Thanksgiving Activities for the Classroom
Feeling festive yet? It’s time to start celebrating the season – and Envision can help. We’ve collected our favorite Thanksgiving activity ideas, lesson plans and supporting materials, so you can incorporate the spirit and history of the holiday in your November learning line-up.
Thanksgiving Classroom Activities
The First Thanksgiving
Scholastic.com brings us, “The First Thanksgiving,” an activity that enables K-8th grade students to examine the experience and historical significance of the Pilgrims’ first year in Plimoth colony. Specific lesson plans (and different supporting materials) are segmented by grade: K-2, 3-5 and 6-8.
Through this link, you will find:
- Teachers’ guides
- Multimedia supporting materials
- Lesson objectives and instructions
Thanksgiving Historians
What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? Challenge your 4th-8th grade students to morph into history detectives and find out!
This is a fun, award-winning activity from Plimoth Plantation. Students investigate the actual events of the historical 1621 celebration – beyond the feast – through this interactive online multimedia adventure.
Supporting materials include a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, illustrated and narrated information about the Wampanoag Native Americans, and a pictorial tour of pilgrim Remember Allerton’s home and village. The Teacher’s Guide steps you through a variety of online and offline exercises and assessments.
Link to Thanksgiving Historians activity.
Native American Perspectives
Project Archeology brings us our next Thanksgiving teacher’s resource – an opportunity to examine Native American perspectives of the historical events surrounding the first Thanksgiving. This site is a collection of materials that includes information about several aspects of Native American culture, with classroom activity ideas and discussion topics. These materials are designed for grades 4-8.
On the site you’ll also find:
- A printable Thanksgiving poster from the National Museum of the American Indian
- A collection of two-minute videos by young people, illustrating what “giving thanks” means to Native Americans
- A specialized Teachers’ microsite, with supplementary curriculum units, professional development opportunities, etc.
- Links to other Thanksgiving-related activities and resources
Thanksgiving Placemats: A Community-Service Project
Education World provides an idea for K-12 students to share the Thanksgiving spirit with the local community. Follow the link to find a specific lesson plan in which students make placemats for the local shelter, food kitchen, or nursing home. The information provided includes step-by-step guides for a variety of placemat designs, as well as additional Thanksgiving crafts, worksheets, etc.
Other Thanksgiving Resources:
The First Thanksgiving Vocabulary Guide – a fun list of Mayflower, Pilgrim and Wampanoag vocabulary words.
Pinterest – we searched Pinterest for Thanksgiving + Student + Activity and arrived at this fun idea page.
Scholastic.com Recommended Thanksgiving Books
The History Channel’s History of Thanksgiving Videos
