Do some Thanksgiving writing activities with your first-graders.
First-graders are just learning write words and put together sentences. In fact, because Thanksgiving is near the start of the school year, many of the students in first grade might not yet be able to write independently. Advanced students, on the other hand, may already be able to write complete sentences. For that reason, Thanksgiving writing activities should be guided by the teacher but have enough leeway to challenge more competent students.
Thankful Feathers
Read a picture book that has a theme of thankfulness. Have the children brainstorm things they are thankful for. Write the words on the board as they share. Give each child a piece of construction paper on which a large turkey feather has been drawn. Tell them to write down something they are thankful for on the feather, and then cut out the feather. Students who need help can copy one or more of the words from the board, while advanced students might write a complete sentence on the feather. Create a bulletin board that features a large paper turkey adorned with the feathers.
Acrostic Thanks
Pass out pieces of lined handwriting paper with the word "THANKS" printed down the left-hand side. Have the students write something they are thankful for that starts with each letter. The first line, for example, will have a capital "T" on it, so students should think of a word that starts with the letter "T". Encourage the students to spell the words on their own, or direct them to the word wall, if you have one in your classroom. Students who aren't skilled enough to write words on their own can draw a picture of something that starts with that letter.
Five Senses Thanksgiving
Blend science with language arts and add a dash of Thanksgiving by writing a five-senses poem. Discuss the five senses. Talk about how we experience Thanksgiving with all of those senses. For example, we smell turkey cooking, and we see football on TV. Write the poem on the board together as a class. Each sense should have a line. For example, the first line could be, "We see _______________ on Thanksgiving." Once the poem is finished, pass out paper that has lines on the bottom and is blank on top, and have the students copy and illustrate the poem. Ask advanced students to fill in the blanks with their own word choices rather than just copying the poem that is on the board.
Turkey Tales
Combine a traditional Thanksgiving art activity with writing. Trace each child's open hand on a piece of construction paper, cut it out and decorate it to look like a turkey. Give each child a cut-out of a speech bubble. Ask the children to think about what the turkey would say to avoid being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner, and write that in the speech bubble. Many of the children might need help writing the words, so this is a good activity to do when you have parent volunteers in the classroom. When the turkeys and speech bubbles are completed, hang them on a bulletin board with the title "Save the Turkey!"
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