.

As an alternative to focusing on one strength all week, students might choose to focus on a different strength each day. Whichever option they choose, have them write about what they did, how it made them feel, and what they learned from the experience.

Research tells us that this activity can increase well-being and reduce symptoms of depression. It's easy for us to focus on our weaknesses and personal challenges, but when we spend time making the most of our positive qualities, we can build greater self-esteem and confidence.

Encourage Students to Imagine Their Best Selves

Another way to help students clarify who they are and how they want to be in the world is to invite them to envision their ideal future.

Ask your students to respond to the following questions in a 15-minute free-write: What is the best possible life you can imagine? Consider all the areas in your life that are important to you-relationships, school, career, hobbies and interests, etc. Be as creative and imaginative as you want, and don't worry about spelling and grammar.

Ask them to be as specific as possible, and tell them that it's easy to focus on current obstacles to reaching goals, so they should let go and simply dream about the future and exactly what it could look like.

Challenge Students to Explore Their Purpose

Respond to these questions: "Imagine you've been given a magic wand, and you can change anything you want in the world. What would you want to be different, and why? Is there anything you can do to help move the world closer to this ideal? If so, how?"

Discuss what this Viktor Frankl quote means: "Those who have a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how.'"

Create a tattoo design that symbolizes the things that matter most to you.

Once students have practiced using their character strengths and imagined their future selves, create opportunities for them to think about how they might contribute to something larger than themselves.

The Purpose Challenge Toolkit features research-based online activities that prompt students to imagine how they might leave their mark on the world-and make it a better place.

Apart from these prompts, it's crucial to connect students' sense of purpose to what they're learning. Are they studying social issues that matter to them? Are they learning as a means to an end-or to make a difference in the world?

Many of our students face significant obstacles in their lives due to factors beyond their control (like health challenges, poverty, and institutionalized racism). Prompting students to connect with their strengths, identify what matters most to them, and envision ways they might contribute to the world may ultimately help them to feel more respected and empowered.

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Three social and emotional learning activities that are designed to address high school students' need for status and respect.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g

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25 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Children & Teens (+Tips!)

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Fun mindfulness activities for kids to teach them about mindfulness. Enjoy!

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With the rise of managed health care, which emphasizes cost-efficiency and brevity, mental health professionals have had to confront this burning question: How can they help clients derive the greatest possible benefit from treatment in the shortest amount of time?

Recent evidence suggests that a promising approach is to complement psychological counseling with additional activities that are not too taxing for clients but yield high results. In our own research, we have zeroed in on one such activity: the practice of gratitude. Indeed, many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.

The problem is that most research studies on gratitude have been conducted with well-functioning people. Is gratitude beneficial for people who struggle with mental health concerns? And, if so, how?

We set out to address these questions in a recent research study involving nearly 300 adults, mostly college students who were seeking mental health counseling at a university. We recruited these participants just before they began their first session of counseling, and, on average, they reported clinically low levels of mental health at the time. The majority of people seeking counseling services at this university in general struggled with issues related to depression and anxiety.

We randomly assigned our study participants into three groups. Although all three groups received counseling services, the first group was also instructed to write one letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks, whereas the second group was asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about negative experiences. The third group did not do any writing activity.

What did we find? Compared with the participants who wrote about negative experiences or only received counseling, those who wrote gratitude letters reported significantly better mental health four weeks and 12 weeks after their writing exercise ended. This suggests that gratitude writing can be beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns. In fact, it seems, practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counseling carries greater benefits than counseling alone, even when that gratitude practice is brief.

And that's not all. When we dug deeper into our results, we found indications of how gratitude might actually work on our minds and bodies. While not definitive, here are four insights from our research suggesting what might be behind gratitude's psychological benefits.

1. Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions

First, by analyzing the words used by participants in each of the two writing groups, we were able to understand the mechanisms behind the mental health benefits of gratitude letter writing. We compared the percentage of positive emotion words, negative emotion words, and "we" words (first-person plural words) that participants used in their writing. Not surprisingly, those in the gratitude writing group used a higher percentage of positive emotion words and "we" words, and a lower proportion of negative emotion words, than those in the other writing group.

However, people who used more positive emotion words and more "we" words in their gratitude letters didn't necessarily have better mental health later. It was only when people used fewer negative emotion words in their letters that they were significantly more likely to report better mental health. In fact, it was the lack of negative emotion words-not the abundance of positive words-that explained the mental health gap between the gratitude writing group and the other writing group.

Perhaps this suggests that gratitude letter writing produces better mental health by shifting one's attention away from toxic emotions, such as resentment and envy. When you write about how grateful you are to others and how much other people have blessed your life, it might become considerably harder for you to ruminate on your negative experiences.

2. Gratitude helps even if you don't share it

We told participants who were assigned to write gratitude letters that they weren't required to send their letters to their intended recipient. In fact, only 23 percent of participants who wrote gratitude letters sent them. But those who didn't send their letters enjoyed the benefits of experiencing gratitude nonetheless. (Because the number of people who sent their letters was so small, it was hard for us to determine whether this group's mental health was better than those who didn't send their letter.)

This suggests that the mental health benefits of writing gratitude letters are not entirely dependent on actually communicating that gratitude to another person.

So if you're thinking of writing a letter of gratitude to someone, but you're unsure whether you want that person to read the letter, we encourage you to write it anyway. You can decide later whether to send it (and we think it's often a good idea to do so). But the mere act of writing the letter can help you appreciate the people in your life and shift your focus away from negative feelings and thoughts.

3. Gratitude's benefits take time

It's important to note that the mental health benefits of gratitude writing in our study did not emerge immediately, but gradually accrued over time. Although the different groups in our study did not differ in mental health levels one week after the end of the writing activities, individuals in the gratitude group reported better mental health than the others four weeks after the writing activities, and this difference in mental health became even larger 12 weeks after the writing activities.

These results are encouraging because many other studies suggest that the mental health benefits of positive activities often decrease rather than increase over time afterward. We don't really know why this positive snowball effect occurred in our study. Perhaps the gratitude letter writers discussed what they wrote in their letters with their counselors or with others. These conversations may have reinforced the psychological benefits derived from the gratitude writing itself.

For now, the bottom line is this: If you participate in a gratitude writing activity, don't be too surprised if you don't feel dramatically better immediately after the writing. Be patient and remember that the benefits of gratitude might take time to kick in.

4. Gratitude has lasting effects on the brain

About three months after the psychotherapy sessions began, we took some of the people who wrote gratitude letters and compared them with those who didn't do any writing. We wanted to know if their brains were processing information differently.

We used an fMRI scanner to measure brain activity while people from each group did a "pay it forward" task. In that task, the individuals were regularly given a small amount of money by a nice person, called the "benefactor." This benefactor only asked that they pass the money on to someone if they felt grateful. Our participants then decided how much of the money, if any, to pass on to a worthy cause (and we did in fact donate that money to a local charity).

We wanted to distinguish donations motivated by gratitude from donations driven by other motivations, like feelings of guilt or obligation. So we asked the participants to rate how grateful they felt toward the benefactor, and how much they wanted to help each charitable cause, as well as how guilty they would feel if they didn't help. We also gave them questionnaires to measure how grateful they are in their lives in general.

We found that across the participants, when people felt more grateful, their brain activity was distinct from brain activity related to guilt and the desire to help a cause. More specifically, we found that when people who are generally more grateful gave more money to a cause, they showed greater neural sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with learning and decision making. This suggests that people who are more grateful are also more attentive to how they express gratitude.

Most interestingly, when we compared those who wrote the gratitude letters with those who didn't, the gratitude letter writers showed greater activation in the medial prefrontal cortex when they experienced gratitude in the fMRI scanner. This is striking as this effect was found three months after the letter writing began. This indicates that simply expressing gratitude may have lasting effects on the brain. While not conclusive, this finding suggests that practicing gratitude may help train the brain to be more sensitive to the experience of gratitude down the line, and this could contribute to improved mental health over time.

Though these are just the first steps in what should be a longer research journey, our research so far not only suggests that writing gratitude letters may be helpful for people seeking counseling services but also explains what's behind gratitude's psychological benefits. At a time when many mental health professionals are feeling crunched, we hope that this research can point them-and their clients-toward an effective and beneficial tool.

Regardless of whether you're facing serious psychological challenges, if you have never written a gratitude letter before, we encourage you to try it. Much of our time and energy is spent pursuing things we currently don't have. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate the people and things we do.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain

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New research is starting to explore how gratitude works to improve our mental health.

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Glinda the Good Witch isn't just a goody-two-shoes. She's also one of Oprah's favorite spiritual teachers.

During a conversation with thought leader Jean Houston about the life lessons everyone can learn from The Wizard of Oz, Oprah opens up about how Glinda's simple words -- "You've always had the power" -- have never left her.

"I remember I was probably 7 or 8 years old when I figured out ["The Wizard of Oz"] was more than just a story about the yellow brick road," Oprah says. "I remember when I realized [ Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion] were her friends and the yellow brick road means going up the path and looking outside of yourself and that it's always right here."

"You're always wearing those red shoes," Jean says.

Oprah's conversation with Jean Houston on " Super Soul Sunday" airs at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 25 on OWN.

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WATCH: Why The Wizard Of Oz Is One Of Oprah's Favorite Stories

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Glinda the Good Witch isn't just a goody-two-shoes. She's also one of Oprah's favorite spiritual teachers. During a conversation with thought leader Jean Houston about the life lessons everyone can learn from The Wizard of Oz , Oprah opens up about how Glinda's simple words -- "You've always had the power" -- have never left her.

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Positive Psychology

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Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

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Teacher Well-Being

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It's not her fault, but rather a culture of education that doesn't prioritize the mental health of teachers

Brené Brown in 2012 - From BBeargTeam on Wikipedia Commons

A lot of teachers I know don't eat lunch during the day. There's just not enough time, too much to do, and too many unrealistic expectations placed on us sometimes.

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A lot of teachers I know don't eat lunch during the day. There's just not enough time, too much to do, and too many unrealistic expectations placed on us sometimes.

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Executive Summary

Some jobs have very clear lines between when you're "on" and when you're "off" while in others the lines are blurred - or potentially nonexistent. That makes not being distracted by work, especially mentally, a major challenge. But you can reduce how distracted you feel by work during times when you're not working. First, define what "after hours" means for you, considering personal commitments like your commute and family obligations. Next, have mental clarity about what needs to get done and when you will do it. Then, communicate with your colleagues about how (or if) you want to be contacted in your off hours. Finally, do your work at work. If you must bring it home with you, define select hours to work, and don't let yourself think of work outside of that time period.

Greg Ceo/Getty Images

Some jobs have very clear lines between when you're "on" and when you're "off," while in others the lines are blurred - or potentially nonexistent. That makes not being distracted by work, especially mentally, a major challenge.

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Executive Summary Some jobs have very clear lines between when you're "on" and when you're "off" while in others the lines are blurred - or potentially nonexistent. That makes not being distracted by work, especially mentally, a major challenge. But you can reduce how distracted you feel by work during times when you're not working.

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Helping Students Process Their Feelings During Remote Learning

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When classes resume, elementary students will benefit from intentional routines designed to maintain emotional well-being.

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Greater Good Educator Resource

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"The Greater Good Science Center is a tremendous resource for educators seeking to learn about the latest research and to understand how to apply it in practical ways to their work in schools."

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The Sentis Brain Animation Series:
How the Brain Works (1:36)
Areas of the Brain (3:06)
How We See the World (“Limitations of the Brain- 2:43)
Neuroplasticity (2:03)

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Calm for Teachers

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Skip to main content

Join 250,000+ teachers bringing mindfulness to the next generation

Join the movement

"If every 8 year old is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation."

- Dalai Lama

Discover what's possible if every school day began with a few moments of mindfulness. Together let's equip students with tools for resilience, self-care, and stress management.

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Age-specific resources to help you bring mindfulness into the classroom

A self-care guide to support you during the school day and beyond

A free sampling of meditations, music, Sleep Stories, breathing exercises and more

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Just as we put on our oxygen mask first, we can best support the health and happiness of others by taking care of ourselves first.

Meditate regulary to reduce stress, prevent burnout and improve your relationships with students, parents and colleagues.

Listen to Calm Music and Sleep Stories at the end of a busy day to help you wind down and fall asleep with ease.

Start today

Lauren Daly Clark

@msdalyLST

When given a choice today, this kiddo wanted to hear more from @KingJames himself on "managing emotions". Thank you @calm for opening this door for us. This was truly a special moment today ❤️✨

Miss Epstein

@MissEEpstein

I often use @calm during writing sessions at school. There are lots of relaxing instrumentals that help my children to focus (they also know that if I can't hear my music, they're too loud). They love it. Today I'm using it as relaxing background noise whilst reading. 😌

Feeling stressed or anxious? I encourage you to take time to breathe and meditate. @calm is a wonderful resource that I've used by myself and with students for years. Free for educators. #meditate

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Join 250,000+ teachers bringing mindfulness to the next generation.

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By
What Teens Are Thankful For

A first-grade teacher, a best friend, a parent-high schoolers share their gratitude letters with their recipients.
Jane Park | November 2019 | TRT 2:08

March 5, 2014
Many parents and educators worry that today's children are ungrateful. But new research suggests ways to turn the tide.

November 19, 2012
When students are thankful, they feel more connected to their schools and teachers, explain researchers Jeffrey J. Froh and Giacomo Bono.

November 18, 2013
New research on gratitude finds that it helps younger kids and at-risk students to be happier and more resilient.

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By Jane Park | November 2019 | TRT 2:08 March 5, 2014 Many parents and educators worry that today's children are ungrateful. But new research suggests ways to turn the tide. November 19, 2012 When students are thankful, they feel more connected to their schools and teachers, explain researchers Jeffrey J.

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Well-Being Theory

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The pursuit of happiness is one that humans have been working toward since the beginning of time.

Yet the concept of "happiness" is often hard to accurately define.

Living the good life, flourishing, self-actualization, joy, and purpose are words that come to mind with happiness. Is it possible to experience any of these in the middle of a chaotic world and negative circumstances? Can we learn to grow or find skills that lead to this "good life?"

Positive psychology takes you through the countryside of pleasure and gratification, up into the high country of strength and virtue, and finally to the peaks of lasting fulfillment, meaning and purpose.

Seligman, 2002

This article will outline the PERMA+ model and the theory of wellbeing, and provide practical ways to apply its components in your private practice or personal life.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

What Is Seligman's PERMA+ Model?

Abraham Maslow (1962) was one of the first in the field of psychology to describe "wellbeing," with his characteristics of a self-actualized person. The description of self-actualization is a foreshadowing of the PERMA model, which outlines the characteristics of a flourishing individual and Wellbeing Theory (WBT).

In 1998, Dr. Martin Seligman used his inaugural address as the incoming president of the American Psychological Association to shift the focus from mental illness and pathology to studying what is good and positive in life. From this point in time, theories and research examined positive psychology interventions that help make life worth living and how to define, quantify, and create wellbeing (Rusk & Waters, 2015).

In developing a theory to address this, Seligman (2012) selected five components that people pursue because they are intrinsically motivating and they contribute to wellbeing. These elements are pursued for their own sake and are defined and measured independently of each other (Seligman, 2012).

Additionally, the five components include both eudaimonic and hedonic components, setting WBT apart from other theories of wellbeing.

These five elements or components (PERMA; Seligman, 2012) are

Positive emotion

Engagement

Relationships

Meaning

Accomplishments

The PERMA model makes up WBT, where each dimension works in concert to give rise to a higher order construct that predicts the flourishing of groups, communities, organizations, and nations (Forgeard, Jayawickreme, Kern, & Seligman, 2011).

Research has shown significant positive associations between each of the PERMA components and physical health, vitality, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and commitment within organizations (Kern, Waters, Alder, & White, 2014).

PERMA is also a better predictor of psychological distress than previous reports of distress (Forgeard et al., 2011). This means that proactively working on the components of PERMA not only increases aspects of wellbeing, but also decreases psychological distress.

Watch this video where Seligman discusses the PERMA model.

P - Positive Emotion

Positive emotion is much more than mere ' happiness.'

Positive emotions include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude.

Positive emotions are a prime indicator of flourishing, and they can be cultivated or learned to improve wellbeing (Fredrickson, 2001).

When individuals can explore, savor, and integrate positive emotions into daily life (and visualizations of future life), it improves habitual thinking and acting. Positive emotions can undo the harmful effects of negative emotions and promote resilience (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004).

Increasing positive emotions helps individuals build physical, intellectual, psychological, and social resources that lead to this resilience and overall wellbeing.

Ways to build positive emotion may include:

Spend time with people you care about (Kok et al., 2013).

Do hobbies and creative activities that you enjoy (Conner et al., 2018).

Listen to uplifting or inspirational music (Juslin & Sakka, 2019).

Reflect on things you are grateful for and what is going well in your life (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

E - Engagement

According to Seligman (2012), engagement is "being one with the music." It is in line with Csikszentmihalyi's (1989) concept of "flow." Flow includes the loss of self-consciousness and complete absorption in an activity. In other words, it is living in the present moment and focusing entirely on the task at hand.

Flow, or this concept of engagement, occurs when the perfect combination of challenge and skill/strength is found (Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre, 1989).

People are more likely to experience flow when they use their top character strengths. Research on engagement has found that individuals who try to use their strengths in new ways each day for a week were happier and less depressed after six months (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005).

The concept of engagement is something much more powerful than simply "being happy," but happiness is one of the many byproducts of engagement.

Ways to increase engagement:

Participate in activities that you really love, where you lose track of time when you do them (Bonaiuto et al., 2016).

Practice living in the moment, even during daily activities or mundane tasks (Belitz & Lundstrom, 1998).

Spend time in nature, watching, listening, and observing what happens around you (Petersen et al., 2021).

Identify and learn about your character strengths, and do things that you excel at (Lai et al., 2018).

R - Positive Relationships

Relationships encompass all the various interactions individuals have with partners, friends, family members, colleagues, bosses/mentors/supervisors, and their community at large.

Relationships in the PERMA model refer to feeling supported, loved, and valued by others. Relationships are included in the model based on the idea that humans are inherently social creatures (Seligman, 2012). There is evidence of this everywhere, but social connections become particularly important as we age.

The social environment has been found to play a critical role in preventing cognitive decline, and strong social networks contribute to better physical health among older adults (Siedlecki et al., 2014).

Many people have a goal of improving relationships with those they are closest to. Research has demonstrated that sharing good news or celebrating success fosters strong bonds and better relationships (Siedlecki et al., 2014). Additionally, responding enthusiastically to others, particularly in close or intimate relationships, increases intimacy, wellbeing, and satisfaction.

How to build relationships:

Join a class or group that interests you.

Ask questions of the people you don't know well to find out more about them.

Create friendships with people you are acquainted with.

Get in touch with people you have not spoken to or connected with in a while.

M - Meaning

Another intrinsic human quality is the search for meaning and the need to have a sense of value and worth. Seligman (2012) discussed meaning as belonging and/or serving something greater than ourselves. Having a purpose in life helps individuals focus on what is really important in the face of significant challenge or adversity.

Having meaning or purpose in life is different for everyone. Meaning may be pursued through a profession, a social or political cause, a creative endeavor, or a religious/spiritual belief. It may be found in a career or through extracurricular, volunteer, or community activities.

A sense of meaning is guided by personal values, and people who report having purpose in life live longer and have greater life satisfaction and fewer health problems (Kashdan et al., 2009).

Ways to build meaning:

Get involved in a cause or organization that matters to you (Tang et al., 2022).

Try new, creative activities to find things you connect with.

Think about how you can use your passions to help others.

Spend quality time with people you care about.

A - Accomplishments/Achievements

Accomplishment in PERMA is also known as achievement, mastery, or competence.

A sense of accomplishment is a result of working toward and reaching goals, mastering an endeavor, and having self-motivation to finish what you set out to do. This contributes to wellbeing because individuals can look at their lives with a sense of pride (Seligman, 2012).

Accomplishment includes the concepts of perseverance and having a passion to attain goals. But flourishing and wellbeing come when accomplishment is tied to striving toward things with an internal motivation or working toward something just for the sake of the pursuit and improvement (Quinn, 2018).

Achieving intrinsic goals (such as growth and connection) leads to larger gains in wellbeing than external goals such as money or fame (Seligman, 2013).

Ways to build accomplishment:

Set goals that are SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound (Falecki et al., 2018).

Reflect on past successes.

Look for creative ways to celebrate your achievements.

The Plus (+) in PERMA

Yet happiness goes beyond just these five elements, and the + can include other important areas we well, such as optimism, nutrition, physical activity and sleep. These are areas equally important to mental wellbeing.

Optimism

Optimism is a positive emotion critical to building resilience and wellbeing. Optimism is the belief that life will have more good outcomes than bad. People who are optimistic are more likely to be resilient to stressful life events (Carver, Scheier, & Segerstrom, 2010).

Optimistic people tend to live longer, have better postoperative outcomes and lower levels of depression, and adjust better to college life (Carver et al., 2010).

Encouraging youth to become more resilient would build help in establishing a more optimistic outlook on life. Our article, How to Build Resilience in Children, as well as Teaching Resilience in Schools, are great starting points to have youth who are optimistic, resilient, and can handle life's stressful events better.

Physical activity

Physical activity has been linked to wellbeing in numerous ways. Negative emotions are associated with an increased risk of physical disease and poor health habits, and people with mental illness are more likely to be physically inactive (Hyde, Maher, & Elavsky, 2013).

There are obvious physical benefits to being active, but increasing movement or activity also decreases symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness and improves mental focus and clarity (Hyde et al., 2013).

Read our article on Cognitive Health, to understand the connection between exercise and mental wellbeing.

Nutrition

Poor nutrition leads to physical health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer, but there is significant research demonstrating a relationship between diet and mental health (Stranges, Samaraweera, Taggart, Kandala, & Stewart-Brown, 2014).

Eating a balanced diet rich in vegetables and nutrients (and limiting processed or sugary foods) has been associated with wellbeing. High levels of wellbeing were reported by individuals who ate more fruits and vegetables (Stranges et al., 2014). A review of research on children and adolescents found that a poor diet (high levels of saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods) was linked to poorer mental health (O'Neil et al., 2014).

So what should we eat? There are many "super foods" found in nature, such as berries, cruciferous vegetables, avocados, nuts, and seeds. A Mediterranean diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, beans, cereals, grains, fish, and unsaturated fats has been shown to reduce depression symptoms and provides an array of physical health benefits (Parletta et al., 2017).

Sleep

Neuroimaging and neurochemistry research suggests that good sleep hygiene fosters mental and emotional resilience, and sleep deprivation leads to negative thinking and emotional vulnerability (Harvard Medical School, 2019). Further, sleep problems are more likely to affect people with psychiatric disorders and may increase the risk of developing mental illness.

Particularly, insomnia increases the risk of developing depression.

Getting seven to nine hours of quality sleep during the same hours every night is recommended (Harvard Medical School, 2019). Lifestyle changes such as avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol; getting physical activity; decreasing screen time; and using the bedroom only for sleep and sex can improve sleep quality.

Relaxation techniques and cognitive behavioral techniques to reduce stress and anxiety can also be effective ways to improve sleep and overall wellbeing.

Training in PERMA+: 3 Options

Positive psychology and the science of wellbeing has become a popular area of research and practice.

Training in PERMA can be helpful for improving performance, building resilience, and increasing success and life satisfaction. Here are three options for obtaining training in PERMA.

The Penn Resilience Program and PERMA workshops

The Penn Resilience Program and PERMA workshops are evidence-based training options that strive to build resilience, wellbeing, and optimism. The workshops are designed to offer practical skills for individuals, teams, and organizations that reduce mental health issues and improve quality of life.

The SAHMRI Wellbeing and Resilience Centre

The Wellbeing and Resilience Centre aims to decrease mental illness by improving mental health and wellbeing. With the understanding that wellbeing is multi-dimensional, PERMA+ is the foundation used to train leaders how to deliver skills and interventions to the community.

The Science of Happiness Course

Offered through UC Berkeley, the Science of Happiness Course, with an optional certificate, focuses on all aspects of PERMA without actually focusing on the acronym.

The course discusses research on happiness (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievements) and provides practical activities to improve and measure individual happiness and wellbeing.

3 PERMA+ Activities & Interventions

PERMA activities and interventions are applicable to individuals suffering from mental health disorders as well as those who simply want to improve levels of flourishing. The following interventions can be implemented during any point in a treatment program or as standalone activities to increase wellbeing.

1. Your character strengths

Find your character strengths using the VIA Survey. Much of the research on PERMA uses the assessment of these 24 character strengths.

Learning your unique character strengths can help guide you into meaningful activities (engagement) and work (accomplishment).

2. Track and measure success

This worksheet helps clients set goals and track progress. Often, we take the first step in setting goals but do not take the time to reflect on the emotions elicited when we have achieved them.

3. Gratitude journal

One of the most common activities mentioned throughout research on flourishing and wellbeing is the impact of gratitude. This article about creating a Gratitude Journal provides comprehensive background information and specific details and activities to implement a gratitude journal or routine into daily life.

4 Helpful Questionnaires and Questions to Ask

Questionnaires and assessments are useful tools in positive psychology.

Not only do they provide a way to measure wellbeing, but they are another way to track the effectiveness of interventions and therapeutic techniques.

The following assessments can also offer ideas for specific or individual questions that help clients gain insight and self-awareness.

1. PERMA Profiler

The PERMA Profiler is an extensive questionnaire from the University of Pennsylvania that assesses each of Seligman's (2012) components of wellbeing or flourishing.

This can be an excellent resource to assess clients as they progress through therapy, coaching, or interventions in positive psychology or counseling.

2. The Workplace PERMA Profile

The Workplace PERMA Profile is created by the same authors as the individual PERMA Profiler, but it is designed to assess groups and organizations.

Leaders can use this to assess workers or teams and improve wellbeing in the environment, which will lead to better performance.

3. PURPOSE+ PERMA Profiler

This PURPOSE+ PERMA Profiler is a quick online assessment that asks relevant questions related to each component of PERMA.

It is a fast and efficient way to assess and compare levels of wellbeing. It will email the results directly to you and compares your PERMA scores with other people in the same demographic. The questions asked in the short survey also provide a great starting point for therapy, coaching, or consulting.

4. The Flourishing Scale

The Flourishing Scale asks participants to rate themselves on specific areas of wellbeing. Flourishing is one of the most important components of resilience and wellbeing.

This scale can be used as a tool for motivational interviewing to inspire ideas for self-improvement, or it can be used as an assessment to track progress. The full description of the scale, with scoring, can be accessed in the Positive Psychology Toolkit©.

PositivePsychology.com's Relevant Resources

Our Positive Psychology Toolkit© provides a wealth of resources that cover the full range of components from Wellbeing Theory and PERMA. The assessments, exercises, and activities can be implemented and integrated into any stage of therapy or as standalone activities.

1. Strengths for Altruism

The Strengths for Altruism worksheet, available in the Toolkit, is helpful once an individual has identified their strengths. We all have strengths and have a choice of what we do with them. Using strengths in an altruistic way can promote engagement, relationship, and meaning.

2. Gratitude Letter

Creating a Gratitude Letter is one of the most effective exercises used in the PERMA model. Just like the gratitude journal mentioned earlier, fostering gratitude can significantly improve all aspects of PERMA (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment). To make the letter specific to Wellbeing Theory, gratitude can be targeted to each of the five areas.

3. Build an Emotions Portfolio

This free Emotions Portfolio tool is a great resource to help clients build a database or toolbox of positive emotions. Hope, gratitude, awe, joy, and inspiration are positive emotions that have been linked to wellbeing and are explored here.

4. 17 Happiness Exercises

If you're looking for more science-based ways to help others develop strategies to boost their wellbeing, this collection contains 17 validated happiness and wellbeing exercises. Use them to help others pursue authentic happiness and work toward a life filled with purpose and meaning.

A Take-Home Message

We all want to experience a higher level of wellbeing and "flourish" in life. The PERMA+ model is an evidence-based approach to improve "happiness" and decrease anxiety, depression, and stress.

Many activities can be used to systematically increase positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement (PERMA). The good thing is that the areas of PERMA can be mutually exclusive, but in most ways, they are not. For example, by using mindfulness exercises to increase engagement, one will probably also experience more positive emotion and meaning in life.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free.

[Reviewer's update:

Citations of new research have been added where appropriate.]

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The PERMA Model: Your Scientific Theory of Happiness

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Martin Seligman's PERMA model was designed as a theoretical understanding of achieving happiness. What is PERMA and how do you apply it?

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By
Being Kinder to Yourself

When you're caring so much for other people, how do you deal with your own stress? Psychiatrist Elizabeth Guinto tries a practice to be kinder to herself.

Audio fromThe Science of Happiness podcast. Try the Self-Compassion Break practice yourself.
Jane Park | January 2020

November 20, 2017
New research shows that being kind to yourself may help poor body image.

April 2, 2015
Two new studies investigate self-compassion in adolescents.

June 1, 2018
Despite what we might assume, research suggests that self-compassionate people aren't always compassionate.

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When you're caring so much for other people, how do you deal with your own stress? Psychiatrist Elizabeth Guinto tries a practice to be kinder to herself.

Audio from The Science of Happiness podcast. Try the Self-Compassion Break practice yourself.

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Fears abound about how social media, smartphones, and digital games are leading to depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. What is under-discussed and under-investigated is how such technologies can foster social connection and engagement in ways that can build wellbeing among young people.

Three leading researchers have just published Social Media and Youth Wellbeing: What We Know and Where We Could Go, an integrative review paper that illuminates how teens support each other through digital media during times of stress and isolation. Leveraging their expertise across the fields of cultural anthropology, developmental psychology, and clinical psychology, scholars Mimi Ito , Candice Odgers , and Stephen Schueller discuss the potential of digital media to support youth wellbeing.

The work underlying the paper was completed prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The physical isolation that has resulted from shelter-in-place orders has yielded a seismic shift, making it even more critical to understand and leverage technology in a way that benefits youth.

The position paper summarizes current knowledge and redirects the conversation about adolescent social media use and wellbeing in three ways that are particularly relevant today:

Refocusing the debate over the relationship between youth social media use and wellbeing to reflect existing evidence, varied youth perspectives and backgrounds.

Identifying teen vulnerabilities and assets that may influence problematic and healthy social media engagement.

Suggesting opportunities where youth social engagement might mitigate vulnerabilities and leverage assets.

In the position paper Ito, Odgers, and Schueller highlight the need to move beyond the simple question of whether more time spent using social media causes mental health problems in adolescents. Instead, people should consider the specific forms of social media engagement that amplify or mitigate mental health risks for different adolescents. The team integrated findings from existing large-scale reviews, the voices of youth who have grown up on social media, and a systematic review of digital mental health apps available for youth.

The team finds that adolescents' online risks often mirror offline vulnerabilities: "The most robust explanatory factors are not the volume of social media use, but rather familiar influences such as poverty, instability, social marginalization, and other forms of stress." They note that it is particularly important for messages, interventions, and strategies to be targeted and tailored to the most vulnerable youth and those underserved by traditional mental health services.

A number of relevant findings, opportunities, and benefits are outlined in the paper, including:

Evaluating claims about whether social media use is leading to greater vulnerability for mental health problems for youth, including harassment and bullying, sleep disruption, and exposure to idealized images that may lead to envy.

Identifying factors such as poverty, discrimination, instability, social marginalization, and other forms of stress as more significant influences on mental health than technology.

Revealing that Black and trans youth have reported that online sources of empowerment are sources of support and strategies for coping with and discussing racism and prejudice.

Offering evidence that extending parental support to online spaces can be more effective in supporting youth wellbeing than restricting technology access, which can create more tension between youth and parents.

Recognizing that youth experience positive social support in many online settings, which may reduce their feelings of social isolation and social anxiety, increase their social skills, and augments their offline friendships.

Sharing details on how online communication and affinity networks including fandoms, gaming communities, and creative communities can help marginalized young people benefit from unique friendships and forms of social support.

Highlighting evidence that young people are actively seeking support for mental health information online and using online tools to elicit socio-emotional support. Most teens and tweens say social media helps support social-emotional wellbeing, boosting confidence, and alleviating anxiety, loneliness, and depression.

Describing ways to provide online mental health support to youth, especially those who are difficult to reach through more traditional clinical supports.

One student interviewed shared how they experienced a supportive community online, saying: "I think a lot of my mutuals on Instagram, they're very open to being emotionally vulnerable on Instagram, so they'll actually say, 'I'm not doing fine.' I like it because it's a very nice community, just spreading love whether it be through comments or someone will actually say through messages like, 'Are you okay?'"

A freshman adjusting to life away from family shared how online connections made her feel close to them: "My mother just started using Messenger. I taught her how to use it. And so she texts me here and there. She's like, 'Good morning,' or, 'How are you doing?,' and then we FaceTime. Then my siblings, we use Instagram because that's where we're mostly at. We send each other videos and memes, and then we kind of comment just to make our day."

Given the rising rates of mental health concerns among young people in the U.S., Ito, Odgers, and Schueller encourage a sense of urgency in focusing research, investment, and public attention on how digital spaces and tools can be better designed and used to support youth's mental health. "We urge developers, parents, clinicians, and other stakeholders to recognize the unique and diverse needs and assets of youth, to look to social media as a potential amplifier of both risks and benefits, and to actively involve youth in the development of a healthy online ecosystem."

Learn more about the Youth Connections for Wellbeing project .

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Teens' Technology Use and Mental Health: New Report Provides Insight Into Youth Connections for Wellbeing - Connected Learning Alliance

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Fears abound about how social media, smartphones, and digital games are leading to depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. What is under-discussed and under-investigated is how such technologies can foster social connection and engagement in ways that can build wellbeing among young people. Three leading researchers have just published Social Media and Youth Wellbeing:...