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Thanksgiving Lesson Plans
- An Invitation - The student will be able to create an invitation the Pilgrims can use to invite the American Indians to the Thanksgiving feast.
- Family Traditions - The student will be able to describe one family tradition and how it was started.
- Going Shopping - Making healthy choices during the holiday season is a struggle for most people. In this lesson, students create Thanksgiving day meals using the correct number of servings from each food groups.
- How a Day Becomes a National Holiday - The student will be able to compare the ways the different US holidays started.
- Learning to Trade - The student will be able to trade items with classmates to get the items that they want.
- Moving to a New Land - The student will be able to explain the difficult choices the Pilgrims had to make when they were deciding whether to move to America.
- Native Americans: Fact or Fiction - The student will be able to correct ten common myths about the early American Indians.
- Planning a New Town - Students practice their map drawing skills in this lesson. They work with a small group to create a new settlement that is similar how Plymouth is set up.
- Sales Brochure for America - The student will be able to create a brochure highlighting the reasons why someone should join the Pilgrims in America.
- Thankful Quilt - Students work together on this assignment to create a quilt of thankfulness.
- Thanksgiving Food Drive - Thanksgiving Food Drive Introduction to new key words, pre-math skills, the importance of community involvement, and love of neighbor.
- Thanksgiving Myths - The student will be able to name five Thanksgiving myths and provide the correct information about the myth.
- Thanksgiving True History - Students will be aware of the discrepancy between the true history of Thanksgiving and the traditional history.
- The First Winter - The student will be able to conduct an experiment to see how well the pilgrims' homes protected them from the cold.
- The Logistics of a New Settlement - The student will be able to make a list of priorities as the leader of the Pilgrims.
- The Mayflower Was This Big - The student will be able to describe how big the Mayflower was by comparing it to modern day objects.
- The Pilgrims and Google Earth - The student will be able to follow the route of the Mayflower using Google Earth.
- The Pilgrim's Feast - The student will be able to describe and taste the foods that were eaten by the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving.
- The Pros and Cons of Being a Pilgrim - The student will be able to debate whether it is worth the risk to join the group on the Mayflower.
- The Ultimate Thanksgiving Lesson Plan - Our entire staff sat down for this one. Over 500 years of teaching experience! The goal was to create the components of a thanksgiving feast lesson that reinforces as many core curriculum areas as possible. Of course, it has to be a fun and engaging activity for students.
- Traveling at Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday of the year. Use this opportunity to have your students practice statistics and probability.
- Traveling on the Mayflower - This activity helps students see what life was like on the Mayflower as it brought the Pilgrims to their new home.
- Why Did the Pilgrims Come? -The student will be able to create a Power Point presentation showing the details behind why the Pilgrims chose to come to America.
Thanksgiving Lesson Plans From Other Sites
- A Pilgrim Conversation- Students will reinforce their use of quotations by writing an imaginary dialogue between pilgrims as they land at Plymouth.
- America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty (Elementary Edition) Pt. 9: The History of Thanksgiving Day- Students discover the historical setting, origin, and meaning behind the first Thanksgiving holiday and, in the process, learn about the contributions of different people in the appreciation of unified, national blessing.
- Let's Talk Turkey: The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner- How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving? Are you joined by friends and/or family for a special feast? What do you eat?
- Make a Dried Bouquet- Students will learn about the hobbies of Colonial women. Students will learn how to make bouquets of dried flowers and peppers.
- Paper Weavings- Students will learn how to weave using paper and/or cloth. Students will learn about the tasks performed by women during Colonial times.
- Pilgrim Unit- This unit will lead students towards an understanding of the Pilgrims and native people who inhabited the area of present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts in the 1620's.
- Stuff the Turkey Tag- A PE activity.
- Thankful List- The students will learn to free-associate. The students will use their lists to write a poem or descriptive piece. Students will find commonality among their lists.
- Thanksgiving- 12 wonderful poems.
- Thanksgiving Bargain Shopping - Let's talk turkey about Thanksgiving grocery shopping! Students work in groups to compare grocery store prices to shop for Thanksgiving dinner.
- Thanksgiving in American Memory
- Thanksgiving Friends- You need to find a class that will exchange email with you. I have found that many teachers are willing to do this. It can be friends or someone new.
- Thanksgiving Quilt - Begin the lesson by brainstorming a class list of things your students are thankful for.
- Thanksgiving Placemats- Students will list the things for which they are thankful. Students will practice their fine motor skills.
- Thanksgiving: Multiple Perspectives- Students will explore multiple perspectives about Thanksgiving celebrations in Plymouth, MA. Students will create a landmark that commemorates both the European Settlers and the Native American viewpoints concerning the Colonizing of America.
- Thanksgiving Stations- To pre-assess younger students abilities in three areas--in particular throwing.
- The Telling: A Thanksgiving Story - With the use of literature, students compare and contrast different points of view on the first Thanksgiving.
- The Ten Little Indians Count - Did you ever have fun blowing feathers in the air? This activity is a fun, hands-on activity that uses a Thanksgiving theme to incorporate one-to-one counting to 10.
- Turkey Time- The purpose of this activity is to give students the opportunity to use their chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills in a fun holiday situation.
- William Bradford's Mayflower Passenger List- A list of all the passengers.
