Writing Rockstars Blog 

Now that November is upon us and it’s time to start planning for Thanksgiving, get your kids in the mindset with a series of writing prompts to accompany the holiday!

True, we do give thanks daily, or at least we should. Sometimes giving thanks becomes cursory or superficial.

On the other hand, if your kids are asked to write about gratitude, they’ll have to focus and reflect on the subject.

Below is a list of 15 writing prompts that invite your kids to express their gratitudes in writing, one for every weekday from today until the day before Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Tailor them for your family, simplify them for your little ones, and best of all, use them on your own schedule.

Remember, an important teaching skill is the ability to adjust your given curriculum to suit your children's needs without sacrificing learning.

Writing Prompts on Gratitude

1) What’s the purpose of gratitude? Why is it important to you or your family?

2) Name one thing you’re especially proud of lately and explain why. This can be about you or someone you know.

3) Finish the following sentence in five different ways: “Gratitude is __________.” (Remember the Peanuts cartoon’s “Happiness” series?)

4) What do you do to help others? What do you do to help others in your life? What do you to do help each of your brothers or sisters?

5) What’s the best song you know about gratitude and why? What are the best song lyrics that express gratitude?

6) What are you grateful for every day and why? For example, is it a home cooked meal, waking up to your favorite song, having a car that starts every morning?

7) What changed for you over the past year for which you’re grateful? Why?

8) Why do we have a national Thanksgiving holiday?

9) Write a letter of thanks to our armed forces.

10) Write a thank you note to someone in your family or community.

11) What pets are you grateful for and why?

12) Describe five different ways you show gratitude toward others.

13) How does showing gratitude help you?

14) What touch are you grateful for and why? What smell are you grateful for and why? (Do this for each of the five senses.)

And last but not least:

15) President John F. Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." What does that mean to you? How does living by your words show appreciation?

Enjoy!