Thanksgiving Lesson Roundup
Turkeys, Corn, History, Math and More!
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621. For the next two centuries, it was a sporadic holiday. Congress made it an official holiday in 1941, and modern-day Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday in November. Use this holiday to teach gratitude, thankfulness, American history, and the significant role that agriculture played in this early American feast and in the Thanksgiving meal this year and food every day!
Video: What’s New for 2023?
Learning Options:
WORKSHEET: Where Does Thanksgiving Dinner Grow in Kentucky? Students will find the counties that grow the ingredients of a Thanksgiving Dinner! Grades 3+ or work together. Also, check out the entire full student handout and presentations that goes along with our Feeding Kentucky program.
The First Thanksgiving Meal - From The History Channel: Have you thought about the what the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians ate for the autumn harvest celebration, an event regarded as America’s “first Thanksgiving?”
The First Thanksgiving Virtual Field Trips - from Scholastic
Learn All About Turkeys - The Turkey Federation has put a nice page together for anyone wanting to know more about how turkeys are raised and processed. It includes a video featuring animal handling expert Dr. Temple Grandin, who walks the viewer through the commercial farm and processing process. You may want to view the video ahead of time and determine if the processing portion is appropriate for your students. It begins at about the 5-minute mark.
WORKSHEET: Turkey Math - This color by number is available in several formats depending on your student’s level: count, add/subtract 0-2, or multiply to color the Thanksgiving turkey.
Animal Life Cycles (Grades K - 2) - This lesson introduces students to six major livestock species, teaches that animals need air, space, food, water, and shelter to survive, and introduces students to the life cycle of a farm animal. From National Ag in the Classroom. You could use this with the KyAEC Animal Care Trivia Lesson.
A Rafter of Turkeys (Grades 3-5) - Students will learn about the domestication and life cycle of the turkey, recognize how turkeys are raised on farms, and identify turkey products. From National Ag in the Classroom.
Growing Native American Heritage: Three Sisters (Grades 3-5) - This activity explores the foods, the customs, and the stories that evolved from the planting of corn, beans, and squash—the Three Sisters—which is a tradition of several Native American tribes from the northeastern region of North America. The lesson also uses myths/legends and traditional stories to teach about American Indians beliefs and cultures. From Food Corps.
The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner (Grades 6-8) - In this lesson students will identify common Thanksgiving foods and their farm source, determine if those foods can be produced locally, and locate the common origins of their Thanksgiving day dinner. From National Ag in the Classroom.
The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner (Grades 9-12) - In this lesson students will identify common Thanksgiving foods and their farm source, determine if those foods can be produced locally, and locate the common origins of their Thanksgiving day dinner. From National Ag in the Classroom.
Google Classroom Thanksgiving Interactive Notebook - based on lessons from the National Agriculture in the Classroom. Be sure to save a copy to your Google Drive or Classroom.
Corn Through American History (Grades 4-5) - This Google Slide presentation shares how corn was a vital part of the culture and survival to the Native Americans and first settlers. Students can piece together a corn in history timeline. Be sure to save a copy to your Google Classroom so you can share it with your students.
Visit Kentucky Poultry Farms - Virtual Field Trips - There are two versions of this Kentucky Farms Feed Me Virtual Field Trip. The older video visits a farm that produces turkeys for local customers. You can view the field trips and the corresponding lessons. From Kentucky Agriculture in the Classroom.