A Look Back at Thanksgiving...

I fully intended to post this a long, long, long time ago. But I wanted to share with you some of the activities that we did in my classroom to keep the educational fun going during Thanksgiving! I should probably share now that I am somewhat anti-worksheet... They are quick and easy, but don't always suit the needs of my students or give me an adequate assessment. For that reason, I like to find/create activities that really encourage students to think and be creative!

First, we had Turkey Day. My kiddos made contraction turkeys! Students wrote contractions on construction paper "feathers" and glued them to the body of the turkey.

Next, we read Eve Bunting's A Turkey For Thanksgiving, which is all about catching a turkey, but has a humorous twist that kept my students laughing and engaged. After we practice retelling that story, students created their own steps to catch a turkey! We were studying sequencing at the time, so this activity fit nicely with our standards. Of course, you could also use it for retelling the book too!

The kids really enjoyed this, and I got some hilarious responses. One of which said, "I would lay out turkey food with a strong smell..." haha! The things first graders can come up with truly impresses me. They are so creative!

After Turkey Day, we had a day of using pumpkins for inspiration! We read A Thankful Thanksgiving and the kids made "Thankfulness Pumpkin Pies" (I found that adorable activity on Pinterest here)

Then, it was back to sequencing review. After a brief mini-lesson,  I had the students tell me the steps they would use to make a pumpkin pie (garnished with cotton ball "whipped cream," of course!)

Our last day before break, we really focused on the Thanksgiving story and the reason behind the traditions. We read several books about Pilgrims and Indians and retold the story of the first Thanksgiving. To reinforce our lessons on Author's Purpose, the kids made Persuasive Pilgrims! (I wanted them to make Informative Indians also, but we just ran out of time! Maybe next year..)

You can purchase templates for most of these activities at my TPT store here!
What are some fun things you do with your class for Thanksgiving?!