Giving Thanks: Educational Projects for November's Lessons

7 projects that will promote the idea of thankfulness in creative ways 

Thanksgiving is a time that people come together. It doesn’t matter what our backgrounds, culture, or beliefs are, we can all agree on the idea of being thankful for our needs being provided for and for our loved ones who support us throughout all of life's ups and downs. Learning about thankfulness and discovering ways to promote this value is something that many educators devote time to. These projects can be utilized in a number of ways to help you teach this concept to your students. 

1. Thankfulness Bulletin Board 

This is a great way to start your learning and focus around giving thanks. To prepare all of the parts for this board you will need to use your  MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out your Squirrel and Acorn Die Cut pieces. You will also need to create the words “What are you thankful for?” To do this use any alphabet set you have, the one pictured is the  Black Tie Alphabet - 2 1/2" set. You can also add a fun border by using the Border-Seagull Die Cut. Once you have squirrels and acorns cut out for your scholars you can have them write down things they are thankful for on an acorn. They can then write their name on the squirrel. This is something fun that you can send home to have family members work on writing with their student. When they bring them back to school you can add them to your board. 

2. We are Thankful Bulletin Board

Another fun bulletin board idea is to have students complete a writing assignment based on the idea of what they are thankful for. This is more conducive for students in upper elementary school. This can also tie into the story of thanksgiving that you may be working on during instruction time. Start by cutting out different characters and ships from the Thanksgiving Set using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine. Then you will need to cut out the Leaves-Border Set to add to the sides of your bulletin board. You will also need to use an alphabet set to cut out your words, the one used in this image is the Block Alphabet - 4" Set. Have students complete their writing responses about why they are thankful and have them connect it to the original thanksgiving story. Then allow your scholars to color a Thanksgiving Set person or thing to add to their paper and then hang them up on your bulletin board to showcase your students thinking for others to see. 

3. Thanksgiving Cards

Teaching about thankfulness is a great first step to having students think about who and what they are grateful for. A way to extend this thinking is to have them take time to actually express their thankfulness to those they are thankful for. To create these cards use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out the large version of the Turkey #2 Die Cut for each card. You can make these to be a pop-up version or you can simply glue the turkey to the card on the inside. To create the pop up version you will need to cut one pop-up page out of construction paper and fold a 9" x 12" piece of construction paper in half. Then you will add your turkey that you cut from white construction paper and have a child color/decorate. Next, adhere a wiggle eye onto the turkey. Lastly, fold out the pop-up section from the card and adhere the turkey to the front. Students can decorate the front and inside of card with sentiments.

4. Turkey Talking Piece

This is a fun way to take your learning and create a space for scholars to dig deep into their understanding of thankfulness. You can make these for each student to take home and use around their own table after you model using a talking piece in your classroom. Create these stuffed turkeys by using the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut two of the Turkey #3 Die Cut pieces from craft paper. Then have your students decorate the front of one turkey with crayons. Next, punch holes around both turkeys about 3/4" apart and 1/4" from the outside edge. Then have the scholars lace turkeys together with yarn, yet allow space for stuffing with fiber fill. Finish up by lacing turkeys together and tie off with a knot. The way to use this talking piece is to sit in a circle or at a table and ask/pose a question that is centered around thankfulness. Then pass the talking piece around the circle. Only the person with the talking piece is allowed to talk while others listen respectfully. This will promote deep discussion, honest communication and will also help build relationships with your classroom. When students take these home they can lead a similar conversation with their family that their family will love to participate in. 

5. Turkey Placemat

This is a great activity for those young scholars who are working on mastering name writing. This will also promote building fine motor skills for these young learners. Use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and the Turkey-Woven Die Cuts, the Weaving Strips Die Cuts, and the small version of the Leaf-Oak #2 Die Cuts. Start by using a 12 X 18 piece of construction paper for the placemat. Cut out the turkeys and the weaving strips. Then have your learners create their own  weaving turkey. Center and glue it on the construction paper. The last step is to have your scholars decorate the edges with mini leafs of their choice and then have them write their name using their best handwriting. Send these home as a keepsake for their families. 

6. Turkey Word Families

This is another great project for our primary scholars. Combining learning with fun celebrations such as thanksgiving. For this activity you will use the  MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out the elements of the Turkey #4 Die Cut. You will need turkeys for any fact family that you are wanting to practice with your students. Begin by cutting the turkey body out of brown construction paper. Then use orange to cut out the beak and the feet. Next, use red construction paper to cut out the turkey's snood. After that use white to cut out two eyes. Finally use fall colors or any color to cut out the feathers. Once everything is cut then you will need to glue the turkey together. You will then need to write a word family on the turkey's stomach and you can have the students write words that belong to that word family on the feathers. 

7. Thanksgiving Recipe Book

Our last project is one that you can work on at school and then send home to have families continue to fill up the rest of the pages with their own recipes. To prepare for this activity grab your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and also the Turkey #2 Die Cut to create these recipe books. You will want to make a booklet for each of your scholars out of colorful construction paper. You will also need to cut our writing paper using the Turkey Die Cut so that you can add paper to the booklet. Bind the construction paper to the top, the cover and back end of the book with several pages in the middle. Spend some class time to come up with a fun recipe that you can create together in class. Have scholars practice their writing skills. Once you create and write a recipe or two, send these home for families to create more memories together.  

These activities are ways to get students excited about learning while also enriching their creativity and curiosity. Your scholars will be delighted to try these projects and their families will be ecstatic to have these keepsakes come home as a way to remember their growth and learning as young scholars. 

Written by Amy Pinegar.