How Do You Celebrate Thanksgiving in School?

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving in school? Same old paper Pilgrim hats and eating chicken nuggets? Try something new!

Multiculturalism

I think by now most teachers and librarians are savvy enough to provide a more balanced view of the First Thanksgiving, incorporating the perspective of indigenous people and providing more realistic information about life in the 17th century. Some books may be out of print, but you can check with your public or school library. Try: Life on the Mayflower; Samuel Eaton’s Day; Sarah Morton’s Day; or Tapenum’s Day.

This book references the spirits of the Three Sisters: corn, squash, and beans, that the indigenous people honored during planting and harvest.

In this book, a girl is concerned that her Vietnamese family is going to be having duck instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. You can ask your students to write about their family’s holiday traditions and share them with the class.

Did you know that during the first Macy’s parade, wild animals from the Central Park zoo were paraded through the streets of New York City? Then, after the first parade with big balloons, the balloons were released into the skies over Manhattan. Can you imagine the chaos? We read this book to a first grade class and used green screen technology to have the students march with their art class balloons against a backdrop of the city.

Don’t Forget Chapter Books

Don’t forget chapter books for older students. You can read a chapter a day at reading time, or encourage students to borrow them from the school or classroom library.

Thanksgiving Crafts

Of course, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving if you didn’t make hand turkeys, especially if you teach the primary grades. Read some fun turkey books before you start. One very popular craft lately is the turkey in disguise. There are several books about turkeys dressing up in a costume, to escape their fate.

You may be looking for some fun holiday activities that still reinforce academic skills. Puzzle worksheets are great to fill in those odd moments, after an assembly, or classroom feast. Kids love secret codes, crosswords, and word searches. Try this packet:

Buy HERE on TPT

Try picture Sudoku to practice logic skills and keep the brain synapses firing!

Have you tried Secret Picture Tiles? They display a scrambled picture. Kids cut out the answer tiles and lay them over the correct questions. If done right, an unscrambled picture is revealed.

You can incorporate Thanksgiving themes into your academic curriculum. Customize your ELA or math activities to read about Thanksgiving, or count turkey feathers. Try these!

Buy Reading Comprehension HERE on TpT

Buy Choose a Word HERE on TpT

Buy Turkey Fractions HERE on TpT

Buy Counting Colorful Feathers HERE on TpT

However you celebrate Thanksgiving in your school, just be thankful for the four-day weekend (just kidding). But honestly, Christmas is coming, so be prepared. The anticipation for that is scarier than Halloween!