Thanksgiving Storybook STEM

Basing STEM off of favorite read-alouds is my new obsession; it is the perfect way to integrate reading with science, technology, engineering, and math. In my post about Halloween Storybook STEM, I took four of my favorite Halloween read-alouds and created STEM challenges to go with them. Now I've done the same thing with Thanksgiving stories.

 

Finding quality Thanksgiving stories is not the easiest task; for some reason, there are tons of picture books about Halloween, and billions (more or less) about Christmas, but Thanksgiving? It tends to get skipped over. 

Thanksgiving itself brings up the issue of the importance of being culturally and historically sensitive, so I do not want any books focusing on "the first Thanksgiving" or relations between pilgrims and indigenous peoples. Most of these are not historically accurate, or they make light of the tragedies endured by indigenous peoples. This criteria in itself eliminates the majority of Thanksgiving books written for children.

Adding to the problem is the fact that I am a self-professed children's book snob; I don't love character books to read aloud to my kids. I'm not going to read "[Inset favorite book character here]'s Thanksgiving" as a read aloud; those types of books, in my opinion, are the equivalent of movie sequels: the quality is lacking and they are usually just a money-grab.

In spite of this strict criteria, I have managed to find some true gems of books. 

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is decently well-known. It focuses on the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is one of our country's most beloved Thanksgiving traditions. After reading the book, students create their own parade float or balloon based on a character from a book or movie, or on an animal. For extra fun, you can put on your own parade for parents or other classes before having your class Thanksgiving meal. (This year, thanks to Covid, you could create a virtual parade, with pictures of each child's creation put into a slideshow or video).

Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf is such a sweet story. I love that this story focuses on a community that gathers each year to create their own unique tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving in the woods. Having students work together to build forts is a perfect follow-up to this story. To make it even more fitting, you could have them create forts using only items they find in nature--or, better yet, if you live in an area where it is not too cold, have them build forts outside!

Not This Turkey! by Jessica Steinberg is a book that I am surprised is not more popular. I had to do some digging to find this one, and I wasn't even able to find a complete read-aloud on YouTube. I went ahead and ordered it and was completely delighted--and so were my students! The story is told from the perspective of an immigrant family who is celebrating their first Thanksgiving in America. It is funny, involving a turkey chase down the street, and heartwarming, as the family figures out how to celebrate this American holiday while keeping their own traditions and culture alive. I highly recommend it! 

The STEM activity that accompanies this story challenges students to come up with a way to transport a turkey--just right for integrating pulleys, wheels and axles, etc.

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin is an older book, first published in the early 1970s, but it is delightful and timeless. I can't believe I never got to experience this book as a child! The values imparted in this story include giving to those in need and not judging people by their appearance. The story also involves a family recipe hidden away behind a brick in the fireplace, which leads into the STEM project of creating a secret compartment. What kid doesn't love the idea of a hidden compartment?

I hope your students love these Thanksgiving books, and that the accompanying STEM activities help the stories come alive for them.

You can find Thanksgiving Storybook STEM here in my store or here in my TPT shop.

Keep teaching with heart and passion!

Escape Rooms for Early Childhood

Escape rooms and breakout activities are all the rage right now! And for good reason; they encourage movement, collaboration, and problem solving. These activities tend to be geared toward older kids, but what if I told you they are awesome to use with younger students, as well?

I've taken the concept of an escape room and simplified it to make it appropriate for Pre-K and kindergarten students. Each game has options for playing as a whole group, small group, or even individually. Depending on the activity, I also offer options for differentiating as needed. I made them flexible enough that you can play them in one session, or over several days, depending on the amount of time you have and on the attention span of your students.

Each game has a story line to follow, so kids can really engage with the activity and activate their imaginations. I chose a specific skill to target with each game, making this is a great way to give kids a chance to practice and demonstrate understanding of a certain skill.

Escape the Apple Cider Stand focuses on matching numbers to quantities. There are four activities: matching cards with pictures of apples to apple crates with numbers, writing numbers of objects in a ten frame (options for writing and tracing included, depending on the level of your learners), filling ten frames to match numbers, and a "write the room" activity to match the number of objects in each picture to the correct numeral. Find it here in my shop or here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Escape the Pumpkin Patch focuses on rhyming. There are four activities or puzzles for students to solve: matching rhyming pictures, generating rhymes, finding objects that rhyme, and a rhyming "write the room" activity. (Find it here in my shop or here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.)

Escape Room: Thanksgiving! works on sequencing. The story is about preparations for Thanksgiving dinner, and the activities focus on ordinal numbers and putting steps in order, which is great for building listening comprehension skills. The activities are cut and paste sequencing, putting step cards in order, pocket chart sequencing activity, and a "write the room" activity. (Grab it here in my shop or here in my TPT store.)

Escape the North Pole may be my favorite one yet! What 4- or 5-year-old kid wouldn't love to be part of a story about helping Santa get ready for Christmas? This escape room focuses on shapes. The four activities are identifying and coloring by shape, drawing shapes (includes an option for tracing for kiddos who need it), matching shapes, and a shape "write the room" activity focusing on shape attributes (with an option for differentiation included). Get it here in my shop or here in my TPT store.

These activities are so much fun, and I really tried to make them as simple as possible for you, with no special locks or boxes required. All you provide are some manila envelopes to hide the clues and puzzles in. And of course, each one includes clear setup instructions.

More great escape rooms are in the works! Check out my growing bundle to get the 4 listed here, plus 8 future breakout activities, for one low price! The price will go up each month as a new escape room is added, so buy early to save the most money!

I hope you enjoy trying out these activities with your students; I would love to hear how it goes in your classroom!

Fun Thanksgiving Activities!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is just two weeks away?! Where is this school year going?

I just wanted to quickly share with you a couple of fun Thanksgiving resources. They are both no-prep, which makes them perfect for using as a culminating activity after a class Thanksgiving party.

The first one is a Thanksgiving Colors Emergent Reader, from my new line of seasonal color books. Students will color in a seasonal item for each of 11 basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, gray, and white. They will also trace the color word, giving them practice spelling. Click here to get this resource!

The second resource is a Thanksgiving word match book with the same sight words and sentence pattern on each page, to assist in learning to read. Students build fine motor skills as they cut out pictures to match to the words. Get this resource here!

I hope you and your students enjoy these activities! Have a blessed Thanksgiving!