Pinterest Board: Thanksgiving Ideas

      Pinterest has become one of my favorite resources for finding new and creative, classroom ideas.  There seems to be an endless array of activities available through Pinterest.  For the Thanksgiving season I created my own Thanksgiving board which include several activities that I used with my students.  In creating my board, I tried to include activities that were cross-curriculum to ensure a consistent flow of educational fun.  As anticipated, each activity provided learning experiences that were hands-on and memorable.  I am sure that I will continue to develop my Thanksgiving board by adding more ideas.  Click here or the picture to check out my Thanksgiving board.  I hope that you will find the ideas as helpful and fun as I did.

Pinterest Board: Thanksgiving Day Persuasive Writing

     My students have become big fans of the author Mo Willems' exuberant character, Pigeon. They enjoy reading Willems' series of stories that center around Pigeon and his persistence in convincing the reader to let him drive the bus or have a puppy. So, for Thanksgiving I read "Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog".  In this story Pigeon finds a hot dog and he can't wait to devour it but he becomes pestered by a little duck who, in turn, wants a little of the hot dog himself. It is so adorable the way Pigeon tries to resist sharing the hot dog only to give in in the end.

      I used this story as a spring board for a persuasive writing in which Tom Turkey disguises himself as Pigeon and tries to convince others to eat hot dogs instead of turkey for Thanksgiving.  The students thought of several reasons why a hot dog would be a better choice for Thanksgiving dinner.  Then they made a replica of Pigeon but dressed it with sunglasses and a few turkey feathers.  They enjoyed making the character and they were proud to add their persuasive paragraphs.  This activity was an excellent way to motivate the students to write!  This idea can be found on my Thanksgiving Pinterest board.

Google Doc: Thanksgiving Survey

Below is a student survey about Thanksgiving.  Please share with me what you know about Thanksgiving and some of your favorite things about Thanksgiving.  I look forward to learning about you.