20 Gratitude Questions for Thanksgiving

Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course.  Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude. --Albert Schweitzer

It can be challenging to create rich and meaningful family conversations about gratitude.  I know I’ve felt disappointed when my “What do you feel thankful for?” questions are met with quick, predictable responses that bring the conversation to a close soon after it’s begun. 

This Thanksgiving season, I’m taking a different approach by coming up with 20 gratitude questions to help enliven our sharing.

May these questions help to spark the spirit of Thanksgiving! 

1)     What teacher are you most thankful for and why?  What did you learn from him or her? 2)      What season are you most thankful for, and what is your favorite part of each season? 3)      What electronic device are you most grateful for, and what does it add to your life? 4)      What musician or type of music are you most thankful for? 5)      What are you most grateful for that brings beauty to your daily life? 6)      What form of exercise or physical activity are you most thankful for? 7)     What foods are you most thankful for? 8)     What local store or restaurant are you most grateful for?  How does it contribute to          your quality of life? 9)     What book are you most grateful for, and why? 10    What act of kindness has made the greatest difference in your life? 11)    What challenging experience has ended up changing your life for the better? 12)    What form of art are you most thankful for: music, acting, writing, painting, drawing .            something else? 13)    What place do you feel most grateful for and why? 14)    Name three days in your life that you feel especially grateful for. 15)    What color do you feel most thankful for—is there a color that you can’t imagine living  without? 16)    Is there a personal limitation or flaw that you’ve come to appreciate? 17)     What vacation are you most grateful for? 18)     What philanthropic cause or organization do you feel thankful for? 19)     What product do you use on a daily basis that you most appreciate? 20)     What, from this year, do you feel most grateful for?

Feel free to borrow these questions or come up with your own. 

Download the what are you thankful questions as question cards   and invite family members or friends to each choose one for everyone to answer.

This article has been published with permission. Karen Horneffer Ginter is co-founder of the Center for Psychotherapy and Wellness and the author of 'Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit: Nourishing the Soul When Life’s Just Too Much'.

Weeks 15 & 16: Feeling thankful

Teaching languages for me doesn't mean just teaching grammar and the skills, it means much more than that. It includes teaching about people, cultures, way of life, values, history, traditions ...  One of the lessons in my English class is always dedicated to Thanksgiving even though all I know about it is from books, movies and from what my American friends have told me or  from what they have shared on social networking sites. This year, however, I had this exciting opportunity to see what it is really like. And it totally lived up to my expectations. The food was absolutely delicious - turkey, fresh cranberry sauce (my absolute favorite), cornbread, pumpkin pie and many other delicacies.

But Thanksgiving is not really about food, it's about thanking and giving and it brings across  the amazing American hospitality also. The only people who stayed on campus over the past week were international students, but no matter how many of them were here,  they all had a chance to experience the real Thanksgiving feel in an American home or at a church or at any other gathering for international students.

A Thanksgiving invitation

The Humphrey Fellows spent  Thanksgiving with  host families. I was amazed to see how the host families who travelled to other parts of the country  and our three coordinators made sure that the fellows don't stay alone in their campus dormitories, but experience the real Thanksgiving in an American home. I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at Dee and Richard's home and I'm thankful for that.

Thanksgiving with Dee and Brinda 

Richard carving the turkey

Fresh cranberry sauce - yummy!

I'm thankful for being a Humphrey Fellow and for meeting so many amazing people. Most of all,  I'm thankful for having the best host ever - Janis. I thank her for being such a kind, thoughtful, understanding, helpful, generous, friendly - or simply put - perfect host.

Janis, my perfect host

Want it or not, Thanksgiving is also closely connected with shopping - Black Friday, a day of huge savings begins on Thursday afternoon. Newspapers around the world simply bombard their readers with stories about people fighting to buy drastically reduced TVs, computers etc. on that day. Because we wanted to check if this was really true we went shopping immediately after Thanksgiving dinner. So there is another myth to be debunked: none of this is true! Shopping on Black Friday was a fun, enjoyable, relaxing experience of finding some nice deals and spending time with family and friends.

Humphrey Fellows shopping on Black Friday

Canadian Thanksgiving Eh!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!  

On Monday October 12th, millions of Canadians will sit down with their families to eat a traditional turkey dinner and to give thanks for the many blessings they have had in their lives. 

Since Canada is a very multicultural country,  many ethnic groups will not celebrate Thanksgiving at all, while others have begun to adapt to Canadian culture and have started including some Canadian holidays and traditions into their own lives.  

Today, for example, when I went to pick up some last minute things for my own family feast, many immigrants from different countries were doing the same thing as I was - complaining that the store had sold out of "cranberries " a, a typical fruit used to make a sauce that goes with turkey. 

Chinese, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Iranian and native born Canadians - we were all in the same line ups - all feeling a little stressed about preparations for the feast, but still smiling. After all  Thanksgiving is  a paid holiday in Canada. And you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful sunny day in October.  . 

Immigrants Buying Into New Traditions 

Since I am an English instructor whose very job is to communicate with newcomers and second language learners, I often make small talk with immigrants. Today was no exception. 

"So, how are you celebrating Thanksgiving?"  I asked a number of people standing in line with me.  The question drew big smiles.  

" I learned how to make turkey in my English class," replied one woman I spoke to. Everything is ready, but  forgot to buy one of those pans you cook the turkey in. I didn't realize a turkey was so big.." 

"We don"t usually celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. Instead we celebrate  the Moon Festival, replied another woman. " 

But this year, my children really wanted to do the same thing as their classmates. They knew everything about Thanksgiving, so I agreed to try to do it.  My children are helping. They even decorated the house.  Still, I don't know if they will like mashed potatoes." 

Canadian vs American Thanksgiving 

Canadian Thanksgiving is similar to American Thanksgiving in several ways - especially in terms of the food and family aspect. But, there are some major differences between Canadian and American Thanksgiving. 



LISTENING ACTIVITY: 

Watch the following video and do the quiz. Make sure you take notes first. 


 

 

Charlie Chaplin Thanksgiving Meal   

   

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Watch the video and try to retell the story to a partner, your friend, husband, wife, parent using time words and connectors. 

You could also summarize what happened in the story using time words and time clauses.   
Remember, you should use the past tenses ( simple plast, past continuous, past perfect) 

Thanksgiving Vocabulary: 

Thanksgiving vocabulary

Thanksgiving Vocabulary  2

Vocabulary 3 ( Ed Helper) 

A Few Thanksgiving Videos with Quizzes  :

• Thanksgiving in the U.S.A.  
• How to Cook a Perfect Turkey ( ESOL courses) 
• The History of Pumpkin Pie

Reading: 

• Canadian Thanksgiving: A Unique Holiday ( Reading) 
• Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes ( from kids world - easy)
• Four Big Differences between Canadian and American Thanksgiving
• Harvest Festivals Around the World

Short Stories 

• Two Thanksgiving Gentlemen O'Henry
• Mr. Pancake Turkey
• The Spirit of the Corn : An Iroquois Legend 
• The Kingdom of the Greedy T
• The Thanksgiving Visitor (Truman Capote  Short Stories )BBC 

• Bailey White's Thanksgiving Story  ( NPR) 
• Six Thanksgiving Short Stories 
• Thanksgiving Stories from the Huffington Post 

Listening Quizzes and Interactive Activities: 

• Thanksgiving Listening Gap Fill
• Canadian Thanksgiving from ELLO
• Thanksgiving Dictation
• Double Thanks NPR
• Thanksgiving goes back to the roots
• Thanksgiving Interactive Activities (CNN) 
• American Thanksgiving Gap Fill
• Thanksgiving-but-us-turkey-farmers-arent-celebrating/VOA English  ( read and listen. The sound file is on the left hand site. Double click any word for a definition.) 
• CNN's Thanksgiving Page

Videos

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 
Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen ( Part 1) 
Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen Part 2 
Mr. Bean Stuffing the Turkey - An Animated Story
Alice's Restaurant Animated
A Thanksgiving Dilemma 
Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks 
Giving Thanks is More than a Holiday 
Thanksgiving Cartoons for Kids

Thanksgiving Turkey Parody 
You Can't Gobble Me 

How Thanksgiving works   (howstuffworks.com) 

       Introduction to How Thanksgiving Works

       Thanksgiving Customs in Other Cultures

       History of Thanksgiving

       Thanksgiving Day

       Thanksgiving Turkey

       Thanksgiving Traditions ...+ Videos + Image Gallery + Quiz


Grammar Activities 

• Past Tense Thanksgiving verbs
• Thanksgiving Punctuation and Capitalization