Lesson Title: Celebrating American Thanksgiving

Did you know that Thanksgiving is the most widely celebrated holiday in the USA? That’s a lot of turkey.

Looking for a fun and engaging way to teach students about the history and meaning of American Thanksgiving while fostering gratitude? 

This lesson plan for younger grades combines hands-on learning with an interactive Scavenger Hunt! Students will dive into the origins of Thanksgiving, reflect on the importance of being thankful, and collaborate in a lively, educational scavenger hunt that reinforces key concepts through creative and team-building challenges.

This Thanksgiving scavenger hunt is the perfect way to make celebrations more educational and meaningful!

Grade: 4 - 9

Subject: History, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Objective:

• By the end of this lesson, students will: 
  • Learn about the history, traditions, and significance of American Thanksgiving
  • Reflect on the concept of gratitude

Materials:

• Mobile devices or tablets with the Goosechase app installed
• Whiteboard/Smartboard
• Markers
• Printouts of the Thanksgiving timeline (optional)
• Projector (for videos or presentations, optional)
• Journals or notebooks for students

Preparation:

• Create an Experience on the Goosechase app with a series of Thanksgiving-focussed Missions
• Develop Missions that require students to demonstrate their understanding of the traditions and celebrations around Thanksgiving.  Example Missions:
  • Thanksgiving Facts (10 points): Answer a trivia question about the history of Thanksgiving. Example: "What year was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?"
  • Thankful Selfie (15 points): Take a team selfie with something that reminds you to be thankful.
  • Turkey Drawing (20 points): Draw a turkey using your hand as the outline and share a photo of your team’s creation.
  • Thanksgiving Dinner (15 points): Create a list of foods that are typically eaten at a Thanksgiving dinner. Bonus points for including regional variations or unique dishes!
• Find example Missions in the Goosechase Templates below. 

• Run your Experience during one class period or for the entire week.
• Adapt the difficulty of the Missions based on the proficiency levels of your students to keep the activity inclusive and engaging for everyone.
• Prepare hints or resources that might help students solve the Missions if needed.
• Divide students into teams and assign each team a mobile device with the app, or have students complete the scavenger hunt individually.
• App Set-Up 
  • Dedicate time to ensuring all students have the Goosechase app downloaded and joined to the Experience to avoid any tech issues.

Lesson Plan Outline:

• Introduction
  • Begin by asking students what they know about Thanksgiving. What images, food, or activities come to mind? Write responses on the board.
  • Provide a brief history of Thanksgiving:
    • Explain the origins of Thanksgiving, touching on the Pilgrims, Native Americans, and the early feast in 1621. Focus on how the tradition evolved over time and became a national holiday celebrated today.
    • Key Points:
      • The journey of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower.
      • The role of the Wampanoag Native Americans in helping the Pilgrims survive.
      • How Thanksgiving became an official holiday during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
      • Modern-day traditions, such as Thanksgiving parades and the focus on family and gratitude.
  • Ask students to reflect on what it means to be thankful. Why is gratitude important in our lives? How can we show it in our daily actions? Encourage them to share examples from their lives.
• Goosechase Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
  • Read through Missions with students, emphasizing the importance of evidence and analysis in their responses.
  • Monitor progress and provide assistance as necessary.
  • If working in teams, encourage them to strategize and collaborate to solve the Missions.
  • Sit back and enjoy watching your students collaborate and demonstrate their learning. 
• Debrief and Reflection
  • Review the activity, discussing which missions were the most challenging or fun.
  • Discuss how teams collaborated and solved problems together.
  • Review any educational content covered through the Goosechase missions.
  • Optionally, award prizes to the team(s) with the highest score.

Optional Post-Experience Activities:

• Gratitude Journal 
  • Have students write or draw in their journals about three things they are thankful for. 
• Gratitude Presentations
  • Provide students the opportunity to share what they are most grateful for, emphasizing that there’s no wrong answer, as everyone’s reasons for gratitude are personal and meaningful.

Assessment

• Observe students’ engagement, teamwork, and participation during the scavenger hunt.
• Use Goosechase’s platform to evaluate each team’s completed tasks and creativity.
• Assess on the students thoughtfulness in their gratitude journals. 
• Optionally, have students write a brief reflection on what they learned from the activity.

Ready Made Experience Templates to Try

Want a copy of this lesson plan to use with your class?

What is Goosechase EDU?

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