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Interdisciplinary Lesson Plans, Activity Ideas and Other Curriculum Resources

by NEA Staff

Lesson Plans

1. Say "Thank You" in 100 Languages!
   Put the "Thanks" back in Thanksgiving with this geography and language activity that teaches students to say "thank you" in many languages.
    
2. Thanksgiving Placemats
   Work with your local shelter, food kitchen, or nursing home to brighten everybody's Thanksgiving.
    
3. Thanksgiving Feast
   Grades 3-5 and 6-8 read charts and learn where Thanksgiving foods are grown.
    
4. Thanksgiving Science Experiment
   This plant-growing experiment for grades preK-5 shows how Squanto helped the early settlers.
    
5. Popcorn History
   Did the Pilgrims eat popcorn during the first Thanksgiving? Research/create a timeline of the history of popcorn.

Activity Ideas

These teaching ideas were submitted to us by readers of our popular Works4Me e-newsletter.

1. Getting in the Spirit of Thanksgiving
   "I give my students a list of people or objects (President Bush, a professional football player, Regis, Snoopy, Harriet Tubman, a Martian, a pizza pan, etc.) and ask them to write a paragraph, sente..."
    
2. Students Prepare a Thanksgiving Feast for Their Parents
   "When I taught in a self-contained classroom, my students prepared and served a Thanksgiving lunch for their parents. The cafeteria staff cooked the turkeys for us, but the students and I prepared ever..."
    
3. Giving Thanks Essay
   "I ask my students to write an essay about giving thanks. I incorporate the writing process and encourage my students to offer their suggestions at every stage of the essay. We start with pre-writing..."
    
4. Bulletin Board with Thanksgiving Theme
   "I have a very big bulletin board in my classroom and I spent hours in the past trying to make it look interesting and exciting for the kids as well as for open house. My tip is to buy a paper table..."
    
5. Notes of Thanks
   "It's sometimes difficult for high school students to express love and appreciation to the adults in their lives so I developed an assignment to help. Just before Thanksgiving, I instruct my students..."
    
6. Thanksgiving Service Project
   "Before Thanksgiving each year, I let my students know that in our class we remember that however much they don't have, there's always someone who has less. Therefore, they have to come up with some..."
    
7. Thanksgiving Food Drive
   "Each year, around Thanksgiving, I teach a lesson about helping others and how important it is to give to other people in the community who cannot provide for themselves. I ask the families to send..."
    
8. Thank You Acrostics
   "Just prior to Thanksgiving, I do 'Thank You Acrostics' in my classroom. I teach German so we use the word Danke, but any language would work just fine. The kids write the word 'danke' down the left..."

Crafts, Clipart, Games & More

• Thanksgiving Clip Art | Kaboose
• Thanksgiving K-3 Theme Page | EnchantedLearning.com
• Thanksgiving Crafts | Kaboose
• Thanksgiving Games | surfnetkids.com
• Thanksgiving Coloring Pages | Kaboose
• Thanksgiving Day Projects | MakingFriends.com
• Thanksgiving Activities | DLTK's Crafts for Kids