Can you believe there’s only a little over two weeks until Thanksgiving?! It’s likely you’ll want a few (or alot) of books to share with your students about Pilgrims and Native Americans, being Thankful and all things Turkey! I have put together a list of my favorite Thanksgiving books to read aloud during November and a few activities to go along with them!
Turkey Trouble is a silly story about a turkey who, desperate to not be on the Thanksgiving dinner table, tries to disguise himself. This book is a must for me. You can use this book to discuss the different character traits of Turkey, the main character. My Digital Trouble Summarizing Activities are great to use with this story, but can also be used with any other turkey book you choose! You can find those HERE.
A Plump and Perky Turkey is perfect for teaching adjectives! It’s about a town that doesn’t have a turkey for Thanksgiving, so they create posters for the “model” turkey. Have your students create their own posters of their “model” turkeys and use adjectives to describe them.
The Very First Thanksgiving is a read aloud written in poem form with beautiful illustrations. I believe this book is best for younger grades when learning about the first Thanksgiving. A description of how the Pilgrim’s homes were built in rows and the kindness of the Native Americans is also discussed in this story.
Bear Says Thanks is a sweet book about the friendship among the well known characters in Karma Wilson’s books. I loved using these books in my classroom because of the rhyming text, precious stories and beautiful illustrations.
The Littlest Pilgrim is a great book to teach about friendship. Mini, the main character, has a kind heart and is always trying to help others. Mini is too little to chop wood, bake bread, hunt, build a cabin, or fish. However, she finds that she’s not too small to pick berries and do one of the most important things a Pilgrim could do-make a friend. Your students may find they feel they can relate to Mini, by feeling too young or too small. This is a great opportunity to have them write about a time when they may have felt left out, like Mini. They could also write about a time when they showed kindness to someone else as the Native American friend Mini meets in the story.
Thanksgiving Rules is a rhyming book your students will really enjoy! The main character, Percy Issac Gifford, or P.I.G. as monogrammed on his sweater, is a self proclaimed expert on all things Thanksgiving and wants to share his tips!
My The Perfect Thanksgiving Writing Activity is great to use after sharing this hilarious book with your students. It’s one of the activities in Thanksgiving Thankful Placemat and Other Activities that can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Students are able to brainstorm and plan their writing about the Perfect Thanksgiving on the graphic organizer included. Traditional words are included on their rough draft so they are easily able to give their steps to the Perfect Thanksgiving. Just as Percy does.
Run, Turkey, Run! is about a turkey that is running away from the farmer who wants to serve him up on Thanksgiving! The turkey goes all over the farm searching for a good hiding spot as the farmer trails behind. This text is great for teaching sequencing and retelling like beginning, middle and end.
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‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving is a fun read aloud about children who make a visit to a turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving. They are greeted by Farmer Mack Nugget and all his turkeys. When the children figure out the fate of their new turkey friends they come up with a plan to save them and all of their families have surprising feathered guests at Thanksgiving dinner!
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey is a Thanksgiving take on the popular series by Lucille Colandro. Another GREAT read aloud to use when discussing sequencing and retelling.
Thank You, Sarah is a non-fiction story about Sarah Josepha Hale who made Thanksgiving a national holiday! You can use this inspiring text to bring history into your literacy time. It’s also a wonderful story to talk about the perseverance of Sarah.
10 Fat Turkeys is a rhyming book that you can also use to tie into mathematics and counting. Your students will get practice counting backwards from ten while you read this book to them.
Milly and the Macy’s Parade is a book filled with gorgeous holiday illustrations! The main character, Milly, who convinces Mr. Macy to create the celebration millions have enjoyed to this day. Your students will love the story behind how the parade came to be.
