Curated OER
Myth and Truth: The First Thanksgiving
Encourage learners to think critically about common myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in Colonial America. They discover that behind every myth are many possible explanations—and that learning more about American history helps them...
Macmillan Education
Webquest: Thanksgiving
Class members use the Internet to research the history of Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, as well as the traditions surrounding the Thanksgiving-style celebrations of the Hebrews, the Chinese, and in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 3-5
Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving
Introduce the basics of Thanksgiving with a language arts instructional activity. As pupils practice observation skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, they design paper turkeys by outlining their hands and feet and by singing an...
Story Corps
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorp provides a resource that captures and preserves the remembrances of family or community elders. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, class members select a person they want to interview, record the conversation, and then upload...
EngageNY
Practicing Listening and Reading Closely: The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address
Thanksgiving doesn't occur only once a year for the Haudenosaunee. Weave an instructional activity about reading closely with an inspiring message about eternal gratitude for all of the elements of creation into a unit on Native American...
Teachers.net
Columbus - Thanksgiving lesson plan
Students learn the history of Thanksgiving and Columbus Day, and they also create a "New World" mural in small groups.
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 6–8
It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life
A lesson looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's daily routines and...
Scholastic
Voyage on the Mayflower
After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is the...
Teacher Created Resources
Thanksgiving Coupon Book
Students create a Thanksgiving coupon book. In this holiday lesson, students review the history of Thanksgiving and create coupon books to give to someone who they are thankful for.
Scholastic
Thanksgiving Lessons Grades PreK-2
A quintessential resource for teaching an elementary unit on the first Thanksgiving addresses a variety of skills, including informational reading, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting facts, technology tools, and historical...
Agriculture in the Classroom
A Rafter of Turkeys
How did that turkey get from the early Aztec culture to your table? Learn about the history of wild and domesticated turkeys in North America, as well as their inclusion in Thanksgiving traditions, with a two-part agricultural science...
Curated OER
Thank You Notes
Students investigate the history of presidential proclamations and develop their own Thanksgiving Proclamations, highlighting current issues and sentiments.
Curated OER
Pilgrims: The First Americans
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time. In this Thanksgiving lesson plan, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write a...
Curated OER
National Turkey Off to Disneyland
Learners share their holiday traditions, then read about an American Thanksgiving custom. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the news article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, the students participate in a...
Mathalicious
New-tritional Info
Burning off a Big Mac® doesn't seem like a big feat until you calculate the minutes of exercise necessary to break even. Young mathematicians look at different menu items in relation to different body weights and exercises to calculate...
Curated OER
Life on Plymouth Plantation
Third graders research life of Plymouth Plantation and write letters about life there home. In this Plymouth life lesson, 3rd graders complete a webquest as they gather information about the journey to America on the Mayflower and the...
Curated OER
Make This Week's Lessons Pop(corn)!
Students create popcorn timelines, maps, and graphs; do popcorn science and math; explore popcorn history and nutrition; and munch leftover popcorn snacks too!,
Curated OER
Lee & Low Books: Giving Thanks Teacher's Guide
Fourth graders participate in reading comprehension activities associated from a teacher's guide. In this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders read Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp and...
Curated OER
Colonial Customs
Students experience Colonial life and explore the customs of the 17th century. In this colonial America lesson plan, students play dress up, barter items, author pledges, and review 17th century etiquette.
Curated OER
A Lucky Break
Explore idioms with a chicken theme! Consider doing these activities prior to Thanksgiving, as there's a section about wishbones! First your youngsters will match a short list of idioms with their meanings. Then, give each learner the...
Curated OER
Family Traditions, Customs and Beliefs
Students discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.