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As the last leaves fall and the weather continues to change, my students and I begin to think about the upcoming holiday season. The Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time to review writing concepts and skills taught during the first quarter of the school year within a context that is interesting and engaging for students. In my sixth grade classroom students are given another opportunity to write about personal experiences and reflect on meaningful memories in a variety of writing activities. I enjoy reading and listening to students' writing during this time of the year, and I also use this time instructionally by helping students revise and edit their special memories. The following are a few Thanksgiving writing activities my students enjoy completing each year.
The Thanksgiving writing activity I like to begin with is a fall themed word bank. Students are given a sheet of paper with a fall design, and while I read aloud selected poems by Robert Frost, students choose words to write on the paper. I like to use Frost's work in order to expose students to rich vocabulary and vivid word images. After the read aloud, I engage students in a class discussion about words that describe the fall season and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I encourage students to include words from our five senses in order to create strong images. As students add words to their lists, I also take a moment to review with students how to use a thesaurus. Students choose a partner and look up words from their lists, and add those that they, again, find interesting. I refer to this list throughout our writing activities as a source for students to use in order to insert more interesting words into their rough drafts.
The fall word bank is an introduction to the larger concept of revision. My students almost always confuse revising and editing. My goal is for students to consistently strive to improve the message of their writing, and to realize that revision is an ongoing process that doesn't necessarily rely on correct punctuation and mechanics. A writing prompt I give students during this time of the year is to retell their favorite fall holiday memory. After we have started keeping the word bank, I ask students to choose at least five words to add or replace in their prompt. Again, I remind students that the goal is to recreate the images that make their holiday memory special. We also discuss how to describe the setting and characters in order to allow others to better understand and "see" the story. As students continue to revise their rough drafts, I take this time to hold individual writing conferences with students to provide individual writing instruction and feedback. Students produce a final copy of their story, complete with photos and/or illustrations, to share with the rest of the class. In years past, I have displayed students' writing during Grandparents' Day or during Parent-Teacher conferences.
In addition to having students write down their special fall holiday memories, I also like to have students complete a Thanksgiving poem assignment. After reviewing various styles of poetry, and looking over our word banks, students create five Thanksgiving/fall themed poems. I like to have students choose their poetry style, but I do require they use at least three different styles (i.e., acrostic, free verse, haiku, etc.). When time permits, I like to have students type final copies of their poems and make them into a booklet; however, November always seems to go quickly and final hand written copies have sufficed. For the past two years a colleague and I have had students write and illustrate their stories and have sent them to a publishing company where students' stories are transformed into a hard back covered book. Both students and their families have enjoyed this project. We use Nationwide Publishing; however, there are other companies that offer a variety of student publishing services. No matter which activity I choose, students enjoy having the opportunity to share favorite Thanksgiving holiday memories as well as having the time to think, discuss, and write about the holiday season.
More Thanksgiving Writing Lessons:
(You will need to type the lesson plan title into search box on the website homepage for lessons #1-3):
Declarations of Independence: After learning about the past and present issues facing American Indians, students write a letter from the perspective of an American Indian. This lesson not only focuses on letter writing skills, but research skills as well. This lesson utilizes small group and whole class instructional strategies.
Thank You Notes: In this small group activity, students examine the history of presidential proclamations, and then analyze personal and national reasons they have to be thankful. Taking on the role of "President for the Day," students write their own Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Cranberry Bog: Students research the cranberry farming industry in Massachusetts, and then create a presentation based on the challenges facing the farmers. To conclude the lesson, students write a reflection paper from the perspective of a cranberry farmer addressing pest control issues.
You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving: Students research the first Thanksgiving and learn the differences between facts and myths and how historical information is passed down over time. After they do research, they create a museum exhibit depicting the first Thanksgiving.
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