A History Unit Study
Take a break from your regular homeschool curriculum and have a Thanksgiving unit study! History, culture, and food all come together in this topic! Create a lapbook to record what you learn. This page will direct you to great books to read and free resources for making a Thanksgiving lapbook or notebook project.
The Traditional Thanksgiving Story
in picture books
Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 11/09/2009) 
Used Price: $3.00
The Thanksgiving Story
Amazon Price: (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $1.95
The Story of the Pilgrims (Pictureback(R))
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $0.83
. . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $2.70
Reproducible Books about Thanksgiving
These titles from Scholastic and Evan Moor are reproducible, so they can be legally used over and over in your homeschool. Remember, if you make a 3D project that doesn't fit well into a lapbook or notebook, you can photograph it and include the picture instead.
Theme Pockets - November
This November edition of Theme Pockets covers both Native Americans and Thanksgiving (as well as another study of the Food Pyramid).
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 11/09/2009)
History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 11/09/2009)
Pictures of Thankgsiving Lapbooks
Visit these blogs for photos and ideas for Thanksgiving lapbooks. (After you make yours and blog it, contact me for it to be added here.)
- Hearts for His Glory Blog
- Photos and a list of resources for their lapbook.The Cooper family used the Hands of a Child Thanksgiving project pack as the foundation of their lapbook.
- Just Call Me Jamin! Blog
- Jamin used the Knowledge Box Central lapbooking kit for her Thanksgiving lapbook.
- LaPaz Home Learning
- Although this blogger says her children's product is not a lapbook, it sure looks similar to one. You're sure to get some ideas from her pictures. Be sure to look for how they made the corn!
- 1+1+1=1 Blog
- These homeschoolers made a Fall Lapbook. Several links for resources are included.
- By God's Grace
- Here you will find a Photobucket slideshow of her son's Thanksgiving themed lapbook.
- Musings of the Dings
- Lois and her son created a lapbook based on the links and ideas here on this lens!
- I Choose Joy
- This blog entry not only gives nice photographs of a Thanksgiving lapbook but also offers some very fascinating facts!
- Thanksgiving Lapbook by Zippy (age 8)
- Almost 30 pictures to browse in this Flickr set.
- Thanksgiving Lapbook by JDBoy (age 5)
- Seventeen more lapbook pics. This is Zippy's brother.
Thanksgiving Printables
- FREE Lapbook Kit
- Look for the Thanksgiving Interactive Notebook free download!
- Puritan Names
- This nice printable explores the Puritan names that held so much meaning -- Constance,Patience, etc. Cut up the squares to make cards you can store in a pocket for your lapbook.
- Minibook about Thanksgiving
- Very simple minibook with images and short sentences. This is appropriate for preK-K.
- Thankful Minibook
- With this blank minibook, you can write or draw what you are thankful for.
- Pumpkin Minibook
- Look for the links to the pumpkin book. Each page is a separate PDF. It has black and white images to color and some measuring activities to do.
- Thanksgiving Minibooks
- Two minibooks are in this PDF -- one is about colors and the other is about things I am thankful for. Appropriate for preK-K.
- ABC Teach Thanksgiving Themed Printables
- Look through this long list to find something that works for you: coloring pages, memory games, comprehension sheets, postcards, shapebooks, and more.
- The First Thanksgiving Minibook
- Facts about the first Thanksgiving are featured in this attractive mini-book. For grades 2-4.
- How Does a Pumpkin Grow
- Cut out these cards to make a sequence set, or assemble them as pages into a mini-book. This PDF starts from a seed and goes to pumpkin pie!
- Using Math to Draw the Mayflower
- Besides the math lesson (suitable for 3rd grade) this PDF includes a great cross-section drawing of the Mayflower ship!
- Thanksgiving Lesson Plan
- Read through this lesson plan for the links to several printables -- Mayflower, Pilgrim home, and a Thanksgiving minibook.
- Thanksgiving Flashcards
- Thanksgiving related images laid out in flashcard format in three sizes -- small, medium, and large. Make a memory game or traditional vocabulary flashcards.
- Scarecrow Numbers
- These cute, full color, numbered scarecrows (0-31) can be used for math activities, a craft, or for making a calendar.
- Turkey Coloring Page
- Look for the turkey link on this page from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. It's a lovely, detailed and realistic coloring page with text at the bottom.
- Turkey Blessings Printable
- This big printable is from Hold That Thought. The turkey's body is composed of a list of your blessings.
- Pilgrim Coloring Book
- Four very attractive, realistic images of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. These can be colored online or printed.
- Thanksgiving from the NWT Literacy Council
- An entire booklet of printables -- puzzles, turkey craft, counting page, a maze, and a grateful page.
Shape Book Templates
To make shape books, simply make as many copies as you need, and staple them together.
- Pumpkin, Turkey, and Leaf Shape Books
- These are my favorite shape book patterns because Teacher View offers two options of each one -- a cover and a lined version. Perfect for minibooks! Look for the pumpkin, the leaf, and the turkey.
- Turkey Shape Book
- PDF with a turkey profile pattern.
- Turkey Shape Book
- A very attractive profile of a turkey with a lot of empty space for drawing or writing.
- Pumpkin Shape Book
- PDF with pumpkins in three sizes.
- Ship Shape Book
- This book is in a circle shape. Cut more blank circles for the pages of the book.
- Pilgrim Shape Book
- This realistic drawing of a pilgrim is in a circle shape.
- Scroll Shape Pattern
- This scroll has a traditional Pilgrim hat at the corner.
- Pilgrim and Indian Boy and Girl
- These coloring pages would actually make great shape book patterns. Shapes include:
Pilgrim Boy and Girl
Native American Boy and Girl
Magic Tree House
Thanksgiving on Thursday
Thanksgiving Copy Work and Notebooking
Assign some copywork or handwriting practice with these resources.
- Thanksgiving Poems
- A selection of several poems suitable for copywork. Also visit this site's jokes page and their prayers page for other copywork options.
- Thanksgiving Lined Manuscript Paper
- A full color turkey graphic and the title Thanksgiving with manuscript lines.
- Fall Themed Lined Notebooking Page
- Regular lined paper with a color graphic in the bottom right -- corn stalks, pumpkins, and squash.
- Indian Boots Notebooking Page
- Manuscript lines with cute Native American moccasins at the bottom.
- Thanksgiving Stationery
- Three choices in notebooking paper, each with a color image at top of lines
- Turkey Border Paper
- Four turkeys adorn the corners of this landscape, lined page.
- Free Thanksgiving Notebooking Pages
- Lynn at Eclectic Education offers a free PDF with notebooking pages!
- Thanksgiving Copywork or Notebooking Pages
- Evidence of Gentleness blog offers four freebies! Each has a simple Thanksgiving related graphic, a Scripture at the top, and lines. Passages include Philippians 4:6, Psalm 69:30, Psalm 100:4, and Colossians 4:2.
But wait! There's more! She has four more pages here! - Pawpaw Holler Home: Free Notebooking Pages
- Three sets of notebooking pages : a 6 page set of the Pilgrims in regular and wide ruled, and a 4 page set of nature journaling/notebooking pages a fall leaf design.
Thanksgiving Books to Read
All five of these books are featured at Homeschool Share where you will find free lesson plan ideas, lapbooking ideas, and printables.
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Amazon Price: (as of 11/09/2009)
Click HERE for a great Photobucket slideshow of Cranberry Thankgsiving lapbook.
Also look here and here for more photos.
Thanksgiving Drawing
Draw things for your minibooks or lapbook cover. If you need help, use these links:
Learn how to draw a turkey.
Try your hand at drawing a Native American (face).
Draw Write Now, Book 3: Native Americans, North America, Pilgrims (Draw-Write-Now)
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 11/09/2009)
We have the entire Draw Write Now series. These are really fun, step by step drawing guides.
Chapter Books for Thanksgiving
Squanto, Friend Of The Pilgrims (Scholastic Biography)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $0.01
Pocahontas and the Strangers (Scholastic Biography)
Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $0.87
The Mayflower Secret: William Bradford (Trailblazer Books #26)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $0.01
Molly's Pilgrim
Amazon Price: $14.03 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $10.25
Thanksgiving Clipart, Images, and Art
- Karen Whimsey
- Look for these categories -- Thanksgiving, Native Americans, and Fall. All of these images are in the public domain and free for any use.
- FL Educational Technology Clearinghouse
- Search for whatever Thanksgiving related item you want -- Indian, Pilgrim, pumpkin, turkey, corn, harvest, etc. Each graphic comes in three sizes and in gif format. (To convert the image into a JPEG for better printing quality use this online converter.)
- Free Clipart Samples
- From Teaching Learning Company, this PDF is a sample of one of their for sale products.
- Autumn Clipart
- Look for Autumn in this list to reach a PDF with simple line drawings of leaves, acorns, a pumpkin, a bushel of apples, and a cricket.
- Antique Thanksgiving Postcards
- The images from old postcards have been used to make free printable placecards. Here's an idea -- make placecards for people present at the First Thanksgiving celebration. Inside the card, write facts about him or her.
- Thanksgiving and Pilgrim Paintings
- Add a bit of art study to your Thanksgiving study with these links to fine art.
Other Thanksgiving Ideas
- A Harvest of Science
- This PDF has several hands-on, science experiments and activities that relate to Thanksgiving. Record your observations in mini-books for your Thanksgiving lapbook.
- Pop Up Turkey
- Use this pop up card template to make a mini-book! Make sure to click on NEXT to go through all the steps.
- The Toymaker
- Several free printables of papercrafts--napkin rings, 3D turkey, a card, a nut cup, and more. All of them are really pretty!
- Children's Thanksgiving Poems and Stories
- These are older works, all in the public domain.
- The Science of Thanksgiving
- Science facts and activities to incorporate into your Thanksgiving Unit Study.
- Thanksgiving Fun at Activity TV
- Watch these instructional how-to videos for some Thanksgiving activity ideas.
- Optical Toys - Autumn Flip Book
- Click on the Yellow # 3 button at the left to download your very own optical toy. As you flip through this booklet, you will see a cornucopia basket magically fill with a bountiful harvest.
The Other Perspective of Thanksgiving
To offer a balanced view of Thanksgiving, read some of these books written from the perspective of Native Americans. Visit Oyate.org for more book recommendations.
Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
Amazon Price: $6.00 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $1.98
Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy In Pilgrim Times
Amazon Price: $12.20 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $14.00
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (I Am American)
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $0.01
The Wampanoags (True Books, American Indians)
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 11/09/2009)
Used Price: $4.02
Extras
Choose some of these puzzles for your lapbook. You can laminate them and use a Vis-a-vis pen that can be washed off.
- Three Thanksgiving Mazes
- Choose from an easy, medium, or hard PDF maze.
- Thanksgiving Word Puzzles
- An easy and a hard version of two types of puzzles -- word search and word scramble.
- Crossword Puzzle
- A fairly easy crossword with clues at the bottom.
- Printable Jigsaw Puzzles
- Several choices in color or black and white. Laminate for greater durability. Store the pieces in a pocket or envelope attached to the lapbook.
- Turkey Tic-tac-toe
- A tic-tac-toe grid on a turkey's body. Make your own Thanksgiving themed counters for an adorable lapbook game.
- Paper Dolls for Thanksgiving
- Eddie and Amy are free paper dolls to print and play with! Look for Pilgrim and Indian costumes on this page!
Paper Dolls
Making Friends has both Pilgrim paper dolls and Native American paper dolls. These are really adorable, complete with clothes and accessories.
Here is a Pilgrim woman paper doll.
Dress up this turkey paper doll by changing its colorful feathers.
Make a pocket to store your paperdolls in the lapbook.
Tom Turkey Sticker Paper Doll (Dover Little Activity Books)
Amazon Price: $1.50 (as of 11/09/2009)
Little Pilgrim Girl Paper Doll (Dover Little Activity Books)
Amazon Price: $1.50 (as of 11/09/2009)
Ideas for the Cover of your Lapbook
- Cornucopia Patterns
- Create a beautiful cornucopia overflowing with harvest fruits and vegetables.
- Happy Thanksgiving
- A landscape coloring page with the text Happy Thanksgiving and a row of faces at the bottom.
- Circle Turkey Pattern
- This page is in a circle shape. It features a turkey and the text Happy Thanksgiving.
- Thanksgiving Day
- A lovely portait coloring page with a turkey, a tree, a bushel of apples, and pumpkins.
- Thanksgiving Sheet
- This page has a cute Pilgrim and a Native American smiling at each other. At the top is the word Thanksgiving.
- Pilgrim and Indian Friendship
- A very nice image to symbolize the partnership of the two peoples on that first Thanksgiving.
- Dr. Pat's Pilgrim Coloring Book
- These are very realistic and detailed images -- turkey, cornucopia, Miles Standish, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, Plymouth Colony, etc.
Reader Feedback
Your comments are welcome!
Happy Thanksgiving!
MsSnow4a wrote...
Great lens. I am lensrolling to my free thanksgiving printables.
Posted November 01, 2009
totosmom wrote...
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and this lens is wonderful! thanks
Posted November 24, 2008
by Jimmie
Hello! I am a homeschooling, stay at home mom who loves to teach and learn. I enjoy cooking from scratch, blogging, photography, and traveling, but I...
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