Ideas for Thanksgiving

I absolutely love this time of year! The kids are in a great routine, the weather is cooler, and tons of fun holiday festivities are happening! I especially love November in the classroom. There are just so many fun things to teach and creative ways to teach our standards with the help of the Pilgrims and Native Americans!
We started by reading one of my favorite books {I tried to find it on Amazon and I think it's not in print any longer, but it's worth getting a used copy!}.
It is such a sweet story of a little girl trying to figure out her mom's most thankful thing {I cry reading it every year!}. After we read the story, we charted what our most thankful things are, then made these turkeys to hold our writing. I've been making the turkeys since I was student teaching and I'm pretty sure the idea came from a Mailbox magazine.


Then, we started learning all about the Pilgrims and their voyage to a new land. We read this book, which has a TON of information!
Then, we did a little shared writing where we wrote what life on the Mayflower was like. We used our shared writing to do independent writing that we attached to our Mayflowers.

Then, we talked about what one thing we would take with us on the Mayflower, and made a little suitcase {the writing is from Deanna Jump's Thanksgiving Unit}



We read further in the book to find out what daily life was like for the Pilgrims. My kids loved learning about Pilgrim children {they couldn't believe Pilgrim boys wore dresses until they were 6!}. We made a group graphic organizer, then the kids used it to help them with their independent writing about Pilgrims.





We also read The Littlest Pilgrim {another great story} and talked character traits. The kids came up with words that described Mini, but they had to give me evidence from the story to support their adjective. They did great! We also made a super easy Mini craft {thanks to Cara Carroll!}


To round out our week, we made butter! I first showed the kids the whipping cream and asked them to predict what would happen if we put it in a jar and shook it.
Then, we started shaking. I let my kids take turn shaking the jar while we counted to 20. They were amazed when it made butter!

Of course, we had to have a taste test! I just gave everyone a half of a piece of bread with butter spread on it. We tasted, then graphed whether we liked it or not. For this graph, I let the kids tell me what they noticed about the data instead of telling them what I wanted to find...it made for great math conversation!



For our centers, I'm using most out of this pack I made last year. I'm frantically working on an additional ELA pack, but it is slow going!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Gobbling-Good-Centers-Math-and-Language-Arts-Centers-395485

And just for fun, we've been reading in a teepee {and yes I know the Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving did not live in them, but it's for sheer fun!}. The kids love it every year!! My granddad made the base from bamboo 11 years ago when I started teaching, then I let my first class decorate 2 sheets to wrap around it.
 I hope to be back this week to show you the math we've been doing with our Thanksgiving unit...the kids have loved it!

13 comments

  1. Girl, I love your ideas!!!! You are such an inspiration!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Five weeks ago my boyfriend broke up with me. It all started when i went to summer camp i was trying to contact him but it was not going through. So when I came back from camp I saw him with a young lady kissing in his bed room, I was frustrated and it gave me a sleepless night. I thought he will come back to apologies but he didn't come for almost three week i was really hurt but i thank Dr.Azuka for all he did i met Dr.Azuka during my search at the internet i decided to contact him on his email dr.azukasolutionhome@gmail.com he brought my boyfriend back to me just within 48 hours i am really happy. What’s app contact : +44 7520 636249‬

      Delete
  2. Positive web page source, where did u come up with the information on this posting? I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work.
    mcafee.com/activate
    office.com/setup

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome and very helpful post.
    Want to Common QuickBooks Pro Error or desktop? If yes then you are in right place. We will discuss it in every detail. It’s Your responsibility to remember the username or password of your account but in case, your faces common error, don’t worry apply these simple steps to change QuickBooks password online provide by QuickBooks Customer Service Technicians. So now dial our toll-free number and get instant help.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We are an astrology company incepted in 1999 as Bajrangi Dham, and now we are known as Bajrangi Astro. If you are dreaded about Love Marriage Astrology, or any life issue, contact us via mail or call. You can also book a direct appointment to bail out of all the issues.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elite Cranes is the industry's leading EOT Crane Manufacturer in Haryana. EOT Cranes, Single Girder EOT Crane, Double Girder EOT Crane, Gantry Crane, Goliath Crane, Single Girder Goliath Crane, Double Girder Goliath Crane, Semi Goliath Crane, Overhead Crane, Jib Crane, Material Handling Crane, and other products are available. We have experienced staff for such consulting services. To know more details, please contact us on +911292233170 or visit our website.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have the issue of thanksgiving since my school time. Thanks to you and your ideas, I've resolved this issue. Keep sharing your good work like this. It's time to get Outbound Call Center Services click for more information.

    ReplyDelete
  10. All these ideas are so amazing. I will try some of them at this upcoming thanksgiving day. Now it's time to avail Inbound Call Centre for more information.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Feeling overwhelmed with my online business class? I've tracked down the ideal arrangement: take my online business class for me administrations. With proficient help, I can zero in on accepting the complexities of business ideas without the additional strain of overseeing coursework. It's a lifeline for anybody adjusting work, family, and scholarly pursuits. Energetically recommend investigating this choice in the event that you're hoping to ease your scholarly burden and succeed in your business studies

    ReplyDelete
  12. UK Essays administrations are fundamental mainstays of help for understudies exploring the difficulties of scholastic composition. With their mastery and devotion, UK Essays administrations give important direction to assist understudies with succeeding in their examinations. From refining contentions to guaranteeing flawless designing, they offer customized help that is vital for scholarly achievement. As understudies endeavor to fulfill the needs of advanced education, Uk Essays administrations assume an essential part in enabling them to accomplish their objectives. Much thanks to you, UK Essays, for your unflinching obligation to scholarly greatness.

    ReplyDelete

Back to Top