Thank-You Wall: Messages for Our Guests

After an event or tournament, pairs walk while recalling specific moments, then write a specific thank-you on a wall poster for the guests or the event staff. It brings the energy down and closes the event with recognition.

How to play

1. In pairs, walk slowly around the yard once, telling each other about a specific moment when someone helped you, made you laugh, or surprised you (3 min).
2. Each pair writes a specific message on the poster for the guest group or a staff role: not “thanks for coming,” but what they did and why it mattered (3 min).
3. Silent gallery walk past the poster; everyone puts a dot next to their favorite message (1 min).
4. The message with the most dots is picked to be read aloud when the poster is delivered (1 min).

Rules

• Messages name actions, never looks or results.
• Nobody writes only about themselves or their own friend group.
• Walk, don't run, around the poster.
• The poster gets a quick check before it's delivered.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: walk the accessible route and hang the poster at wheelchair height.
• Students who struggle with writing: dictate to a partner or draw a picture with one word.
• English learners: may write in their home language with a translation alongside.

Learning goals

• Calm down after the event.
• Recognize specific actions by others.
• Wrap up a service project with gratitude.

Equipment for a class of 25

• butcher paper: 1
• markers: 15
• masking tape: 1

Teacher tip

Tape the butcher paper to a wall or fence before you start. If the guests are elementary students, keep messages short and in big letters so they can read them.

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