Thanksgiving is such an exciting time of the year because many children get to enjoy time with their immediate and extended family. They get to eat and celebrate together. However, this is not a celebration that takes place around the world so many students may not be familiar with it. It is therefore important to teach students about Thanksgiving.
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at how to teach children about Thanksgiving in a respectful way. This is important so that students have an understanding of why we celebrate this occasion and some of the ramifications behind it. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE AND EPISODE.
Once they are familiar with it, then enjoy engaging children with the following activities.
Actionable Steps:
#1. The Thanksgiving Hunt
This is not a real game. I made it up but my students LOVE it.
After we talk about the different terms in the following resource, I cut up the images and the words. Then I hide words around my class. I give each student 1-2 Thanksgiving images. Their job is the find the image in the class.
I don’t make it tricky for young ones. For the older ones, I sometimes write down hints on the back of each image. Once the find their image, they get a treat from me. CLICK HERE or on the image below to enjoy your copy of the resource.
#2. The Thanksgiving Mat
Give each child one piece of card stock paper. Have students decorate it with all of the the things that they are thankful for. I always remind students not to leave any blank spaces.
If you have young students, this activity can be done with an older student or with their big buddies.
This will be used for the next activity.
#3. The Thanksgiving Feast
Depending on your school, have a potluck lunch with your students where each child brings in a dish that they eat with their family on Thanksgiving Day. If this is new to them, they can bring in any dish that they enjoy eating at home. Be aware of allergies.
You’ll either need to have paper plates and some forks or ask parents to send in an empty lunchbox to eliminate waste. This is great for students who have never experienced a Thanksgiving meal before.
Prior to starting the meal, go around the class and have each child share one thing that they are thankful for from their Thanksgiving Mat. They can then take this mat home or you can put it up on your bulletin board.
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- Quick tips to teach students about Thanksgiving Day.
- Engaging ways to celebrate Thanksgiving in the classroom: The Thanksgiving Hunt, The Thanksgiving Mat, and The Thanksgiving Feast.
Free Resources:
If your children are struggling to hand in assignments on time, check out the following video training: 3 Steps to Teach Children How to Overcome Procrastination to Increase Productivity.
In the mean time, if you’re feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and burnout, then I encourage you to check out the following: FREE MASTERCLASS: Systematic Plan to Super Passionate.
Next Steps:
For calm down areas on a budget, for your students who have autism, CLICK HERE.
If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
