I don’t know what it is about November, but of all the months | holidays I create digital activities, worksheets, or lessons for… Thanksgiving has the most content and ideas for your classroom, and many of them are FREE!
Even better many of these Thanksgiving-themed activities are appropriate for the elementary, Middle School, (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade) & even High School Grades!
I am always so surprised to see the vast range of reviews from different grade level teachers on my products!
Now you may disagree, especially considering the track record 2020 has left… 😳
However, often November can be a great time to be a teacher. I feel like at this point you are in the groove. You know your students, your students know you, full steam ahead to Thanksgiving break! 😜
As you plan for November, I hope you enjoy these activities and that they help bring an attitude of gratitude into your classroom. After all, if you can teach students to be grateful, you have truly given them one of life’s most important skills.
With that being said…
This is going to be another one of those
BIG ideas = BIG blog post…
So buckle-up.
Put your Thanksgiving pants on.
and let’s dive into my favorite classroom activities and ideas for November / Thanksgiving!
Few things before we dive in…
DON’T forget to snag November’s Freebies, and to sign-up for emails.
🍋 I try to make things easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy and monthly emails with seasonal FREEBIES is one of my favorite ways to go about it. 🤓
Also,
- If you find this post helpful I would love to hear from you in the comments!
- Do you have a favorite activity that I failed to mention? Please share it below or connect with our community through our Private Facebook Group or on Instagram!
- Lastly, if you’ve been here long, you know that along with high-quality freebies…
- I also love to offer high-discount BUNDLES.
- So high TPT actually warns me about my discounts. 😅 If you want to try them all, I want you to be able to justify trying them all! There are few things that make me as happy as seeing my products in your classroom!
- I also love to offer high-discount BUNDLES.
As you plan for November, I hope you enjoy these activities and that they help bring an attitude of gratitude into your classroom. After all, if you can teach students to be grateful, you have truly given them one of life’s most important skills.
Let's do this.
Remember, this blog post is BIG... consider it your Everest 😜
1. Project-Based Learning: Plan a Thanksgiving Dinner
Download includes BOTH the Digital & Printable Versions
I had to start with my favorite. This Plan a Thanksgiving Dinner activity is based on the Project-Based Learning method, and it is FANTASTIC.
The idea and need for this project came when I was doing a bit of planning for our actual meal. I. HAD. NO. IDEA.
The amount of math involved is staggering, let alone the analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating… Mr. Benjamin Bloom would be so proud.
This project involves a lot of math, critical thinking, and even incorporates some writing and design.
All 100% real-world application. I know there are other products out there based on planning a Thanksgiving dinner, but this one goes a step further.
To see this product explained in detail, click here
This activity is extremely adaptable, and can be/has been implemented across a wide span of grade levels with ease! Just check out the reviews on Teachers Pay Teachers!
With the activities, extensions, and differentiated versions I’ve included, this activity has been a new favorite in grades as low as 3rd grade all the way up to 12th grade!
Because of my use of REAL recipes/ life skills… This fun little project has even found a home in many Family and Consumer Science Classes!
Speaking of REAL. I've also included 4 different PDFs of REAL grocery ads you can use, as well as 3 differentiated sheets of Lemon Lane Grocery (Whole Numbers - Decimals) No matter the grade level, you will be able to customize this project to your classroom.
This resource has been updated to include both the digital & printable version of the activity. Making it easy to adapt to ANY classroom.
The digital version allows students to:
- Designing an Invitation using clipart & text
- Inserting ACTUAL images of what you will be serving to the menu
- Links to shop ACTUAL Grocery Ads
- Make A Plan Writing Page
- Add pictures of your guests to the guest page
- Create a Digital vision-board of your tablescape inspiration
Both the printable and digital version of these products have their benefits and are sure to be loved by your students. This is one of my favorite products to read your reviews on. Hearing about how engaged your students are makes everything SO worthwhile. Click on the link to shop, or to read the reviews for yourself 💛
2. FREE Grateful through the Alphabet Activity
This activity gives me all the feels.
This Freebie includes an awesome Grateful through the Alphabet activity where students are required to write something they are grateful for, using each letter in the alphabet.
The more detailed and specific to them... the better.
Also, included is a thank you note template so students can identify someone they are thankful for, and express their Gratitude.
This is a great November activity perfect for centers, rotations, or simply morning work!
Click Here for the FREEBIE
3. Disguise a Turkey: Digital & Printable Version
You & your class are going to LOVE this Disguise a Turkey activity!
I have always loved the classic Disguise a Turkey project. However, I wanted to put a digital spin on this November classic that would be adaptable for your younger grades (where you typically see this activity) but...
I also wanted to create a product that would be appropriate for your Upper Grades.
I could not be happier with how it turned out. Use this Digital or Printable Thanksgiving Activity as a whole-class, as a send-home project, or in your November Centers. This can easily be implemented in your traditional classroom setting, an all-virtual, hybrid, or even socially distanced classroom. If you are looking for a fun fall activity, Thanksgiving Craft, or November Project, this is a great option!
All of the pages in this Google Slide product are editable, & can be printed. I've even included a quick video-tutorial for how to print an ink-friendly version of their digital turkey. Making the perfect pair to display with the included, EDITABLE, bulletin board kit!
Possible assembled display using EDITABLE bulletin board kit. Ink-friendly printer option for digital turkeys.
This product includes both your traditional Disguise a Turkey printables, AND my new digital, EASY to use templates that allow you to build and customize a disguise for your turkey using pre-made shapes, picture placeholders, and a wide assortment of accessories to complete the look!
Complete only the Turkey for an Awesome Thanksgiving Art Project, or pair it with the writing extension slides and write a narrative or persuasive essay for an engaging and effective ELA Thanksgiving Writing Project.
I feel confident that the differentiated materials and templates provided will allow this to be a hit in a wide span of grade levels! It's been so fun, and a little surprising... to read reviews from 2nd grade teachers AND 12th grade teachers from the SAME activity!
Click to Shop
4. November Turkey Art Project & Sensory Poetry Template
This is such a great Thanksgiving Art Project for both younger and Upper Grades.
I love to use the Holidays as a time to review figurative language and focus on Poetry, Thanksgiving is no exception.
These two projects work as a great and complete activity with the Art Project and Thanksgiving writing project! If you haven’t tried a Zentangle art project in your classroom. This is the perfect opportunity. The process is simple, however, based on the skill level of students the project can become as intricate and detailed as they choose.
Another benefit is the supply list is SHORT. Literally, paper, pencil to lightly sketch, and a pen, or marker if you really want to make a statement. All of these can be found in your basic classroom with basic supplies.
Check out some of the pages included below. Click on the arrows to change pictures.
I’ve included a brainstorm page as well as a few examples to jumpstart and inspire your students. If you love Zentangles in the classroom make sure to check out:
Once the turkeys are done, I have students cut them out and mount them on construction paper. We display our turkeys and poems in the hall for November. More on the poem below:
This product also includes a poem template that supports students in writing a really fun sensory-driven poem.
Students use a brainstorm page to think of emotions, sounds, sights, smells…etc related to Thanksgiving. Using what they’ve brainstormed they start experimenting with figurative language.
From that point, they will move onto the poem template. The template will scaffold them as they create a really beautiful and rich poem that describes Thanksgiving from their point of view and individual experiences.
The results are really delightful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Click to Shop
5. Grateful Gobblers: Digital & Printable
I call this activity Grateful Gobblers! A simple, yet fun and effective activity on gratitude that’s perfect for Thanksgiving, November, or even Fall! Students complete either the printed worksheet or digital activity to customize their turkey and its feathers to list the things they are most grateful for.
Use the templates to have students list:
- What they are most thankful for in general
- What they are most thankful for in relation to Thanksgiving
- What they are most thankful for during Fall
- …ETC!
If using the printable, students can simply draw, cut out and paste, or write on the feathers.
If using the digital version students will use my EASY to use templates to insert pictures from the web, or pictures of their own!
This product also includes a Digital Notebook Layout PERFECT for starting a Digital Gratitude Journal for the Month of November! You can also use this as a place where students explain and expand on the whats and the whys of their customized turkey.
This Product Includes:
- 3 Different Digital Turkey Templates to pick from
- 1 Digital Gratitude Journal Template
- 2 Printable Turkey Options
- Printable Lined Paper
- Printable Dashed Lined Paper
- Student Instruction Page
- Completed Examples
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6. The Thanksgiving Heroes You’ve Never Heard of Reading Comprehension
Thanksgiving, historically speaking can be a (and should be) a sensitive concept in the classroom.
I think a great way to approach it is by using historical documents that offer different points of view. Specifically, the views of both the Wampanoag and English settlers. As an educator, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves and our students from a place of accuracy and representation.
This reading passage focuses on the letter written by Edward Winslow, as well as the friendship that was formed between him and Chief Massasoit.
After all, if there was a message that should be known and celebrated today, it would be one of two unlikely individuals coming together under difficult circumstances and forming a friendship.
This comprehension reading passage is great for November and a great way to open the classroom to a discussion about the actual history behind Thanksgiving today.
If you are looking for a resource about the history behind Thanksgiving and how the “celebrated” history differs, the resource linked below, along with this passage is a great place to start!
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7. In My Corner Thanksgiving Edition (Digital Would You Rather)
Looking for a FUN Digital Thanksgiving Activity that’s Perfect / Appropriate for Upper Grades or your older students? This Digital Thanksgiving Activity Would You Rather Game is the Perfect Virtual Activity that can be used in the Distance Learning Classroom, Social Distanced, the traditional classroom, or even a hybrid!
Students will LOVE creating their own “In My Corner Slide” A fun Digital spin on the classic Four Corner Game. In this, Digital Activity students will also enjoy interacting and CONNECTING with their other classmates using the questions that THEY thought of!
This product also includes 30 READY TO GO Thanksgiving/Fall Theme questions that students can respond to. This digital activity is editable through Google Slides.
Not only is this spin-off of 4 Corners a fun way for students to get to know each other, but once you or the students complete the slides these can be a fun way to take attendance quickly each morning, a great way to start your morning meetings, exit tickets, OR use this as a game or center for your Class Thanksgiving Break or Fall Break party.
This also can be such a fun way to practice and introduce opinion or persuasive writing as well! Pick a favorite slide, then let students list reasons and debates to back their opinions. Take notes and then try writing a brief essay!
Print and display in each corner of the classroom for the perfect Thanksgiving game before Fall-Break!
If using as a traditional Four Corners Get to Know you Game, use the pre-made slides, OR have the students create a slide with a question of their choice (I’ve included examples to help students brainstorm). You can then project the slides in your classroom and students will move to the corners of the room to show their response. I’ve included number pages you can print and hang in each corner!
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8. What Actually was Served at the First Thanksgiving Dinner Reading Comprehension
This one is SO fun.
In this informational text, students learn just how much the meal they enjoy today differs from the meal consumed during the 1st Thanksgiving feast. In fact, you may be surprised to see just how different they are! This is a fun and interactive, informational text reading passage.
Students will enjoy learning more about the history of Thanksgiving and get a better glimpse as to what the colonists and Wampanoag people ate, as well as the impact the Wampanoag had on that meal.
Take it a step further by downloading the free Tangram activity by signing up for the November Freebies in the form above!
The two were created for each other and together make a wonderful and complete activity.
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9. FREE The First Thanksgiving Dinner Tangrams
This activity is a wonderful stand-alone or follow-up to The First Thanksgiving Meal described above. Students will try to recreate 4 of the different foods that either were, or according to historians, most likely were served during the first Thanksgiving.
Tangrams are believed to have been invented in China thousands of years ago. The traditional Chinese Tangram puzzle is a single square divided into 7 specific shapes. Students will use all 7 shapes to try and recreate the tangram puzzles on the challenge cards. Simply cut out the shapes and begin! This activity is perfect for centers or rotations or even as a fast finisher activity for November.
Click Here for the FREEBIE
9. Make a Meal: Digital & Printable Thanksgiving Activity
This project turned out really fun! Make a meal is where students create either a digital or printed representation of what they would like to see on their plate come Thanksgiving day!
Maybe it’s the traditional Thanksgiving staples, maybe it’s a slice of pizza with a sprinkled doughnut to the side. Either way this is a fun project and a great way to connect with your students, while they connect with their peers. (Hello S.E.L.)
This product also includes fun suggestions for extensions in addition to their digital (or printed) art.
Have your students write a poem about what they would rather see on their plate, or use the persuasive graphic organizer I’ve included to write a persuasive or opinion essay about why their picks are best and should be served every Thanksgiving!
Like in Grateful Gobblers I’ve included the digital notebook template. Use this template for student response, as a digital gratitude journal…etc!
I’ve added a few fun little details to the digital templates to make them extra fun. Notice on the tablescape there is a Food cover dome! I thought this would be a fun way for students to present their choice.
With any student presentation I would suggest doing this in small groups, or even through breakout rooms over Zoom. ***Do not have ALL of your students present ALL of their meals in one sitting. Engagement will TANK. Instead spread them out over a few days, OR do them all at once in small groups.
As students present, consider taking a running tally of the favorite foods. Use this tally to write out fractions, ratios, calculate percentages…etc. Then in the end rank the class favorites, or come up with the top favorites and have students group write a persuasive essay. Determine which is the top food to be served based on how convincing their essays are!
If you have other ideas about how to use this product or any of the others in the classroom, PLEASE leave a comment, I’d love to hear what you came up with
Click to Shop
10. Snapshots of Thanksgiving: Digital or Printable
In this, Digital Activity students will also enjoy interacting and CONNECTING with their other classmates! This product mimics the idea of a social media profile, and is based on my best-selling back to school resource, “My Life in Pictures!” **Read the Reviews on this best-seller!
Works as a Fall, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, or BACK FROM BREAK Activity
This digital or printable activity is great for Fall, the month of November, the week of Thanksgiving or even as a day after Thanksgiving Break craft. It was created for Upper Elementary, Middle School, Junior High, or Secondary Students, and can be completed in one class period.
I’ve created a template that allows students to simply use a place holder for the image meaning they won’t need to worry about cropping or sizing their pictures to fit the slide!
SO EASY AND FUN! This product was created in Google Slides and can easily be edited or assigned in Google Classroom or Canvas.
*** If using Canvas instead of using this as a collaborative slide back to school activity it is my understanding you will instead make a single copy for each student to complete.
Students will insert 8 pictures plus a profile image and type a brief explanation or think of a relevant hashtag! These templates are so cool because not only are they SO SIMPLE to edit, but they are also BEAUTIFUL and age-appropriate. I’ve included over 12 styles and themes to pick from. Each one fit to a different type of personality. These technically all could be printed, however, I have also included an ink-friendly PRINTABLE version.
You can assign this as a collaborative slide and have students interact and comment with each others. Have students present their pages with a brief explanation in the classroom or over a Zoom Call or Google Meet. Students can even share as a small group in a breakout room during a zoom call, or have 2-3 students share slides each morning as a morning meeting! No matter what type of classroom setting you are teaching in, this activity integrates seamlessly.
This Get to Know you goes BEYOND the basic… What’s your favorite food? What’s your favorite color? and really allows YOU and your older students to get to know one another.
Click to Shop
11. Harvest Moon: Digital Art & Poetry Project
One of my favorite Autumn Art Projects was to have students create a beautiful watercolor sunset behind black silhouettes...
This Harvest Moon Craft is a classic, and now available as a beautiful digital activity, through Google slides!
Students create a scene by adding the black silhouettes to their slides. They then make the picture come to life when they add the gradient filled digital sunset to their Google Slide. These may look complex, but this project is SIMPLE and would lend itself well across a WIDE span of grades. I’d even dare recommend this to grades as low as 3rd and as high as 12th!
If you are looking for an activity more Fall / Autumn themed as opposed to a STRONG Thanksgiving theme, The Snapshots activity above or this one would be your best contenders!
This activity turned out really beautiful. I continue to be surprised with the type of digital art students can complete through Google Slides with EASE.
The template I’ve included allows students to create a work of art with ease.
The beauty of these types of projects is that not only are students able to foster their creativity, but they are also learning and reviewing KEY digital skills in the process.
Because Art pairs itself so well to poetry and ELA, I also decided to include templates to help your students write a fall \ autumn-themed cinquain poem. These turn out exceptional and are a great no-stress way to introduce poetry to your students. Cinquains are also a GREAT language review! Also included is narrative writing graphic organizers to help your students write a story that could take place in the digital illustration they’ve created. This product is a really wonderful and complete art project for your upper grades.
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12. FREE Thanksgiving Trivia Crossword Puzzle & Note of Gratitude
You did it.
You made it to the top of Turkey Everest!
Last but certainly not least 🤩
Gratitude is an action, and I am grateful for you!
This Freebie includes an awesome Thanksgiving Trivia Crossword Puzzle that contains fun history and facts. As well as a coloring page, and a thank you note template.
Students can identify someone they are thankful for and have an outlet to express that gratitude.
Both activities are perfect for the day before Thanksgiving Break!
Click Here for the FREEBIE
I hope you enjoyed a few of my favorite activities for the classroom for November and that these ideas alleviated some of your lesson planning! I’d LOVE to hear from you, comment below, what do you do in your classroom?
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