It’s November already, which means holidays like Thanksgiving are just around the corner. Now is the perfect time to start working some Thanksgiving activities into your lesson plan! Whether you teach first grade or freshman english, we’ve put together some fun and educational activities for you to use leading up to Thanksgiving break!
Looking for more fun fall crafts? Check out these previous blog posts:
- Fall into Learning: Autumn Activities and Websites for Students
- Three Fall-Themed Classroom Activities
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary School Students
Make a Turkey Tail with Fall Leaves
If you live in a place where the leaves change color during the fall months, take advantage of the cooler weather by taking your little learners out on a fall walk! Have them collect leaves as you go, then have them help Tom the Turkey by creating a new tail made of colorful fall leaves once you get back to the classroom!
Click here to access our Fall Leaf Turkey Template.
Develop Your Own Traditions
Traditionally, many discussions about Thanksgiving traditions surround the type of foods we eat, but some students may be sensitive to this topic (especially in lower income or food-scarce areas). Instead of talking about food-specific traditions in your classroom, teach students how all traditions have to start somehow, and encourage them to come up with some ideas of their own! Ideas might include doing a special Thanksgiving dance with their family, or putting on a Thanksgiving play. Have students write a brief sentence or paragraph, depending on their age group, about why their idea would make a good tradition. Then, have the class participate in each other’s new holiday activities!
Here’s a My New Tradition worksheet to help get you started!
Get Corny and Celebrate the Harvest
If you’re looking to teach your students about the harvest season, have them make glass gem corn with craft beads! This colorful crop is (in my opinion!) one of nature’s most beautiful and unique creations. Prepare a lesson on how the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to farm, then set out bead stations. Either have students glue their beads to a sheet of cardboard cut in the shape of a corn cob, or twist six to eight pipe cleaners together and have students thread an even number of beads on each one before twisting the free ends together!
Thanksgiving Activities for Middle School Students
Explore the History of Indigenous Peoples
A great way to engage middle school learners during the Thanksgiving season is to build upon the basic knowledge they have about the indigenous groups of North America. Explain to them how Thanksgiving represents how the pilgrims learned from Native Americans, then have them play around with native-land.ca, a hands-on software that allows you to search your address and learn about the native groups who have inhabited the land throughout history!
Fill a Gratitude Jar and Share with the Class
Middle school is tough for many students, simply because there’s so much change happening all at once. Bring a little peace and mindfulness to your students this Thanksgiving by passing out strips of paper (extra points if they’re in fall colors like orange and red!) and having students write what they’re most grateful for. Collect the slips in a jar and share them anonymously with the class.
Complete Thanksgiving Themed Word Puzzles
Give students a brain break with a Thanksgiving puzzle, like a crossword or word search! Print off one of the several available Thanksgiving puzzles from puzzles-to-print.com or have students create their own with Discovery Education’s online Puzzlemaker and then swap them with other students’ to complete.
Thanksgiving Activities for High School Students
Complete a Creative Writing Assignment
A great way to get high school students engaged in the holiday fun is to assign a creative writing project in which they take on the persona of a historical figure and write a first-hand account of the first Thanksgiving. Students start by researching their historical figure, like William Bradford or Chief Massasoit (they could also be an attendee of the first thanksgiving, as opposed to a real, historical figure). Then, have them write out a 500 word story describing their experience surrounding the first Thanksgiving.
Set Up a Thank You Card Station
There are a lot of people working behind the scenes to keep teens on-track during the holiday season. Set up a thank you card station where high schoolers can come between classes or during study hall to create customized thank you cards for the people in their life. Encourage them to make cards for other school staff like custodians, lunchroom workers, other teachers, coaches, and more! This is a great way to allow students to take responsibility for sharing their gratitude, while helping guide their thoughts surrounding being thankful for their community.
Download the supplies list and example messages for your Thank You Card Station here.
Throw it Back with Fun Crafts
High schoolers are still kids, after all. Take the pressure off and provide a brain break with some fun crafts, like our elementary school ideas at the top of this post, or with some of the literal thousands of Thanksgiving craft ideas found online! The opportunity to blow off some steam and focus on a fun craft instead of looming finals and deadlines might just become a core memory for some of your students.
What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving activities?
Share your ideas in the comments so other educators can use them, too!
