Ethnic Studies · Week 18 · Power, Equity, and Community Action
Gratitude for Those Who Came Before
Students write thank you notes to an ancestor, elder, or mentor and to a classmate whose story widened their understanding.
- Students will
- Students write an informative thank you note to an ancestor, elder, or mentor, and a second note to a classmate whose story widened their understanding, explaining how that person's courage or example shaped their life.
- SEL skill
- Express specific thanks and listen to how a partner hears it
- What it looks like
- Students practice communicating appreciation clearly and kindly, and listening to how others feel appreciated.
- Content focus
- Gratitude for Those Who Came Before
- Format
- Partner exchange
Relationship skills
Relationship skills are the ways you communicate, listen, and show appreciation so that healthy relationships can grow and last. More relationship skills activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- ESMC.Identity: California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum theme, Identity
- CA HSS Analysis Skill: CST1 Compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and the activities learned. (Chronological and Spatial Thinking)
- C3 Framework (national): D4.3.9-12 Present arguments and explanations to a range of audiences and venues beyond the classroom.
- Literacy in history: WHST.9-10.2 Write informative and explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events.
More relationship skills activities for Ethnic Studies
- Bridges Across Difference Relationship skillsUsing a structured listening protocol to discuss W. E. B. Du Bois's idea of double consciousness and differing views on identity and practicing curiosity rather than trying to win.
- Farmworkers Stronger Together Relationship skillsStudying how Larry Itliong, Dolores Huerta, and their fellow organizers brought Filipino and Mexican American farmworkers together in the 1965 Delano grape strike, reading growers' perspectives as well, and practicing collaboration across differences.
- Repairing Harm Relationship skillsExamining how governments and communities have tried to repair past harms, such as the redress payments of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and practicing the steps of a sincere apology.
Previous: Taking Action in Our Community
RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.