Thankful on Thanksgiving and Every Day!
Grade Level: K-2
Duration of Video: 2 minutes, 49 seconds
Themes:
Gratitude and Appreciation
Kindness and Helpful Actions
Friendship and Community
Appreciating Everyday Things
Thanksgiving
US History
Celebrating gratitude by thinking about the people, places, and things we are thankful for. AI-generated image
Description:
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. Students present their posters to the class and bring them home to share with loved ones for Thanksgiving.
Lesson Plan:
🎯 OBJECTIVES (SWBAT)
Discuss what they are grateful for.
Watch a video and discuss what friends do that we appreciate.
Create an art poster of what they are personally grateful for.
Present their art poster to the rest of the class.
Bring home the poster to share with family in honor of Thanksgiving.
🧰 MATERIALS:
Whiteboard and dry-erase marker (or large easel paper) for writing students’ ideas.
SMART Board or computer and projector
Large paper or poster board for
📋 LESSON FLOW
Hook
Ask Students:
What are some things that you are thankful for? It could be a favorite toy, a sunny day, a fun activity, or something kind someone does.
Important: As students answer, write their ideas on the board.
Encourage many ideas from the students, such as:
Objects: books, toys, favorite foods, art supplies.
Experiences: playing outside, listening to music, learning something new.
Actions from friends, family, teachers: someone shares, helps, listens, plays, answers a question, or makes us laugh.
Say:
We can be thankful for all kinds of things. Today, in honor of Thanksgiving, we will think about what we really appreciate!
Question Before the Video
Say:
We are going to watch a video about being thankful.
As you watch the video, think about: What are the people and monsters in the video thankful for? We will discuss this after the video.
Play the Video
Play the video: Thankful for Friends on Thanksgiving
Discussion
Ask:
What were the people and monsters in the video thankful for?
What kinds of actions do friends do that we appreciate? [As students answer this question, write their answers on the board.]
Creative Activity
Say:
Today, we talked about so many things we are thankful for! Now we are going to do an art project about it.
Hand out oaktag, markers, and crayons to students.
Say:
Please make a poster of the many things you are grateful for. You can look at the SMART Board for all the ideas we discussed today. Make sure to include the kind actions of your friends, family, and teachers.
Share
Have each student describe their poster to the rest of the class.
After each share, ask all the students to wiggle their fingers in the air to give their classmate a ‘silent applause.’
Classroom Artifact and Home Share
Hang up these Thanksgiving posters on a designated wall in the classroom and entitle the display: “Thankful on Thanksgiving and Every Day!”
Before Thanksgiving, give the students their Thanksgiving posters to take home and share with family.
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