Report cards, American Education Week (for some teachers in the country), conferences, and all of the pre-holiday festivities will leave any teacher just plain exhausted! If you’re needing meaningful and relevant Thanksgiving-themed activities to help keep you sane and your kiddos engaged, I’ve got you covered!
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
First up is this FUN and FREE Thanksgiving math word problem activity called, “What’s On the Menu?”. I made this a few years ago and my students ATE THIS UP. Students receive a Thanksgiving Menu with lots of yummy “foods” and the “prices” of those foods. Then, students answer questions about what they could “purchase” with the money listed on each word problem. In the past, I have also had my students make up their own menu using the blank one provided. Depending on your group, you may want to limit the amount that they make each food. I had my students make their foods no more than 20 cents. You can snag the freebie by clicking here.
FEASTING ON INFERENCES
Next up is one of my FAVORITES! I have used this activity with three groups of students (once during American Education Week actually!). Every group has always thoroughly enjoyed this unit and learned so much about making inferences. For this activity, students read a story all about a family preparing for the big Thanksgiving feast.
Here’s a little synopsis of the story (you can find the full story in my packet below):
Oh no! Mom needs Sage and Max to do some last minute shopping for the big Thanksgiving feast. But, when they arrive at the store, they discover that Mom accidentally gave them the recipe cards instead of the shopping list! If they can’t figure out what items Mom needs, they’re worried they will ruin the Thanksgiving feast.
After they read the story, students must use their best inferencing skills in order to help Sage and Max get the items they need for their Thanksgiving dinner. In the past, I’ve broken students into pairs and given them the recipe cards. They were required to read each recipe card and pull out the important clues in order to determine what Mom wanted Sage and Max to buy at the store. Once they made their inferences after reading the recipe cards, they wrote the shopping list.
I also made many of the simple “I Infer…” sheets you see below. These are perfect for independent practice or to assess their understanding of making inferences.
STUFFED WITH THANKFUL THOUGHTS – TURKEY CRAFT
This super cute and low-prep turkey crafts is most definitely a keeper. Before having students complete the craft, read a fun Thanksgiving story about the importance of being thankful. A fun and classic one is by one of my favorite authors, Mercer Mayer.
After reading the story, students can “stuff” their turkeys by writing what they are most thankful for on each feather. All craft templates are provided.
LET’S TALK TURKEY!
Speaking of turkeys, students will gobble up turkey facts with these differentiated turkey mini-books. Students will learn about a turkey’s parts, where it lives, what it eats, and lots more through the mini-books, true/false sorting cards and real-life photographs. Students can complete these activities in small groups, with partners/groups, or independently.
LET’S SET SAIL!
You could continue with the nonfiction fun by learning about The Mayflower. One of my favorite parts of this resource is the “Talk Like a Pilgrim” sheet where students can learn “Pilgrim words.” Another favorite is the “Mayflower Menu” where students write about their journey on the Mayflower and all that they ate. Anyone interested in eating hard biscuits or moldy cheese?
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
Finally, you could wrap up your Thanksgiving festivities by learning all about The First Thanksgiving. Students will learn all about life in Plymouth and what they ate at the First Thanksgiving meal. This resource is full of real-life photographs, as well.
You can snag the resources mentioned by clicking on any of the images above!
