Thanksgiving can be a short, yet chaotic month! The days are FULL of things to do, but you may be working against ansty kiddos ready for tons of food and a break from schoolwork! So how do we keep students engaged, learning, and practicing skills during this time in the classroom? We use a magic tool… that is a pencil! Check out just a few of my favorite EASY and creative writing prompts that students will absolutely LOVE! These ideas are great to bust out when you need a relaxing, yet fun and educational way to keep the peace before the holiday. Let’s get into them!
Card Constuctor
Who doesn’t love the feeling of opening up and reading a good card?! My heart melts just thinking about receiving one. What’s even MORE exciting is the surprise of a POP UP card!
Students love the element of something jumping out at them and think it’s super cool that they can make it themselves! This adorable card is an easy to assemble craft that prompts students to share the things they are grateful for. It’s the perfect activity to keep kids engaged and it doubles as a sweet gift they can give to their families. Check it out HERE!
Good and Grateful
Speaking of sharing things we’re grateful for, did you know there are numerous benefits to expressing our gratitude? To name a few, it can lower stress, help you feel happier, and make you feel more connected to your environment!
This lap book is designed to help students express their gratitude so they too can enjoy all of those benefits. It’s a beautiful creation using a file folder, filled with mini pieces displaying what students are grateful for, traditions they’re thankful that their families share, and expressing gratitude for talents they possess. Students will use all kinds of skills to make this personal craft that you can check out HERE!
Get Turkey With it
While much of our November’s writing theme is about being grateful, there are also some silly prompts that engage students. Not only are they SO fun, it allows them to really express their creativity, while practicing crucial writing process skills. Students will love getting silly and writing about how to help a turkey escape Thanksgiving dinner or creating a how to catch a turkey flipbook!
Since we’re on the topic of silly prompts, have you ever created a turkey disguise? We did it last year and I’ll tell you it is a MUST! You can print disguises for your students to complete in the classroom or create a family bonding project by sending it home! Whichever way you do it, the students will LOVE this writing activity because they’ll have such a blast! Take a look at some of the adorable options included below. Display them all when they come back and I guarantee your bulletin board will be the talk of the school! Check it out HERE!
We know all our little learners have different needs, all of these fun writing prompts are differentiated to meet their needs. Whether it be sentence starters or smaller lines, your kiddos will be covered. Differentiation for the win! Grab this adorable and fun writing prompt FREE by subscribing below!
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Perfect Pairings
November is a time of perfect pairings – pumpkin spice lattes and cozy clothes, thanksgiving meals and much needed rest. Why not keep up the trend with some awesome read alouds this month?!
I LOVE pairing a mentor text with a writing activity because why not extend the learning if you can?! Here are some of my favorite books to pair with these fun and engaging activities!
One Step Ahead
As a teacher, we all know that the time before a break is usually when we have to deal with an elevated level of behaviors that don’t meet our expectations. This is a reminder that it is normal. Some students are so used to the structure of their school routine that knowing they’ll be off can cause them anxiety. Others may not be looking forward to holidays in the same way either and that can stir up some emotions. All of these feelings will present itself differently in every kid so stay one step ahead and do what you can to support them. If you can catch your classroom energy off before things get out of hand, everyone will be better off. Check out some of my favorite classroom management tips, especially for school breaks, HERE.
Want all the fun with none of the stress? You’ll love the jam packed Thanksgiving bundle found HERE!
I hope you enjoyed learning all the fun ways to engaging your students during the month of November and are walking away with writing activities your students will LOVE doing this year ! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Writing Prompt FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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*Please note that affiliate links are included in this list. If you purchase any of these books from the link, I’ll get a small commission at NO extra cost to you.*
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