It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already almost here! The week before Thanksgiving in the classroom is full of excitement, fun, and eagerness for the week long holiday break that both teachers and students look forward to. While I still have to teach lessons based on our district’s curriculum, I like to throw in some fun Thanksgiving activities that the kids enjoy doing (all while learning at the same time)! Check out some of the ways we enjoy celebrate Thanksgiving in our 4th grade classroom.
Build a Turkey with Learning Activities
We actually did this activity in my 4th grade classroom this year and the kids LOVED it! While they did divide up into teams, they also had to complete their own individual turkey. I bought this resource off TPT a few years ago and have used it both last year and this year and plan to use it in the years to come. While it does come with five different math tasks, you could actually use any kind of tasks you want (writing, reading, letters, numbers, spelling, math, etc.).
Students started with a turkey that is not colored and has no feathers yet. When students finished a task, they brought it over to me and I gave them a feather. They would color the feather and either glue or tape it on. Once the turkey was full of feathers, they brought it over to me and I gave them a prize (a cookie that was decorated like a turkey). The resource also comes with a certificate, but I didn’t hand those out this year. No worries though because I have them ready to go for next year!
Recreate the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade
The first time I read the book, Balloons Over Broadway: The Inspiring True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, written by Melissa Sweet. You can add special effects by reading it with Novel Effect. If you don’t own the book, you can also play it on YouTube and have it read to your students (that’s what we did this year and the students loved it). After you are done reading it, students can either draw their own balloon or create one from a real balloon (decorating it with googly eyes, pom poms, construction paper, etc.). This is a fun activity for students of all ages.
Decorate a Thankful Door
I just learned about this idea this year from our school librarian. She covered one of the doors with colorful butcher paper (orange, brown, yellow) and then gave each student a colorful leaf. They could choose from leaves that were yellow, orange, and red. Students then wrote one thing they were thankful for and they could include their name if they wanted. Once they were done, they gave her the leaf and then she taped it to the paper on the door. It looked really cute!
Have a Thanksgiving Feast in Your Classroom
While we are not allowed to bring homemade food into the classroom, we can take advantage of having a classroom Thanksgiving feast on the day that the cafeteria serves a turkey lunch (this year it was in the middle of the week). Set up the desks in one long row and cover it with butcher paper. You might want to tape it down so it stays in place. While students eat their lunch, they can practice table etiquette and write on the tablecloth what they are thankful for. Amazon even has leaf shaped placemats that students can write on and share what they’re thankful for.
