Gratitude Unit

This was a mini-unit that I created for November as a bridge between two rather rigorous units for a remedial English skills class, but is something that I think all students could benefit from participating in. 
I started the unit by having the kids watch this inspiration video thanking moms from TedTalks:

Link to video: http://www.ted.com/watch/ads-worth-spreading/thank-you-mom-pick-them-back-up

First, we learned why people should be thankful by reading a variety of writing.  Here are some links to the reading that we completed on why saying "thank you" is important:

Article about the ripple effects of saying "thanks": http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/03/the-power-of-thanks/
 A summary of a Ted Talk on saying "thanks" and why it should be said often: http://lifehacker.com/the-importance-of-saying-thank-you-and-why-you-should-1563980468?utm_expid=66866090-67.e9PWeE2DSnKObFD7vNEoqg.0
A poem about the power of gratitude:

A blog article about why saying "thanks" is important and an introduction to how to say it: http://www.thankyoudiva.com/saying-thank-you.html

After reading, analyzing and comparing the messages each of these pieces of writing were sending about the power of saying a simple "thank you", students learned HOW to write a more formal thank you note.

We read an article from Hallmark about how to write a sincere thank-you note.  Here is a link to this article:  http://ideas.hallmark.com/thank-you-ideas/how-to-write-a-thank-you-note/

Finally, I prepped supplies for students to make 4 thank-you cards themselves and we wrote thank-you notes to people in our lives using the template from Hallmark and the cards we created in class.  Students wrote 1 note to a friend, 1 note to a family member, 1 note to a teacher and 1 note to someone who serves them but typically goes unnoticed.  It was an incredibly powerful experience and something I hope sticks with them for the rest of their lives.