After the Holidays or Birthdays - The Handwritten Thank You Note
What better way to help young people develop one of the key skills for the job market than by teaching them to write meaningful thank you notes for holiday or birthday gifts. A hand-written “thank you” note sent immediately after one’s job interview can tip the scale and result in a job offer. Yet, the ‘art’ of hand writing a thank you note faces heavy competition with voice mail, text messages and emails. Here is a lesson plan suggestion for helping young students write thank you notes for gifts received. Adjust the idea for the age level -- the steps are the same at any age:
1. Brainstorm with them on why it’s important to write thank you notes.
Ask students to think about what goes into gift giving:
- time to think about what would make a perfect gift
- time to wrap it and mail or deliver it
- time to shop and money to buy or time to make it
Help them understand that by writing a thank you note, they are taking time to acknowledge, in their own special way, all of that effort.
2. Suggest they follow a simple formula that goes beyond the perfunctory, “Thank you for the _______________ . From, Johnny
Just as their gift giver put effort into giving the gift, the receiver should do something similar. Here’s a suggested format for young “thank you” note writers.
First: Invite them to throw out some gift ideas
Second: put the following on the board and then have them brainstorm ideas for filling in the blanks:
- thank you for ______________
(be specific – if it’s cash, tell them what they’ve spent it on or if they’ve saved it or…)
- why they liked it or what they have done with it
- add one thing they have done recently (for older students, this can be 1 or 2 things they’ve done)
- a sentiment directed to the giver
- mention, “thanks, again, for the ___________”
- salutation
Example:
Thank you for the book, Run With Horses. I really like it because I love
horses. My friend Suzie and I went to the movies. I hope you had fun
on your trip to Uncle Brian’s. Thank you, again, for the book.
Love or Sincerely or From,
If you really want to make a project of this, you could also have them decorate the front of their thank you note. Be sure the paper size is one that will fit into a standard envelope without “wrecking” their art work.
©2008 Career Kids, LLC Lisa Fredriksen Bohannon is a writer and speaker on a variety of work related issues, as well as women and civil rights history. She has written articles for various publications, including Career World and has published numerous books. She is a popular speaker for organizations and schools. You can contact her directly at info@breakingthecycles.com.