We began the Tuesday before Thanksgiving thinking about three people:

our favorite celebrity,
our favorite relative,
and the person to our left.

Each student had to write down what they thought each person was thinking or feeling on a regular basis. After sharing out the top two categories, we talked about why being able to reflect on what another person thinks and feels might be helpful for thinking about gratitude.

MH: Helps you take a different perspective; humbling
AM: Think about the people around us.
VG: Think about the positive things people bring
KM: Getting a sense of knowing someone helps you figure out gratitude
BC: Seeing something from someone else’s eyes; do people change

Money: If you care about someone else, then it’s hard not to be grateful.
Think about sacrifices other people make…

The heart of this activity was the discussion, although I think that this notion of caring and knowing someone leads to gratitude needs to be fleshed out more.

First picture: Beyonce, Mom, and Clapper