Wow! Where did October go? Now that Back to School and Halloween excitement is over, the kids are excited about the holidays! Some are already thinking of Christmas! But, wait, lets not forget Thanksgiving!   I find that this time of year can bring a special challenge … keeping the students engaged. They just might be distracted by the upcoming Holidays! So, I like to do everything I can to incorporate the Holidays into my lessons and activities as a way to keep them engaged at school.

Here are 5 Amazing Activities for Your Class!

①Use pattern blocks to create turkeys! One teacher used the activity to reinforce shape identification.  Older students could also sum up their turkey’s blocks with fractions. You could also have students create symmetrical turkeys. I think there are many more ways to use this activity for math.

②Plan a feast! When I taught 5^th grade I would bring in grocery store ads and ask my students to do so as well. Then I would set them up in groups and have them plan a Thanksgiving feast. I would give them a number of people attending and a budget and then have them plan the meal and use the ads to make shopping lists and find the total cost and cost per person. To wrap it up they would present and compare/contrast the feasts.

③ Make a Math Turkey. Give your students a number and have them represent it different ways on each feather!

④ Make Thankful Books! This is part craft project, part writing project and can be adapted for different grade levels.

⑤ Have a Thanksgiving Math Scavenger Hunt!

For more Fall Fun, check out my Pinterest Board: