Thanksgiving is coming up quickly! I’m sure you’re already thinking of the many ways to incorporate some fun activities into your lesson plans now. There are so many great activities out there, but some just seem too arts and craftsy, and others are just Thanksgiving fillers.
What about activities that are still challenging yet engaging? That’s the goal! Themed material that can still be used for instructional time. When I was actively in the classroom, this was one of the struggles of looking for great material that was fun and themed for the holidays but still had structure and skill-teaching potential.
I saw a hole that needed to be filled, and I believe I have helped create some incredible activities that fit the needs of the students while meeting standards needs!
Below are 3 of my thanksgiving math resources I’ve got to share with you! They have been a reoccurring resource for teachers everywhere who love the skills presented in this fun way!
Number form turkeys is a fun activity that allows students to make their own number turkeys. This resource includes 6 pages of practice worksheets and all students will need to practice word form, ten frames, expanded form, base ten cubes, tally marks, sum, difference, money, tens, and ones.
Students love this creative, crafty practice lesson and the results make for a great display for bulletin boards and work walls! I have a few tips for using this lesson that show how it can be modified to fit your schedule and classroom needs here!
You can NEVER go wrong with a measuring center. This fun lesson is built to help students learn how to master their estimation and measurement skills. Students will use these Thanksgiving-themed cards to estimate and measure to the nearest inch, half-inch, quarter-inch, centimeter, or nonstandard unit of measurement.
Students can enjoy making their estimates and then use the recording sheet to compare their guesses to the actual measurement. You can even modify this lesson to allow students to compete to see which group gets the most right! A great addition to this game is to be creative with the nonstandard form of measurement you use. Grab some turkey stickers, mini pumpkin erasers, or any themed item to use. It adds a bit of interesting fun to the chart as well. Overall, this center is perfect for small groups, individual work, and large group work!
A must-have is this place value turkeys activity! This Thanksgiving math activity will engage your students in the practice of counting base ten blocks to determine the total number. Students can get crafty and creative while practicing their place value skills with base ten block building.
The best part is this lesson can easily be a scoot game with the task cards! So, if you are looking for an engaging and entertaining activity, this is for you! Students love creating their turkeys, and they make for a super cute bulletin board display! I have a list of tips for this activity here!
These Thanksgiving-themed activities are by far my favorite resources for turkey day! Many teachers love these games and re-use them every year. You can get your own Thanksgiving math activities and more amazing resources at my shop here!
