Classroom activities for Thanksgiving day 

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to engage students in activities that promote gratitude, reflection, and creativity. Wondering how to prepare classroom activities for Thanksgiving day? Let’s focus on five activities that you can organize in your classroom during this special time of the year.

Classroom activities for Thanksgiving day? Record a Thanksgiving podcast 

The Thanksgiving season is a great time to foster creativity and collaboration in our classroom. This year, invite your students to embark on a unique project that goes beyond the traditional classroom setting. In the spirit of gratitude and reflection, have your students organize themselves into groups and record their very own Thanksgiving podcast. 

This activity not only taps into their technological skills, but also encourages them to think critically, communicate effectively, and work as a team.

Record an Instagram Reel or quick short explaining the history of Thanksgiving Day

The students of today have been surrounded by technology since the very beginning of their existence, and it’s not hard to see how big an impact social media has had on them. How about using this to your (and their) advantage by assigning them a small challenge? Ask your students to… use technology the way they usually do – but this time, to produce a short piece of video content to supplement a history lesson about Thanksgiving day.

By tapping into the power of short-form educational videos, we not only enhance students’ technological proficiency, but also provide them with a dynamic and efficient method of absorbing and retaining information. 

Create an interactive Thanksgiving card 

Creating digital materials and presentations has never been easier. While celebrating this special time of the year, find some time to create interactive Thanksgiving cards with a list of things to be thankful for together with your students. You can also ask them to send their creations over to their friends or loved ones.

Explain Everything Whiteboard allows you to create interactive presentations in minutes. You can easily draw, annotate, record a voiceover and use a wide array of media for a more eye-catching effect. 

Create a free account

What type of media can I use, you ask?

• your own photos, or any of the millions of images available on Unsplash 
• crazy gifs from Giphy!
• 3D models from Sketchfab (currently works only on iOS devices) 
• a wide range of ready-made cliparts
• audio files, including your own voiceover, either pre-recorded or added then and there! 

Do a gratitude journal practice for one week

Writing down one’s thoughts and feelings has been shown to have a positive impact on dealing with stress and anxiety. This powerful writing activity can also improve mental health, increase focus, and cultivate positive habits. All you have to do is introduce the idea to your students, and you may be surprised to see how fast they get into it!

The week before or after Thanksgiving, you could start each lesson with a quick 10-minute warm-up and a moment dedicated to calming down and reflecting. After this week, you can discuss what benefits students may have observed and whether you want to continue this activity.

Thanksgiving Collaborative Art

How about hosting a collaborative art party during the Thanksgiving season? It’s the perfect moment to enhance teamwork, unleash creativity and through that just BE in the present moment. Have students work together to create a collaborative piece of art that represents what Thanksgiving means to them. This could be a mural, collage, or anything that is better done in a group. 

Create a list of the things you want them to cover in their piece, such as: symbols, colors, history, popular idioms and sayings, traditional foods, or family traditions. 

You can do this either in the classroom using a pen and paper, or simply by hosting a collaborative session and creating a project through an interactive whiteboard. Thanks to the infinite canvas, the space your students have for creating their art is as limitless as their imaginations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

via GIPHY