Here's a quick and easy way to keep the students busy the day before Thanksgiving break! This activity incorporates social studies (studying pilgrims' costumes) and dramatic play.
Materials:
- Printable Pilgrim Puppet (head & body) template
- Paper bag
- Crayons
- Glue
Instructions:
- Make one copy of the pilgrim bead and body for each student.
- Students color the pilgrims.
- Glue the head to the bottom of the paper bag.
- Glue the body to the side of the paper bag.
Helpful Tips:
- Feel free to use the color pilgrim (head & body) as your example puppet, rather than coloring it.
Here's a quick and easy last-minute Thanksgiving activity for use at school or at home! Children will love to use their handprints to create the feathers on the turkey, and write what they are thankful for. This is a treasured centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table.
Materials:
- Pine cone
- Google eyes
- Black marker
- Construction paper (brown, orange or yellow)
- Glue
- Pencil
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Discuss and write examples of what the children are thankful for on the classroom white board or overhead.
- Show an example pine cone turkey and explain that they can put the turkey on their Thanksgiving table or display as a decoration in their home.
- Children (or adult) traces over the child's hand to make a handprint. Make as many handprints as you like. Older children may want to make a few handprints. For older children, a few handprints can be used to make more feathers. Younger children can make one handprint.
- Students write (with pencil) what they are thankful for on the thumb and fingers.
- On the palm of the handprint students write (with pencil), "I am Thankful."
- Proofread pencil writing.
- Trace over with a black marker.
- Tuck the handprint into the back of the pine cone. If the student made more than one handprint, tuck in all the handprints. You can choose to glue the handprints onto the pine cone, or just tuck them inside the cone.
- Glue on the googly eyes.
- Display as a Thanksgiving decoration or as a centerpiece on the Thanksgiving table.
Students will enjoy creating their own I am Thankful corn on the cobs. Each corn on the cob can be displayed on a bulletin board, or it can be pasted to the cover of student created I am Thankful writers' workshop book.
Materials:
I am Thankful Writers Workshop Book (optional)
- Story Web and Draft
- Parts of a Story
- Several Sheets of White Paper
- Pencil
- Crayons
I am Thankful Bulletin Board (optional)
- I am Thankful Corn (finished by the students)
- Green Bulletin Board Paper (Tear into tall, long strips and crumple up to look like corn stalks)
- Blue Bulletin Board Paper
- Yellow Construction Paper (Cut into a circle for the sun)
Instructions:
Students
- Color the corn and husk.
- Finish the sentence, "I am thankful for _____________."
- Cut out the corn and husk.
Display Options:
- Post on the classroom bulletin board.
- Glue to the front of a student created writers' workshop, I am Thankful, book.
Teachers, Here is a free The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans and Squash printable to supplement your lesson.
Students will learn the Three Sisters Method of planting taught by Tisquantum (the pilgrims called him Squanto), who was born in the Wampanoag community of Patuxet, a village of about two thousand inhabitants on present-day Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts.
Squanto Helped the Pilgrims
The Mayflower landed in America on December 26, 1620. The pilgrims had settled in the location of Squanto's village. Many pilgrims were sick and some had died. The winters were harsh, and they did not have adequate food or shelter. Squanto was a wise and well-traveled Native American man, who had learned English. Squanto's tribe had lived on the location that the pilgrims had settled on. However, Squanto's tribe had been killed by a plague before the pilgrims arrived. Squanto knew English, so he was able to teach the pilgrims how to fish, hunt, gather, farm and save food in order to survive the harsh winters in America.
The Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash)
One of the important farming skills Squanto taught the pilgrims was the Three Sisters Method, which is an effective technique used to plant corn, beans and squash. Corn is the strong and tall sister. She helps her sister, the bean, by allowing her to grow up her stalk. Bean gives corn the nutrients she needs to grow healthy. Squash is the third sister. Her large leaves help keep the soil moist and prevent weeds from growing.
Squanto's Kindness and Forgiveness
Squanto was a kind and forgiving man, who had endured being a slave and the grief of losing his tribe to a plague. He chose to use his wisdom, learned through his tribe's tradition, with the pilgrims. By retelling the stories and performing annual rituals, Native Americans passed down the wisdom of growing the Three Sisters through generations. They believe that corn, beans and squash are gifts from the Great Spirit. Each is watched over by one of three sisters spirits, called the De-o-ha-ko, “Our Sustainers". Ceremonies honor the sisters during the planting season, and festival commemorates the first harvest of green corn on the cob.
In a way, Squanto was like the corn, the strong sister. He opened his heart to the pilgrims and they needed him, as the beans needs the corn to wind up her stalk towards the sun. The third sister, squash, prevents weeds from destroying the corn and beans. Squanto's forgiveness and kindness towards the pilgrims help prevent strife (weeds) from growing in the hearts of the Native Americans and pilgrims, who had lived together for 50 years in peace.
Recommended Reading about Squanto
Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac, Illustrated by Greg Shed
Squanto: A Friend to the Pilgrims by Carol Ghiglieri, Illustrated by Cheryl Kirk Noll
Thanksgiving Reading
Celebrating Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks by Joel Kupperstein - This reader focuses on the special meaning and traditions associated with Thanksgiving. Students will gain an understanding of why we give thanks for family, friends, and the traditional holiday feast.
The beauty of Autumn is in full-swing. Take time with the students in your classroom to study and appreciate all that this season has to offer starting with this lovely poem about trees.
The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin applies to a variety of age groups, providing a fun and valuable science experiment that reviews math skills. The accompanying free printable and craft will help your kids process the new information!
Your students will enjoy creating their own turkeys.
Math
- Students can make colorful patterns on the feathers (e.g. red, orange, brown, red, orange brown.)
- Students create math problems by coloring the feathers. They feathers can be made into addition, multiplication or division math problems (e.g. 3 brown + 3 yellow = 6 or 3 red X 3 brown = 9).
Art
Use as a coloring page to take home. You may like to display the turkeys on the classroom bulletin board. Stapling the coloring pages onto brown or yellow construction paper will create a nice frame around the coloring page. Turkeys in Disguise is also a fun activity.
Thanksgiving Book to Read:
Here’s a free template to use for student created books.
Instructions:
- Print out the free book template.
- If you would like to have lines on both sides, copy on both sides. If you would like to have one page for illustrations, only copy the lined pages on one side.
- Fold the pages in half inside the cover.
- Staple the lined pages inside the cover.
- Teacher uses the free story web, writing process and parts of a story to review the writing process.
- Students complete the story web.
- Students write the stories on draft paper/scratch paper.
- Students proofread their stories.
- Students write the stories in the books.
- Students share the stories with each other.
Extension Activities:
- Technology- Students use Kid Pix to create a sideshow of their stories!
- Science- Create and play this magnetic turkey race game. Write stories about the game.
Story Ideas:
- Thanksgiving Day
- Thanksgiving Dinner
- Turkey Race
- Pilgrims
- The First Thanksgiving
Your students will learn about science (magnetism), as they play this fun "turkey race" game. It's a great game to keep in your game cabinet, too.
Materials:
- Free "Thanksgiving Turkey Race" template
- Box
- Glue
- 2 paperclips (1 per game piece. Two players at a time is recommended for this game.)
- Crayons or colored pencils
- 2 strong magnets (One for every game piece. I'd recommend 2 for this scale. Test the Magnets strength before you make the craft. Hold the magnet under a sheet of paper. Set a paperclip on top. Can it easily drag the paperclip? If it is difficult to do you may need a stronger magnet. The turkey game piece will be taped to the paperclip, so it needs to have a strong magnetic pull.)
Instructions:
Game Pieces
- Color and cut out the turkey game piece template.
- Fold the game pieces in half and tape at the bottom.
- Tape or clip a paperclip under each turkey.
Farm Race Track
- Color the farm race track.
- Cut a 7.5 X 10 inch hole in the box.
- Glue the farm race track template over the hole in the box along the edges & let it dry completely.
Game Instructions:
- Set your turkey game piece on the starting line.
- Put your magnet underneath the turkey.
- Test out the magnet to make sure the paperclip and magnet have a strong magnetic pull. Make any needed adjustments. Make sure your friend is all ready to go, too. (warm-up)
- Say, "On your mark. Get set. Go!"
- Pull your turkey towards the finish line using the magnet underneath the paper.
- The first turkey to reach the finish line wins!
Here's a free template to use for student created books.
Instructions:
- Print out the free book template.
- If you would like to have lines on both sides, copy on both sides. If you would like to have one page for illustrations, only copy the lined pages on one side.
- Fold the pages in half inside the cover.
- Staple the lined pages inside the cover.
- Teacher uses the free story web, writing process and parts of a story to review the writing process.
- Students complete the story web.
- Students write the stories on draft paper/scratch paper.
- Students proofread their stories.
- Students write the stories in the books.
- Students share the stories with each other.
Extension Activities:
- Technology- Students use Kid Pix to create a sideshow of their stories!
- Math- Use this free template for a math lesson and create books telling the math stories.
Story Ideas:
- Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
- The Scarecrow
- Halloween Night
- Trick-or-Treating
- My Halloween Costume
- My Halloween Party
- Scarecrow Math - Write a book about the math problems. (e.g. Subtraction math problem. Student writes a story about how there were 6 pumkins, but a crow ate 2. How many are there now? Why wasn't the scarecrow able to protect the pumkins from the crow? What happened?)
Each student can use a story web before writing the story.
