Give Thanksgiving Art Lessons a Festive Focus

 

Thanksgiving art activities often focus on plump pumpkins and colorful turkeys. This season art specialists also can consider projects with a little more “meat”, integrating poetry, cooperative learning, cultural explorations, and art resources into holiday-themed lessons.

Because Thanksgiving is more than just a meal, a focus on what students are thankful for provides an easy bridge to discover new subject matter for drawings, dioramas, and construction projects. Finding ways to share artwork with the school community, local senior centers, public libraries, and other public agencies provides an opportunity for children to feel the joy of generosity which others will appreciate and be thankful for in turn.

But Thanksgiving provides more than just an opportunity to create art for display. Constructing large artworks in groups contributes to a sense of belonging, an important part of the history of Thanksgiving. Reflecting on historic harvests and comparing them with modern-day harvesting and harvest celebrations can give children a sense of their place in time and an appreciation for the foods they find on their tables every mealtime.

The lesson plans below provide a variety of opportunities to take a fresh look at the Thanksgiving holiday:

Thanksgiving Art Lessons:

 Make an “I’m Thankful For…” Placemat

I like this activity because of its focus on gratitude for things found in nature. This lesson for grades first through sixth integrates poetry and provides a good structure for creating a landscape scene on a placemat using colored construction paper. Some steps are missing (ex. specifics on how to arrange the long pieces of construction paper to create the landscape). The only suggestion I would offer is to let the children use scissors to cut the paper pieces into shapes of their own design and lay them out on their own so that every placemat is unique. A trip outside to see a local landscape would be a great pre-activity as would exposure to a landscape scene such as William Sonntag’s Landscape (1854).

Thanksgiving Cornucopia

This lesson provides a challenge for first graders: cut fruit and vegetable shapes from photographs matching the actual colors of the fruit and vegetables. The classroom teachers can coordinate the pre-assessment activities. The art specialist can follow-up by leading the art activity. I would also display an actual cornucopia for children to look at and touch before inviting students to draw and cut out their own cornucopia shapes.

Fall Pumpkins

I can imagine this construction project being completed in teams with third grade and up. These large pumpkins would make great decorations for fall concerts at your school, and could be donated to senior citizen centers for Thanksgiving dinners, or set up in your school’s common area to set a festive tone.

Harvest Food Garland

This lesson for all grade levels presents students with the opportunity to investigate a variety of harvest celebrations before creating a simple garland of fruits, vegetables, and wildflowers drawn with colored pencils. I would add to this lesson by giving students some tips on how to use colored pencils, such as how to layer colors to make fruit look more life-like. Having a variety of different fruits, vegetables, and wildflowers on hand for students to examine would make this lesson even more hands-on.

Mealtime Traditions

This multi-day lesson for third grade  and up offers an opportunity for collaboration between art specialist and classroom teacher. The pre-assessment discussion and sketch can be led by the art specialist. Days one and two can be completed in the regular classroom. The art specialist can lead activities outlined for days three and four. Excellent assessment tools are offered with this lesson, including a teacher assessment, self-assessment, and peer-assessment tool. This lesson also includes extensions, home connections, a picture book list and resource list of art prints.