Idioms: gratitude

With this ESL worksheet, students will learn idioms, expressions, and sayings about gratitude. It is great to use as a supplementary material for lessons about Thanksgiving. It is aimed at advanced learners. You can combine it with the worksheets “Idioms: kindness” and “Idioms: positivity, optimism and hope”, 

The lesson starts with a couple of discussion questions about gratitude and being thankful. Then, the first set of idioms (e.g. thank your lucky stars, grateful beyond words, a blessing in disguise, return the favour) is introduced through a dialogue between 2 friends. Students work out the meanings of these gratitude-related idioms and match them to their definitions. Then, students take a look at 4 situations, and are asked to decide which idiom will best illustrate the situation.

The rest of the idioms (it’s the thought that counts, never look a gift horse in the mouth, count your blessings, a token of appreciation) are introduced through a dialogue between 2 colleagues. After matching the idioms to their definitions, students take a look at 4 sentences, each containing an idiom, and complete the sentences with their own ideas. 

The rest of the activities are focused on speaking. First, students discuss 4 questions. For each question, they are given a couple of idioms to use in their answers. Finally, students are given a list of ways to express your gratitude, and are asked a few questions.

To further practise these gratitude-related idioms, you can use the set of printable conversation cards.