Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to teach young children about kindness, sharing, and being thankful! With little ones, I keep things simple by focusing on the heart of the story: two groups of people who came together to help each other and celebrate a special meal, The First Thanksgiving. This First Thanksgiving activity is a great activity for little ones to share with their family!
Why This Activity is a Must
This hands-on activity introduces the First Thanksgiving in a way that kindergarteners can understand and enjoy. I make sure this activity hits my lesson plan every year for many reasons!
- helps my learners understand that the First Thanksgiving is a story about friendship, sharing, and being thankful.
- a great way to talk about kindness and thankfulness in a way young kids can understand.
- sharing ideas with friends (like what they’re thankful for) can help with speaking and social skills.
The First Thanksgiving Book
We spend the entire week before Thanksgiving working on our First Thanksgiving book.
We focus the entire week on the book The Story of the Pilgrims. Feel free to read parts of it or read it each day. Your learners will pick up something new every time! We spend the first day discussing the journey on the Mayflower. I use a map and show my students how far they traveled on a boat. It sparks a great discussion!
The second day is all about the Pilgrims. We focus on how they might have felt reaching land and discovering Plymouth Rock.
On the third day, we discuss the Native Americans they discovered. The Wampanoag tribe help the Pilgrims learn to survive on the land.
The fourth day is all about the food! The natives taught the Pilgrims how to plant and their their own food.
And on the last day, it’s the Thanksgiving Celebration. Because the Wampanoag tribe was so helpful, the Pilgrims showed their appreciation with having a Thanksgiving feast!
And we wrap up the week with a fun, memorable book that your students can share over the holiday weekend! You can find this activity, as well as literacy activities and centers in my Thanksgiving Thematic Unit!
