Gratitude Journals have been a hot topic for some time. Teachers have capitalized on this concept in their own classrooms with wonderful results.

I thought I would share our idea of what gratitude journals should encompass. Even though what you will read from your students are personal thoughts that are shared with you, there are certain guidelines that should be followed in order for the students to not only grow personally, but as learners.

I decided to share my Gratitude Journal Booklet with you so that you will get an idea of how just one teacher and her students use them. Click any of the links below to be taken to the corresponding page. Note that these pages were placed as images, done so to retain format. There is a chance that you will not be able to print them out directly and use them. These are just meant to show you what you might be able to do in your own classroom, with your own students.

Gratitude Journal Cover - This is the cover of the journal. I have placed a "justification" statement of sorts on this page. This page, as well as the following pages, are all kept in personal student folders for easy access.

Gratitude Journal Explanation - This page gives the students some idea of how they should begin. It gives general ideas of topics on which the students may expand.

Gratitude Journal Guidelines - Every classroom has these! You may not agree with some of the guidelines that I have set up for my students, so this page is just an example of how you could present your own guidelines for Gratitude Journals.

Whatever format you use, let the students know that this is an important endeavor. It is only when we begin looking for something that we truly find it!