Have your students carefully trace and cut out the printable leaf patterns onto colored sheets of construction paper. Encourage students to write something for which they are thankful on the leaves. Attach the finished leaves to a bulletin board atop a butcher paper tree trunk to make a colorful, seasonal display.

Invite students to search through a collection of gently used magazines and cut out words or pictures of items that represent things for which they are thankful. Have them create a class collage by pasting the pictures onto a large sheet of butcher paper that is mounted to a wall or bulletin board with the title “We Give Thanks For…!”

Students will love cracking the riddle behind this mystery word game!

The Set-Up: Announce to students that you are having a Festive Feast for Thanksgiving and they are all invited! Then, explain that there is only one rule: Each student must bring something to the party, but it must be something that is appropriate for the Festive Feast. Then, give examples such as, “Tara is bringing turkey, Susie is bringing salad, and Ben is bringing balloons. What will you bring?” (Note: The “rule” is that students must bring something that starts with the same letters as their first names. But do not reveal this rule to your students. Instead, challenge them to figure out why Tara can bring a turkey, but Ben cannot.)

Playing the Game: Ask students to stand up at their desks. Then ask for a volunteer to start. One at a time, you will ask students to say their names and what they would like to bring. Then you will tell them if they are allowed to come to the Feast. (For example, if Jesse says, “I am Jesse and I would like to bring jelly!” then smile and say, “Come on in!” But if Jesse says, “I am Jessie and I would like to bring rolls,” then respond with “I’d love to have you at the Festive Feast, but I’m afraid that you cannot bring rolls.” You may even want to add as an extra hint: “Robert may bring rolls, but Jesse, you cannot. I’m sorry.”) At first, students may be stumped, but soon, they will begin to catch on—and they will love the challenge of unlocking the mystery!

Once a student has been admitted to the Festive Feast, have her sit down at her desk. (As students figure out the game, they may be tempted to reveal the secret to others, so you may want to remind them not to spoil the mystery and allow others to try to figure out the rule on their own!) Throughout the game, be sure to emphasize the beginning letters of the names with the items so that students begin to catch on more quickly.

This silly relay game will have your class laughing and cheering each other on as they polish their cooperation skills at the same time! Decorate some eggs to look like turkeys to add a festive twist to the old-fashioned egg and spoon relay race. Simply glue some feathers and a pair of wiggly eyes on a few raw eggs to make them look like turkeys. Then, divide the class into groups of four or five students. Give each group a “turkey” and a spoon. Set up a start/finish line and a chair (about 20 feet away from the starting line) for each team around which they will walk. (Be sure the distance from the start/finish to the chair is the same for each team.) One student from each team will balance his “turkey” on the bowl of the spoon while walking—as fast as he can—from the starting line to his team’s chair and back again. When he reaches the finish line, he hands the spoon off to the next teammate for her turn. The first team to complete the relay without dropping the “turkey” wins the game!