Thanksgiving Unit Study Activities

This collection of Thanksgiving unit study activities will make it easy for you to put together a fun and educational Thanksgiving themed unit study for November! I’ve included all kinds of ideas related to Pilgrims, the first Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving traditions, and more.

If unit studies are new to you, check out my post on How to Create a Unit Study.

I created this Unit Study Planner and Flexible Unit Study Printables for my subscribers. It contains 21 pages of unit study printables and worksheets that can be used with virtually any learning theme.

You can subscribe at the end of this post to receive it for free or you can purchase it in my shop.  All of the single page unit study printables shown on this page (plus many more) are included.

This free unit study planner page is included. It will make it easy for you to organize your Thanksgiving learning plans.

Thanksgiving Unit KWL

A KWL is a great way to start any unit study and document your child’s learning.. KWL stands for Know, Want to know, and Learned.

Your learner lets you know:

• what she already knows about the topic
• what she wants to know
• what she has learned (at the end)

If you would like a colorful KWL, there are three options in my shop. (Click the cover to go there.)

History of the First Thanksgiving Video

This short video points out some important facts often left out or gotten wrong when we discuss the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. Use this video to compare and contrast what is in this video with the stories we typically hear. You can also discuss with your learners how to find the truth about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving and why people might tell different stories.

Peanuts and the Mayflower

The Mayflower Voyagers is currently free to stream with a Prime membership. It offers another perspective of life for the Pilgrims.

Thanksgiving Fun Fact Cards

Thanksgiving Fun Fact Cards is one of the most popular products in my shop. So many fun facts your learners will discover about Thanksgiving! Click the cover to see much more about them.

Thanksgiving Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is a wonderful way to compare. You can use it to compare Thanksgiving topics such as:

• Pilgrims and Indians
• First Thanskgiving and our Thanksgiving celebrations today
• Being a Pilgrim child and being a child today
• Food at the first Thanksgiving and our Thanksgiving food

Thanksgiving Handwriting and Coloring

This fun pack includes Thanksgiving themed handwriting and coloring pages in both print and cursive. It’s available in my shop to download and go.

Thanksgiving Spelling Words

Choose the spelling words most appropriate for your child’s level.

• celebrate
• corn
• cornucopia
• deer
• feast
• hardship
• Indians
• Mayflower
• Native Americans
• ocean
• Pilgrims
• Plymouth
• Squanto
• Thanksgiving
• turkey
• voyage
• winter

Thanksgiving Word Search

You can also use the list of spelling words to create a word search!

Thanksgiving I Have, Who Has Game

Another fun way to review Thanksgiving vocabulary is with this popular Thanksgiving I Have, Who Has game available for instant download in my shop. (Click the cover to see more.)

Thanksgiving Mad Libs

We love using Mad Libs! They combine silly fun with learning about nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and more. This Thanksgiving theme Mad Libs is a great way to reinforce these concepts while having seasonal fun.

Thanksgiving Copywork

It’s easy to continue practicing handwriting during Thanksgiving with copywork. These copywork pages combine the fun of my fun fact cards with handwriting practice. Kids absolutely love them! (You can see all my copywork themes here.)

Thanksgiving Copywork – Print and CursiveBuy NowThanksgiving Copywork – PrintBuy NowThanksgiving Copywork – CursiveBuy Now

Pilgrim Dress Up for Girls and Boys

Learn about life for Pilgrim girls and boys and then use costumes to do role play. If your learners especially enjoy role playing, have them write a brief play about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving to perform for family and friends.

Creative Ideas

For creative learners, here are a couple of ideas.

First, write a letter from a Pilgrim to a friend back in England, telling about the journey, the first year, or the first Thanksgiving.

Second, design a postage stamp to commemorate the first Thanksgiving.

Books about the Pilgrims

There are lots of great books about the Pilgrims, the first Thanksgiving, Squanto, and more. Here are some to add to your family library.

Thanksgiving Biography

Choose a person from the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving to learn more about. Then write a short biography about him or her.

Thanksgiving Writing

November Writing Pages provides 48 Thanksgiving themed pages that will add something special to your unit study writing, notebooking, etc. If your learners love creative writing, check out the November Writing Prompts with dozens of fun topics! Click on the covers to see more.

November and Thanksgiving Writing PagesNovember Writing Prompts – Football, Turkey, and Thanksgiving Themes

Thanksgiving Books

More fun Thanksgiving themed books, including the classic picture book, Cranberry Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving List It

This is a great activity to either use as an ongoing activity or a culminating activity at the end of the study. Your learners can either keep a list and add to it throughout the unit study or compile a list at the end.

Other Thanksgiving Printables

These money saving bundles and other Thanksgiving printables are also available in my shop. (Click any cover.)

November Literacy and Math Pack – 30+ ActivitiesThanksgiving Bundle – Literacy and Math, Fun Fact Cards, Cursive Copywork, and Writing PromptsThanksgiving Bundle – Literacy and Math, Fun Fact Cards, Print Copywork, and Writing PromptsThanksgiving and Novembr eBundleNovember Calendar Activity for Kids