A guide for using our resources

Children will build vocabulary related to Thanksgiving traditions.

Vocabulary: decorations, feast, invite, leftovers, parade, pie, tradition

Social Studies Focus: holiday traditions

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• When his friends bring over delicious foods, Bear thanks them. But Bear has no food of his own to share. How will the animals solve the problem?

• Reinforce the vocabulary words from the mini book with this noprep game. Simply print out the dice game sheet and give it to small groups, along with a number cube.
• Let children take turns rolling the cube and following the directions. It’s a great way to make the new vocabulary stick!

• Write Our Favorite Thanksgiving Foods on the board or chart paper. Create several columns and head them with diff erent foods, such as turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and pumpkin pie. You can include simple pictures of each food.
• One at a time, ask children to come up to the graph and place a small sticky note beneath their favorite. When the graph is complete, discuss the results. What food is most popular? Least?
• If children eat different foods at home, invite them to describe those foods to the class.

Skill: social and emotional learning

Materials: Leaf Template sheet, scissors, watercolor paints, paintbrushes, markers, glue, string

• Decorate your classroom while helping children refl ect on what they’re thankful for. In advance, make enough copies of the leaf template so each child will get a leaf. Cut out the leaves.
• Give each child a leaf to paint with watercolors. When the leaves have dried, ask each child to name something they are thankful for and write it on their leaf.
• Then use the leaves to make a garland. Fold each stem in half to make a loop and glue or staple it in place. Then have children slide their leaves onto the string. Hang the garland in the classroom for a colorful—and meaningful— decoration.