With the holidays approaching, it is important to not only focus on educational standards, but create a sense of community in the classroom. Our students need a break and some fun, interactive activities, especially this year.
Even though this school year looks different than expected, and is changing every week, who are we kidding…. Day by day! The fun must go on! Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving activities.
DIGITAL BINGO
Use Google Meet or Zoom to bring your students together. I use digital bingo so I can connect my virtual learners with my in person learners, plus it avoids passing out individual materials to each group. Everyone can hop on a device and access the bingo boards. Screen share your window to display the digital spinner for all to see. Students can drag and move the bingo chips onto their board! My students have been so excited playing this digital bingo game.
FALL BUILDING CHALLENGES
If you’re able provide your students with individual building boxes, you can use building cards, like these, to inspire creativity. I purchased bins for only $1 at The Dollar Tree and packed them with any Lego I had. It was enough to provide individual building boxes.
If your students are virtual, or you do not have enough materials, try virtual building! My students love building and creating, even over a device! I have been so impressed with what they can create over the computer. I created this activity so students can move around the block pieces.
DISGUISE A TURKEY
Tie in a read aloud, like Turkey Trouble, and encourage students to think outside the box to disguise their turkey. Use the printable sheets or digital version. In addition, students can write a creative story about their turkey and what happened. Grab this free activity here.
APPLE STACK
Apples on Top! This is a favorite read aloud for fall. Students can use any materials available to build a tall tower to stack apples on in this November STEM challenge. See how many apples they can balance on the top of the tower. Students can even use the digital sheets to respond and build with.
TURKEY ZIPLINE
HELP! The turkey needs to escape. This Thanksgiving STEM challenge will get students designing a basket and zipline to help the turkey escape. Students can build with anything!!! Use construction paper, index cards, popsicle sticks, anything you have available. Tie string from one area to the next to create a zip line. Your students can time how long it takes the turkey to get down the zip line. This is a favorite Thanksgiving STEM activity for many students.
GRATITUDE SHARE
Promote kindness, community and gratitude this holiday season. Allow students to share what they're thankful for. Gather all of your students on a video call and let them take turns sharing their stories and favorite holiday traditions.
When you’re doing any of these activities, throw on some fun, calming music to lift your students spirits. You can even share sound over video calls by sharing the specific tab the music is coming from.
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Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving season! Thank you for all of your support, if it wasn’t for you, I would not be able to share my resources across social media. I am grateful for you!
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