Have enough paper turkeys for each child in your room. Write a number on the back of each turkey. Hide the turkeys around the classroom. When the students come in, ask them to find the turkeys. Write clues about where they are hidden on the blackboard or say the clues if the children cannot get read. Once everyone has a turkey, have the children line up from lowest number to highest number. The student with the highest number gets a prize.
Divide the students up into groups or allow them to work on their own if there are enough computers. Have students conduct research via the Internet on the traditions and customs of the first Thanksgiving, and then make a chart or write a paper comparing them to their family's own ways of celebrating Thanksgiving. Each student or group must make a presentation on their findings to the rest of the class.
Assign students a worksheet that asks them who the important people are in their lives and why these people are important. Ask them what they are most thankful for in their lives, and what their best memories of Thanksgiving are. Explain to them that the central component of Thanksgiving is to give thanks. If you are working in a religious school, you should incorporate the elements of giving thanks to God and praying into the worksheet.
Create Bingo cards with words such as "Thanksgiving," "turkey," "pilgrims" and "The Mayflower" written on them. However, you will not call out these words for the students. Instead, you will give clues that directly relate to each word. For example, you might say "The ship that brought the pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts." In that case, any students with the word "Mayflower" on their cards would put down a marker. Award a small prize-such as extra points on a test-to the first few winners.