Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Oct 16, 2023
Thanksgiving Activities for upper elementary learners
It is hard to believe that it is almost November. I feel like once November hits, the holiday craziness really sets in. American Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Because of this, I thought I would do my best to lesson your stress load by popping on here to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving activities for elementary learners. These activities are ones that I have used successfully with my little learners for a number of years. Hopefully these ideas will help save you some time, take a little weight off your shoulders, and give you a chance to enjoy the holiday season.
Looking for some quick and easy Halloween activities that you can print and use right away? Click on the image or button below to see all of the engaging Thanksgiving resources available in my TPT shop!
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary – Read Alouds
When looking for an engaging activity to do with my elementary kiddos, I know I can never go wrong with a good read aloud.
My favorite read aloud for the Thanksgiving season is “Turkey Trouble” by Wendi Silvano. If you haven’t read this story yet, or do not have a copy of the book, Storyline Online has a fantastic read aloud version.
It is a super funny story about a turkey who is trying to escape being eaten. Of all the stories we read aloud in November, this one has definitely been our favorite.
Looking for more holiday read alouds? You won’t want to miss our comprehensive list of Christmas read alouds!
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary – STEM Challenges
STEM challenges are always a hit with my learners. I especially love these challenges because they tie directly to the “Turkey Trouble” read aloud. You can never go wrong with a solid literacy connection! Before we begin a STEM challenge, I have students bring in random recycled items from home. We then add them to our STEM building collection. Things like cardboard boxes, popsicle sticks, newspaper, and construction paper work great. Kids often have these supplies at home and are able to donate them to the class.
After we read through the story, I pass out our STEM notebooks. We keep all our STEM activity resources in a duotang, which we store at the side of our classroom. That way, whenever the mood strikes to complete a STEM challenge, the notebooks are prepped and ready to go. I really like these STEM notebook templates because they can be used with any STEM project, so I can use the same templates with my learners all year. Also, the kids get used to the templates, they are comfortable with them, and they know exactly what to do with them each time we use them.
When are ready with our notebooks, I divide the class into three groups, and have them rotate through each station completing different STEM challenges.
STEM Challenge #1 – Turkey Hideout
For the first challenge, students must use their creative thinking skills to construct a turkey hideout. First, I give them a small turkey cutout and have them try to build some sort of structure to help them hide. After, I have them complete the pages in their STEM journals. Finally, I have them write about the steps they took to build their hideouts.
STEM Challenge #2 – Disguise a turkey
For the next challenge, I have students design their own costume to help the turkey escape being eaten, much like the turkey in the story did. The kids always have a blast with this activity, and I love hearing them giggle as they check out each other’s costume designs.
STEM Challenge #3 – Marble Mazes
If you have some Lego aficionados in your group, this challenge is for them! For this challenge, they must build a marble maze to help the turkey escape Thanksgiving dinner. Like the other challenges, they must plan out their designs in their STEM notebooks. Also, they must write about the steps they took to build their mazes. This is a great activity for a blustery November day, as it definitely keeps the kids engaged and focused for a long period of time (and lets be real – we teachers need that sometimes!)
Love these STEM activities? You won’t want to miss our posts on Halloween STEM activities and Christmas STEM activities!
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary – I am Thankful Banners
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on the things we are most thankful for. For this activity, students brainstorm the things they are thankful for, and write about them on a fun pennant template. When they are done, they can color up the clipart and glue the pennants to construction paper. These make fantastic classroom displays. Also, they are great take home crafts for students to share with their families over Thanksgiving dinner.
For more ideas on creative ways to show gratitude in the classroom, check out our Thanksgiving Writing Prompts and Coloring Pages!
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary – Research Poster Project
This is another quick and easy (and FREE!) resource to pull out around the holidays. For the activity, students do independent research on the Thanksgiving holiday, and write their answers on fun poster templates. When they are done, they can color the clip art. These make great hallway displays and take home parent gifts!
If you have computer access at school, you can have the kids research their answers independently or with partners. Alternately, you can grab an array of Thanksgiving books from the library and have them use those to research. I will often print out some research articles I find online to help supplement our books.
You can grab this resource for FREE by clicking here or on the image below – I hope you can make use of it in your classroom!
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Looking for more Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary?
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Looking for more holiday activities for upper elementary?
Check out the related blog posts below!
5 Tips to Keep Students Engaged Before a Holiday Break
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