Customizable Thanksgiving Lessons for Your Classroom

Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to strengthen classroom culture by focusing on themes like gratitude, community, and reflection. As we celebrate this holiday, we also honor Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the rich heritage and contributions of Native American communities throughout history. Integrating these themes into your lessons allows students to connect on a deeper level, reflecting on gratitude while appreciating diverse histories.

Building classroom culture with Thanksgiving-themed activities

With Instant Pear Decks, you can create engaging activities where students share what they're thankful for, reflect on their year, or collaborate on projects that highlight both Thanksgiving traditions and Native American perspectives. These activities foster an inclusive and positive classroom environment, giving students meaningful ways to express themselves and build connections with their peers.

Whether you're teaching elementary students about the history of the holiday, guiding middle schoolers through Thanksgiving-themed math problems, or challenging high schoolers with in-depth discussions about gratitude and community, Pear Deck supports your efforts. 

Here are some example Instant Pear Decks prompts to help you incorporate Thanksgiving into your classroom:

• Explore the origins of Thanksgiving: Create a lesson to teach students about the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, ensuring the role of the Wampanoag Tribe is recognized.

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• Create a science experiment lesson: Guide students step-by-step through creating a "Dancing Corn" jar. Explain the materials needed—corn kernels, baking soda, vinegar, water, and a clear jar. Walk students through combining the ingredients and explaining the chemical reaction (baking soda and vinegar producing carbon dioxide gas) that makes the corn "dance."
• Analyze historical texts: Lead a lesson where students analyze the central message and purpose of President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation from October 3, 1863. Encourage students to explore how Lincoln's language and structure reflect the historical context. Discuss the proclamation’s impact on future Thanksgiving celebrations, and have students write a reflection on its lasting significance.
• Use Thanksgiving-themed addition story problems: Create a Thanksgiving-themed addition story problem to assess students' understanding of adding two-digit numbers.
• Guide a turkey craft lesson: Walk students through drawing and decorating a turkey for Thanksgiving. Begin by asking students to practice drawing simple shapes — a large circle for the body, a smaller circle for the head, and basic shapes for the beak, feet, and feathers. Guide students on how to add details, like colorful feathers, eyes, and textures, to make their turkeys unique, then encourage them to draw their own turkeys.

Ready to start? Create your Thanksgiving-themed lessons today! 

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