"Colorful Home Town" by Jatuporn K.
American Culture
World Smile Day®

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” - Mother Teresa

A smile can show kindness, happiness, and love. It has the power to do good, as Mother Teresa suggests, but a smile can also relieve stress. In fact, there are many proven health benefits to smiling, so show your smile October 3rd on World Smile Day®!

You and your class can participate in the activities below or learn more about World Smile Day®.

Social Media Activities

  1. Show us your best smile! Share a picture of yourself smiling on Facebook and explain what made you smile.
  2. Challenge: make a stranger smile today! Share your story with us on Facebook.
  3. Why is smiling important to you? Let us know on Facebook.

Classroom Activity: Letter of Gratitude

Activity Level: Intermediate

Activity Overview

Letter writing is a useful skill for students to learn. They help students use English for a purpose and for authentic communication. Because there is a real, intended reader of the letter, the learning becomes more meaningful for the student writing the letter. For World Smile Day®, the focus of the letter will be gratitude; each student will write a letter of thanks to someone who has positively affected, shown kindness toward, or made him/her smile often.

See Full Activity

Materials

  • Students - paper, pen
  • Teacher - whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper taped to wall; chalk or markers; sample letter(s)

About World Smile Day®

Ready. Set. Smile! October 3rd is World Smile Day® Each year, on the first Friday of October, World Smile Day® celebrates smiles and kind acts around the world.

Many people recognize the iconic yellow smiley face image. What many people don't know, however, is that the creator of that smiley face - Harvey Ball - is also the person who started World Smile Day®. Once his happy smiley face image started to become too commercialized, Ball created World Smile Day® to remind people of the original meaning of the image - good will, happiness, and kindness.

What acts of kindness will you do on World Smile Day® this October 3rd? Be sure to share your ideas with us on the American English Facebook page!