Balanced Learning Resources
Lesson Plans

Grades K-2. To cultivate the resilient trait of gratitude, and in honor of Thanksgiving, students will brainstorm about what they are thankful for and watch the Sesame Street video, Thankful for Friends on Thanksgiving. As a culminating activity, students create a poster of the things they are thankful for – from objects, nature, and experiences – to the kind actions of friends, family, teachers, and others.

Grades K-2. Students will carefully observe a famous painting of the First Thanksgiving, learn a few basic historical facts, watch a short video clip from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and create a poster comparing Thanksgiving long ago with Thanksgiving today.

Grades 3-5. In this lesson, students will be introduced to little-known facts about Native Americans from names of U.S. states that derive from Native American languages to the unbreakable code of the Navajo language used by Native Americans during World War II.

Grades: 6-12. These videos introduce students to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace. Teachers may want to explain that Haudenosaunee is the name many members use for themselves, while Iroquois Confederacy is a term often used in historical sources. The videos discuss how Native American systems of government influenced American thinkers.