About This Lesson
The holidays can be a joyful yet stressful time for students, teachers, and families alike. This activity invites classrooms, families and to pause, reflect, and create a Positivity Portfolio: a personal collection of items, memories, songs, or pictures that spark feelings of joy, gratitude, and hope.
Inspired by Barbara Fredrickson’s research on positive emotions, Positivity Portfolios help students mindfully notice and savor the good in their lives. By building a visual or written collection of what makes them feel happy, calm, or connected, students strengthen emotional resilience and learn practical ways to boost their positive emotions during the busy holiday season.
In this Happiness for the Holidays reflection, students explore how positive emotions like joy, gratitude, and awe affect their minds and bodies. They’ll identify what makes them feel good, notice the benefits of those feelings, and reflect on how positivity supports wellbeing during the holiday season and beyond.
Here’s what you’ll get:
- Printable Benefits of Positive Emotions reflection worksheet
- Prompts guiding students to identify activities or experiences that spark joy, love, or gratitude
- Space for students to brainstorm how positivity helps them learn, connect, and feel better
Why you’ll love this activity:
- Encourages mindfulness and self-awareness during a season that can feel hectic or overwhelming
- Helps students recognize how emotions influence thinking, focus, and health
- Easy, no-prep activity for quiet reflection
Ways to use:
- Morning meeting or advisory reflection before winter break
- Family take-home activity to discuss emotions together
- Use as part of a “Happiness for the Holidays” week of classroom wellbeing activities
- SEL journaling
What is a Positivity Portfolio?
A Positivity Portfolio, inspired by Barbara Fredrickson’s book Positivity, is a mindful intervention designed to help you cultivate positivity and happiness in your daily life. It’s a curated collection of items, memories, songs, or pictures that evoke one or more of the 10 essential positive emotions—joy, love, inspiration, serenity, amusement, awe, pride, interest, gratitude, and hope.
Building and savoring your Positivity Portfolio for just 15 minutes a day can boost your wellbeing, enhance life satisfaction, and help you flourish.
Science of Positivity Portfolios:
Positivity Portfolios are an evidence-informed tool rooted in Barbara Fredrickson's Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions. Positive Emotions like joy, gratitude, and hope expand awareness, boost creativity, and enhance problem-solving skills. Over time, these emotions help build lasting mental, social, and emotional resources.
In the classroom, Positivity Portfolios foster individual growth and encourage positivity resonance—shared moments of connection and care. These shared experiences strengthen peer relationships, create a supportive classroom culture, and promote collaboration.
Positive Emotions feel good, and they are good for you! People who regularly feel positive emotions experience:
- Increased wellbeing and life satisfaction
- Increased attention, awareness, and memory
- A boost in learning, creativity, and mental flexibility
- Stronger relationships
- Less perceived stress
- Lower depressive symptoms
- Improved sleep and sleep quality
- Improved cardiovascular function
Looking for more Positivity Portfolio Resources?
Explore the free Positivity Portfolio Unit Study, which includes teaching slides, additional worksheets and activities, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism.
Proof Positive’s resources are and will always be free. Be well!
Bonus access to full lesson plans and unit studies on the skills of happiness at our Skill Center.
