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Thanksgiving-Themed Activities for Fall Break Week

Fall Break week is both awkward and a total relief. Awkward because a Thursday Thanksgiving holiday means that the week only has two or three days in it, and relief because it represents the end of the drought that is October in the classroom. 

Many teachers and students haven’t had a day off from school since Labor Day, and after almost seven weeks, students and teachers alike are more than ready for a well-deserved break.

After spending the first quarter of the year reviewing previously-learned skills and introducing key concepts, the week leading up to fall break is the perfect time to do some creative, engaging review activities that keep students engaged AND allow them to review some of the skills that you’ve spent the first part of the year introducing.

Just because it’s called fall break, doesn’t mean we want students ‘falling’ asleep on those final days before the holiday. As you begin planning for those precious two to three days, here are a few resources to consider.

Thanksgiving Close Read with Mystery Pictures

This physical and/or digital language arts fall break week resource works on reading comprehension skills. The differentiated reading passages meet students where they are at giving them both ownership and confidence as they enter the holiday break season. 

The reading passages in this resource provide a variety of types of reading passages. The first passage, “Journal of a Pilgrim,” features diary-style writing, “American vs. Canadian Thanksgiving” provides students with an informational passage discussing how Thanksgiving is celebrated in another part of North America, and “History of Thanksgiving” is an informational passage explaining the historical facts about how Thanksgiving came to be a holiday in the United States.

This resource, with three independent reading passages, graphic organizers, and mystery pictures, fits perfectly in a three day fall break week or can be used in language arts lessons leading up to fall break week.

Is your school spending a lot of time on the computer these days? No need to plan something different, this resource has been updated to be completely digital! I know what you’re thinking…How can a student color a picture from a digital distance? Learn all the secrets about the newly updated, DIGITAL Close Reads with Mystery Pictures in this recent post.

November Themed Close Read with Mystery Pictures

Want to steer clear of the Thanksgiving holiday? Grab the November set instead. It still features 3 differentiated passages but discusses things such as the “History of the Cornucopia” and “Fun Facts about Pumpkin Pie”. Practice lots of ELA standards while engaging your students with high-interest topics, and comprehension questions with a mystery picture activity!

I Am Thankful Flip Book

Taking the time to reflect on gratitude is the hallmark of the Thanksgiving holiday and fall break season. 

This ready-to-print flipbook asks students to consider and practice their own gratitude practice. With 8 writing prompts/categories, this resource will fit nicely into both the week before and the week of Thanksgiving or students can do the whole activity in one sitting or lesson.

If you are a flipbook fan, and you want to take a look at all the other flipbook resources available in the Fun in 5th Grade store, we’ve got flipbooks for everything from text structure to Monsters…intrigued? Check them all out by clicking here!

Fall Themed ELA Review Sticker Style

Have students engaged and practicing many different ELA skills with these editable FALL-THEMED Google Forms™ that feature instant feedback! Students will work their way through the questions and earn digital stickers as they get correct answers. Incorrect answers will prompt them to go back and try again.

This is a 100% digital resource made for Google Forms™. Assign through Google Classroom™ or use on other platforms with the link and have your students completing these activities as a whole group, small group, partner work, independently, or even during distance learning! With 30 paragraphs for students to practice with, this resource is sure to help them be able to master the skills!

Covers skills such as text structure, figurative language, point of view, author’s purpose, main idea, and story structure. Use in a variety of ways for whole group, small groups, centers, early finishers, independent practice, partner work, and distance learning. Find out more about this resource by clicking here.

Need More Ideas?

In addition to these Thanksgiving-themed activities, the time leading up to fall break is also a time for review. Check out some of the review activities available in our Tpt store. 

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