30+ ideas for Thanksgiving
Use these ideas, perfect for November, to connect students to gratitude and practice essential literacy, math, and thinking skills. The buttons and links for each idea open to a Wixie template you can assign as a teacher or use as a student immediately.
Gratitude
Thanksgiving is really about gratitude; the feeling of appreciation for the things we have and receive. And feeling gratitude actually makes us happier because it helps us recognize the good in our lives.
Make a Daily Note
Ask students to write a note about what they are grateful for each day of November. Students can use the Gratitude Note template to get started.
Students can also use the Gratitude Journal to document their thanks each day of the month.
Design a Mandala
Mandalas include imagery that reflects both who we are and who we want to be. Have students create a mandala to reflect things they are grateful for. Ask students to apply radial symmetry and elements of color, shape, and balance to create a mandala showing things they are grateful for.
Complete a Thankful Poem
Motivate students to unleash their creativity this November by inviting them to compose a poem expressing their gratitude. Encourage them to infuse each line with personal sentiments, while harnessing the power of paint tools and images to craft a captivating border and enhance their poem with meaningful visuals.
You can also assign the THANKFUL and GRATEFUL acrostic poetry templates to challenge students to identify things they are grateful for that start with the letters in these words.
Have students decorate with original artwork and images and record narration. Send home the results via Family Sharing or encourage students to log in at home or on a parent’s phone to share.
Acting with Gratitude
While feeling gratitude is great, acting on that gratitude is better. Help students begin thinking about what feeling grateful could lead to with a quote activity.
Write a Thank You Note
A great way to get started is to simply create, write, and send greetings in Wixie. Wixie includes a range of thank you card designs in the Design Templates > Stationery > Thank You folder.
It's easy to have students design their own thank-you card covers using scratch art templates. Students simply use the Eraser tool to “scratch” and design their cover greeting.
Students could also use the Pumpkin Friendly Letter to express their gratitude to a friend or family member.
Connect to Literature
Literature is a great way to incorporate and support meaningful learning experiences. Combine your favorite books with Wixie to inspire your learners and engage them in creative project work.
Balloons Over Broadway - Melissa Sweet about Tony Sarg
Inspire your students with this fun story by Melissa Sweet about Tony Sarg, the inventor of the balloons behind the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
After reading, assign the Balloons Over Broadway activity. Have students complete the sentence stem with their idea for a new balloon design.
"The perfect balloon for next year’s parade is a ________."
After naming their idea, students can use the paint tools to design their perfect balloon.
Combine the pages into one collaborative class book using the Project Wizard and present it as a virtual parade to your students to celebrate their hard work.
Turkey Trouble - Wendi Silvano
After reading this fun story by Wendi Silvano, have students use the design tools to create a disguise so their turkeys won’t be discovered.
Because of an Acorn - Adam Schaefer and Lola M. Schaefer
This wonderful story by Adam Schaefer and Lola M. Schaefer is an excellent introduction to how everything in life is interconnected and makes for a great way to kick off explorations of different life cycles.
Have students get started with the Pumpkin Life Cycle activity. In this activity, students drag the images and labels to the boxes to show the pumpkin's life cycle.
How to Catch a Turkey - Adam Wallace
What would your students do if a turkey was on the loose in your school? After reading this fun tale by Adam Wallace, ask your students what they would do if a turkey was on the loose in your school.
Have your students create a how-to guide to catch a turkey, of course, without harming it. Students can also use the How to Catch a Turkey activity to organize the steps in their process and then use a book template to write the story.
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 - Ann McGovern
Place your students in 1620 with Ann McGovern's story about life on the Mayflower and the challenges the pilgrims faced. Explore the questions proposed in the book with your students, like:
- What would you take with you on a long journey?
- How do you think the pilgrims felt moving to a place they didn't know?
- What would you do when you first arrived?
Have students use an Empathy Map to take on the perspective of a pilgrim journeying on the Mayflower.
Celebrate with Writing
Traditions and family events lend themselves to fun and engaging writing activities that encourage students' growing skills as writers.
Craft a Memory Book
Get-togethers with family and friends at Thanksgiving can lead to powerful memories. Have students capture these with memory books or small-moment stories.
Write a Suitcase Story
Thanksgiving is a day often spent with family. Have your students use this time to learn more about their ancestors. Encourage students to interview someone about where and when their family came to this country. Then, have students write a suitcase story, sharing their experience, journey, and objects they know or think they might have taken with them.
Design a Thanksgiving Comic
Comics are a fun and approachable way to get all of your learners writing! The limited amount of text requires students to be thoughtful about the words and graphics they use to tell their stories.
Seasonal Poetry
The Curriculum Activities library includes a folder filled with poetry templates you can use to support student writing this month!
You can also browse the options in the Curriculum Activities library or assign one of these poetry forms:
Every Day Can be a Digital Learning Day
Make digital learning part of every day with fall and Thanksgiving-themed activities for math, literacy, creativity and more.
Harvest Paint-by-Number - Number identification
Ask students to use the paint bucket and corresponding number key to complete the harvest scene.
You might also consider having students add and count turkey feathers.
Every Month-by-Month folder, including November, includes a range of activities to build number sense and counting skills. Your students might enjoy:
Turkey Paint to Mirror - Symmetry
Students learn about symmetry by using the paint bucket to complete the other half of the turkey.
Turkey Tangram - Geometric transformations
Have students play with the turkey tangram puzzle in Wixie. Students move and rotate the shapes to fill a silhouette, helping them build and practice powerful math skills.
Solve a Sudoku - Reasoning
Sudoku puzzles are a great bell ringer that builds essential math skills. To solve a Sudoku, with numbers or pictures, students must count objects and compare sets of objects.
There is a medium-difficulty version, too!
Build Words from Thanksgiving - Phonics
Students use the cloned letters to count how many 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-letter words they can create from the word "Thanksgiving."
November Word Search - Word Recognition
Ask students to have fun finding and circling words in the November-themed word search.
First Thanksgiving Cloze - Reading
Students show their understanding of the first Thanksgiving by completing the cloze activity. Students drag the words from the list at the bottom of the page to complete the story.
Draw Your Own Turkey - Arts
Take a creativity break and encourage students to draw their own turkeys. Assign the Starter Bird template and let your students' imaginations soar.
Play the Piano - Music
Have students practice reading music and hearing pitch as they listen to "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" and try to play it on their own.
Thanksgiving Coloring Choice Board - Mouse Skills
Have students practice their mouse skills by using the paint bucket tool to fill areas with color. Use this choice board to find the right image for your learners or share the URL to give them choice.
Going Places - Geography
Many students travel over the Thanksgiving Holiday, and you can take the opportunity to discuss weather and climate in different areas. Then, have students pack a suitcase with clothing and objects that match the location they are visiting or want to visit.
These ideas are just the beginning! What will your students create?
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