Thanksgiving week has a way of making everyone a little ready for the break, so a few easy-to-use activities can come in handy. For 2026, I have four new Thanksgiving classroom activities to share: The Great Thanksgiving Mix-Up, Gravy or Gibberish Snap Decisions, Roll With It, and a newly vibe-coded version of my longtime favorite Gobble Gobble Breakout.
There’s sequencing, quick thinking, wordplay, and puzzle solving, with options that can work with a variety of ages and schedules. Pick one, try a few, or save the whole bunch for Thanksgiving week.
The Great Thanksgiving Mix-Up
First up is a brand-new vibe-coded activity, The Great Thanksgiving Mix-Up.
Students work through 12 rounds, arranging four cards in the correct order. Some rounds use time order, while others require students to figure out the most logical sequence. Students move the cards into place, check their mix, and then head to the next round.
This could work as a whole-class activity, with partners, or independently. You could even tackle just a few rounds when you have 10 minutes to fill before the bell.
Gravy or Gibberish Snap Decisions
Next up is Gravy or Gibberish, my Thanksgiving edition of Snap Decisions.
The idea is simple. Put up a slide, give students a few seconds to think, and let them make their choice. Gravy or gibberish?
Snap Decisions work well when you want something quick that gets everyone participating. Use the presentation as a warm-up, brain break, whole-class game, or something fun to do before Thanksgiving break.
Roll With It
Ready for a little Thanksgiving wordplay? Roll With It has one rule connecting every answer. Each word or phrase contains the word roll.
Students use the clues to figure out the answers and see just how many places those four little letters can turn up. This one would be easy to play as a whole class or in teams. Give students a chance to guess before revealing the answer, and see who is really on a roll. Sorry. I had to.
A New Gobble Gobble Breakout
The Gobble Gobble Breakout has been part of my Thanksgiving collection for years, but I decided it was time for an update.
Before I get to the new version, though, I have to give a little love to the original. I created the first Gobble Gobble Breakout back in November 2017, and since then, 21,586 people have successfully broken out. This digital breakout was created with Google Sites and Forms. That many people solving this breakout still makes me smile.
And yes, the original is still up and running. If you want to take a trip back to where all this gobbling began, you can still give it a try.
For 2026, Gobble Gobble has a new vibe-coded version. Students search for clues, solve Thanksgiving-themed puzzles, and work their way through the digital locks to break out.
If your students are new to digital breakouts, I recommend solving one together first. Look at the locks, talk through what you notice, and model your thinking. Once students get the hang of looking for clues, they usually take it from there.
More Thanksgiving Favorites
Four new activities should probably be enough, right? But if you are looking for more, I have plenty of Thanksgiving favorites from previous years. Here they are in one spot so you can pick what works for your classroom.
- Feast of Fall Words – Solve clues for words and phrases containing turkey, pie, thank, or fall.
- Vanishing Vowels Thanksgiving Edition – Put the missing vowels back into Thanksgiving-themed words, then check the answer on the next slide.
- Thanksgiving Connections – Sort 16 Thanksgiving and fall words into four groups based on what they have in common. Try Thanksgiving Connections 1 or Thanksgiving Connections 2.
- Thanksgiving Trivia – Test Thanksgiving knowledge with 15 questions, with the answer following each question.
- Would You Rather Thanksgiving Style – Choose between 17 Thanksgiving-themed options and explain your thinking.
- What Does Not Belong? Thanksgiving and Fall Edition – Look at four choices and decide which one does not fit.
- Vanishing Vowels Fall Edition – Decode 30 fall words with all their vowels removed.
- The Giving Thanks Word Wall – Give students their own slide and let them fill it with words showing what they are thankful for.
- Thanksgiving Syllacrostic Puzzle – Use a pool of syllables and clues to solve 18 Thanksgiving-related words.
- Thanksgiving Story Starter – Spin for the who, what, when, and where, then turn the results into a Thanksgiving story.
- Thanksgiving Madness Bracket – Put Thanksgiving foods head-to-head and decide what stays on the plate.
- Wheel of Thanksgiving – Spin the wheel and race to unscramble Thanksgiving-themed words.
- No Naked Turkeys – Use Google Slides to dress a turkey with feathers, hats, shoes, and plenty of other accessories.
Whether you need five minutes, a full class period, or something to keep everyone thinking while Thanksgiving break gets closer, I hope there is something here you can use. Pick a favorite, try one of the new activities, or save a few for later.
Teachers, don’t forget if you have any questions or need answers, please email me at preimers@tcea.org
And if your students conquer the new Gobble Gobble Breakout, tell them I said gobble, gobble, great job. Happy T-Day everyone.
