Updated: 11/07/2024
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we have the perfect activity that teachers can do with their students to reinforce literacy and help young learners better understand the concept of gratitude.
What You'll Need:
Bulletin Board or Other Display Space
Camera or Parent Cooperation to Obtain Photos
What to Do:
Assign a letter of the alphabet to each student. Invite students to use a camera to photograph an object or person (whose name begins with their assigned letter) they are thankful for. Have students print those photos out. Make sure parents know that students will be using photos in a project involving glue so that parents do not send students with photos they don't wish to be altered.
Have each student glue their photo to a frame - the Core Decor Loop-de-Loop on Wood Designer Cut-Outs and the Chalk It Up Designer Cut-Outs are both great options. Then have them add their corresponding bulletin board letter on top. In the photo above, we use our Black Letter Board 5" Uppercase Designer Letters. Here at creativeteaching.com, we have a number of fonts and sizes for punch-out letters to choose from, so you can pick an option that works best for your students' photos and your chosen display color scheme.
Arrange the letter frames in alphabetical order to the bulletin board. Add the heading "This Thanksgiving We Won't Forget Something for Each Letter of the Alphabet!"
Other Ways to Expand on This Activity:
To take this Thanksgiving activity to the next level, integrate literacy and art by having students write what their chosen items are and why they are thankful for them on cut-outs in coordinating colors and themes, like our Multi-Cultural Hands 6" Designer Cut-Outs above. This reflection can support language development and make the activity even more meaningful. Our nameplates are a great way to add to this activity as well by allowing students to write out a full sentence while keeping the design cohesive and offering students a structured space for their writing practice.
You can eve set up a mindfulness corner that includes your gratitude display and inspirational posters, like our Inspire U series and our Stand Together 4-Poster Pack, where students can reflect quietly on their gratitude.
For added creativity, create a Thanksgiving-themed “Gratitude Tree” using colorful fall cut-outs as leaves like the ones found in our Seasonal Accents 10" Designer Cut-Outs or our Doodle Pumpkin 6" Designer Cut-Outs, or even our Multi-Cultural Hands 6" Designer Cut-Outs. Each student can add their letter and photo to the tree, or simply write out in one word what they are thankful for, visually showcasing the class's collective thankfulness.
Extend the activity to other subject areas by incorporating math: students can count or categorize their items using our Doodle Pumpkins Calendar Days as a visual aid. They can also create simple bar graphs of shared items like “family” or “food” using our Charts With a Purpose 5-Chart Convenience Pack.
Where to Find More Activities Like This:
This activity is a teacher favorite from our Giant Book of Bulletin Boards eBook.
You can also add some other fun décor to your bulletin board like our Year-Round Seasonal Accents Bulletin Board
Or our 3D Pop Year-Round Seasonal Accents Bulletin Board
And you can read Celebrating Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks to your students from our holiday book pack!
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Enjoy This Free Download:
Be sure to download our Turkey Feathers Thankful Activity Freebie that you can also do with students for Thanksgiving time!
