Lessons Full Of Thanks
The end of November is Thanksgiving in the USA. This holiday provides a great opportunity to give thanks and for social-emotional learning.
Dear Members,
Thanksgiving Day is around the corner! As a teacher, I’ve always loved Thanksgiving and using the holiday in my lessons. It’s a great opportunity for social-emotional learning (SEL) and for students to bond, and for class atmosphere to grow.
So in that vein, I’d like to share with you some of the lesson ideas I’ve used in the past for this holiday. Inspiration for your own lessons. Also, see this list we came up with - 50 Practical Ideas For Thanksgiving. Which would your students like to do?
Gratitude. See our previous full post about this. Thanksgiving is great for just getting students going around to classmates and thanking them. The teacher can model by thanking each student (I usually prepare a note for each student and then say Thank You in class). Use these cards. Or get students listing the things in their own lives they are thankful for! See my own poem I wrote and you might use it in class as a “thank you” song. Also, see this similar video.
What is Thanksgiving? It’s a great question and students will be curious about its history. Also, look at this video lesson with free lesson materials from the Smithsonian - The Invention of Thanksgiving.
Food. Especially turkey! Maybe have a lesson about how to cook a turkey? Or learn about all the food common at the Thanksgiving Day dinner. Maybe plan a menu?
Games. Vocabulary. Traditions. We have lots of fun activities in this regard. See this bundle. Or This One. See this presentation about all the traditions related to Thanksgiving.
Shopping. Thanksgiving is typically a time for sales - Black Friday. Online shopping - Cyber Monday. All great topics for class. Maybe even have a discussion about consumerism and investigate Buy Nothing Day.
Happy teaching about Thanksgiving. Wishing you a lot of success with these lessons!
