The end of November is an interesting time to be a teacher. One third of the school year has already passed, parent/teacher conferences are wrapped up and report cards have probably gone home to families. Here are some fun Thanksgiving themed classroom activities to enjoy when you may be exhausted and ready for Thanksgiving break.
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Here are a variety of Thanksgiving themed reading and math activities that I like to use during this time of year. Gobble, Gobble!
Thanksgiving Themed Classroom Activities- Movie
I have parent/teacher conferences a few evenings the week prior to and the week of Thanksgiving. Students in my school district go to school on Monday and Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving. With two nights of evening conferences and teaching during that week, I am one tired teacher. I like to plan one of the days in between conferences to watch a movie with the class. I have a few options that have worked over the years-
The Wizard of Oz
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I am shocked every year to see how few of my 5th grade students have actually seen The Wizard of Oz! I think it is not only a creative story that the students enjoy, it is really helpful as a reading teacher to expose students to the source of so much allusion in literature and movies (The Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, The Yellow Brick Road, to name a few). You can also have a discussion on the proverb- There’s no place like home.
Planet Earth Documentary
This documentary consists of eleven 50 minute episodes of life on earth. Each episode is a deep dive into a variety of animal life in a different habitat found on earth. One of my favorites is the episode on caves. The footage is stunning and at times shows realistic depictions of predator and prey in the wild (animals hunting other animals). When these scenes are shown, it is not intended to be graphic and the camera cuts away after the initial strike. However, for this reason I send out a permission slip at the beginning of the school year for this series. I try to prepare students by warning them at the beginning of each episode. There are amazing views of landscapes and a variety of adorable baby animals. Each year, the students in my class are captivated by these episodes and they are a real treat for the students when we watch it. Planet Earth is the movie gift that keeps on giving the whole year.
Wall-E and Up
These are some of my personal favorites from Disney. If you have Disney+, you have access to an amazing library of videos. I love to show Wall-E and Up in my classroom because not only are they masterpieces, but I feel like they are some of the lesser seen Pixar movies and they both are on the longer end for an animated movie. Wall-E lends itself well to a deep dive in allegory as well as some important earth and space science topics. Up, to me, is one of the greatest love stories ever told. Carl and Ellie for ever! Up is a great example of highlighting the inciting incident in a story. You can also show the real life Up house in Seattle and use it as a picture writing prompt.
Thanksgiving Themed Classroom Activities- Plan a Thanksgiving Dinner with Math Skills
Teaching With a Mountain View has a great Thanksgiving Math Project on TPT, Thanksgiving Dinner Digits. I have used this over the years and have appreciated the practicality of this project as well as the fact that the kids get really into planning their own Thanksgiving dinner party. It is so engaging for them, it makes for the perfect activity when preparing or recovering from Parent/Teacher conferences. While I typically use a paper copy, I appreciated the digital version of this activity during Covid.
This color by numbers Turkey coloring sheet freebie is a nice way to review prime and composite numbers.
Thanksgiving Themed Classroom Activities- Literacy Activities
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving read aloud.
While this story is marketed toward the younger kids, there is a lot to unpack in this gem by Day Pilkey. There are tons of instances of allusion throughout this text- A few turkeys named Stanley, Larry, and Moe (The Three Stooges), Farmer MacNugget as well as the entire story structure is based off of the poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas. This is a delight to read aloud to any age group and you will smile the entire time.
Balloons Over Broadway
I love this YouTube read aloud of Balloons Over Broadway. This is an informative picture book about the master puppeteer who created the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This can be a fantastic standalone Thanksgiving activity or you could use it to springboard into some interesting STEM activities.
Let’s Talk Turkey
by Lovin’ Lit is one of my favorite purchases on TPT. I have never had a bad purchase from anything made by Lovin’ Lit. I just love the creativity, engagement and practicality of all of her products. She has a variety of activities in this product including an online turkey scavenger hunt and actively watching & listening to a kid make a Turkey for Thanksgiving. It looks delicious! Students then organize the steps according to the video and come up with a recipe. There are a few out of the box Thanksgiving activities that involve the delicate discussion of animal cruelty and a tour of a turkey processing plant. The tour of a Turkey Processing plan was done by Temple Grandin and is fascinating. I always email my parents giving them a heads up over the content that will be shared. While this product is engaging, you know your students best and it might not be appropriate for everyone. There are years where I know my 5th graders might not handle some of the material in this product, but others they are so engaged in the entire thing. I do skip over the animal cruelty article but think it would be interesting in some older aged classes.
Thanksgiving Analogies
Another TPT freebie that makes for a fun activity, especially on some weirdly scheduled school days. Analogies make for a nice continuous review throughout the year as they can show up on a variety of standardized assessments.
November Crack the Code
I created a series of fun cryptogram messages throughout the year. Check out my November product. Students will crack the code on these fun November trivia and jokes secret messages. Start each day in November with morning work, use as an early finisher activity, or just a fun Fall or Thanksgiving themed activity. Students will use the Cryptogram key to decode the coded message.
Thanksgiving Themed Classroom Activities- Other Thanksgiving Materials
This Turkey-licous freebie would be great for a reading buddies activity, morning work or review of more basic skills.
Thanksgiving Making Words– This is my own TPT Thanksgiving product. Make words with 15 themed Thanksgiving words. Students are engaged as they manipulate the letters to make smaller words while trying to figure out the mystery word- the one that can be made from all the letters provided on the page. As the students move the letters around, they quickly find out how a simple spelling change results in a completely new word. This set includes the Thanksgiving themed words and phrases: Bountiful, November, Pumpkin Pie, Cornucopia, Blessings, Cranberries, Traditions, Thanksgiving, Grateful, Family Feast, Mayflower. Turkey Tom, Casserole, Shopping, Mashed Potatoes.
How Do You Enjoy Turkey Time in Your Classroom?
I would love to hear any resources or activities you do in your classroom? Do you get the week off?
