I’m thankful for a zillion things:
My rocket ship, my backyard swings,
my unicorn, my dinosaur,
my b-ball hoop upon my door.
But most of all—and this is true—
what I am thankful for is YOU.
Write what you are thankful for.
Art by Mike Deas
I'm Thankful for a Zillion Things
Enjoy a poem about gratitude.
By Kenn Nesbitt
From the October/November 2024 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will discuss a poem about feeling thankful and understand that poems express feelings.
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
More About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Poetry: Craft and structure
Social and Life Skills
Social awareness/gratitude
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Implementation
- Whole group
Pairings and Text Connections
- Suggested books: My Heart Fills With Happiness / Mi corazón se llena de alegría (English and Spanish Edition) by Monique Gray Smith, Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, The Thank You Book by Mary Lyn Ray
Before-Reading Resources
- Video: Being Thankful (5 minutes) This video gives a primer on gratitude and how to show it.
Suggested Reading Focus
Comprehension/ personal connections (30 minutes)
- Before reading the poem, tell students that people often write poems to express—or share—how they feel. Being thankful is an emotion—it is a way you feel. Then watch the video, “Being Thankful,” to further explore what it means to be thankful.
- Read the poem, having students follow along in their magazines. When you’re done, have them look at the art that surrounds the poem. Ask children what they noticed about the poem. (It lists things someone is thankful for. The things that are listed are in the picture. The word you is in capital letters.) Who do children think the narrator is? (the kid in the picture) Who is the narrator talking to? (the person he is hugging in the picture) Why do they think the word you is written in capital letters? (to emphasize it)
- After reading, have students write what they are thankful for on the line.
After-Reading Skills Practice
- Skills: Social awareness/gratitude/writing (15 minutes)
Text-to-Speech