TEACHERS NOTES

Festivals:Thanksgiving

by Frances Bates-Treloar

Level: Young Learners: CEF level A2 (Examination levels: Cambridge YLE Flyers/ KET )
Age: 8-10+
Time needed: 50-60 mins
Subjects included: festivals, Thanksgiving, special meals and food, giving thanks, American history,
past and present simple tenses
Main skills: Listening, Speaking
Objectives: Students will:
learn about the festival of Thanksgiving, its history and its traditions.
practise listening for gist and for details.
give an oral description of the festival of Thanksgiving.
compare and practise using the present and the past simple tenses.
learn new vocabulary related to food and festivals.
Materials: Essential
words cut out from Worksheet 1
questions cut out from Worksheet 1
1 copy of Worksheet 2 for each student (gap-fill) Desirable
Large picture of a feast/family gathering/ thanksgiving meal/ making preparations for Thanksgiving
(a copy of Thanksgiving by Doris E.Lee is ideal)
realia or photos of: pumpkin, cranberries, turkey, leeks, sweet potato, seeds, corn, duck, plums
map/atlas showing North America and England
Summary: Students hear a text giving information about the history of Thanksgiving and the traditions of
the festival. They are enabled to learn and give the information orally themselves by re-constructing
the information after several hearings of the text with the help of words and questions given to them
on pieces of paper which they manipulate.

This is material for those who know very little or nothing about Thanksgiving.

There are two ways you could lead into this lesson.
If you have them, display the pictures of families
feasting or preparing for a festival.
1

2 Draw attention to the pictures and/or write the

following where the class can read them:

eat a special meal or special food

get together with all the family (aunts, uncles, cousins,
grandparents, etc.)
have a day off school
do special activities

YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

3 Students form pairs and tell each other when they

do all these things each year.

Students report back to the class. Write their

answers on the board, highlight the festivals and
introduce/revise the notion of festival.
4

5 Explain that during this lesson they will learn

about a festival called Thanksgiving which is celebrated
by people from the USA and Canada (point countries
out on the map if you have one).

Focus on the word Thanksgiving: give a very simple example of a word which is made up of two words
to make one new one, e.g. classroom. Ask them what
the two words are. Return to the word Thanksgiving
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Introduction

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Teachers notes

Note: The aspect of giving thanks to God and the religious dimension of the festival has been left out
in order to avoid issues of cultural/religious sensitivity, but in appropriate teaching contexts, the idea
of giving thanks to God rather than just giving thanks / being thankful can be introduced.

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Activity 1

TEACHERS NOTES
Festivals:Thanksgiving

by Frances Bates-Treloar
had a party together with the Native Americans to give
thanks for the harvest of corn, fruit and vegetables. At the
party, they ate ducks, turkeys and fish, plums, leeks, and
bread.

Main Activity

Today, people in the USA and Canada celebrate

Thanksgiving every year in autumn. In the USA,
Thanksgiving is usually on the fourth Thursday of
November, and in Canada, it is usually on the second
Monday of October. Families get together at home or meet
in a restaurant and they eat a special meal. They remember
the brave people who came from England to live in North
America, and they give thanks for all the good things that
they have. The main part of the special meal is usually
turkey, and they often also eat cranberries, sweet potatoes
and pumpkin pie.

1 Make sure students are familiar with the following

lexis, ideally with the use of maps and pictures or the
real thing:
North America, Canada, England, Native Americans, give
thanks, seeds, turkey, pumpkin, pie, leek, plum, sweet potato,
cranberries, corn, harvest
2

Students form groups of three or four.

Each group is given a cut out and mixed up set of

the words on Worksheet 1.
3

To familiarise students with the words in the set,

ask them to find examples of food in the set of words.
They should find:
turkeys, plums, meal, cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin
pie, ducks, fish, leeks, bread
4

Teachers notes

Give out the set of cut out and mixed up (whole)

questions from Worksheet 1. Explain where necessary.
Discuss which refer to the past and which the present.
6

7 Explain that students will listen to a text about

Thanksgiving several times, and then will be able to
talk about Thanksgiving. The first time, they will listen
and order the questions in the order that they hear the
answers to the questions.

Read the text for the first time. Students order the
questions.
8

Listening text
In 1620, a group of people left England and sailed across
the Atlantic Ocean to go and live in North America. They
arrived in North America in a very hard winter. It was a
difficult time, and many of them died because of the cold
and because they were hungry. In spring, they planted
seeds that they brought from England, and the Native
Americans showed them how to grow corn and catch fish
and other animals. At the end of the first summer, the
people had enough food for the second winter, and they
YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

11

Read the text again.

12 Re-allocate questions and re-read the text until all the

groups have found words to answer all the questions.

By now they should know the text quite well! So

in their groups, they try to reconstruct the whole text
about Thanksgiving using the questions and words
that they have as prompts.
13

14 Ask groups to tell you about Thanksgiving, asking

for a section of text from each group.

Follow up activity
In class or for homework, give out a copy of Worksheet
2 to each student and they use the set of words (from
Worksheet 2) individually or in groups to complete the
text.

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Present tense verbs: catch fish, give thanks, remember,

eat

Explain the task: they must listen for the answer

to only the question they were allocated. To answer it,
they will select the correct words from the set of words
given out originally.
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Past tense verbs: died, had a party, sailed, planted

seeds, ate

Allocate each group one of the questions.

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Ask them to find the following:

Seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter
Days, months, years: November, October, Thursday, Monday, 1620 (check they say this as 16-20)
5

Answers:
Why did the first Thanksgiving happen?
What did the people do at the first Thanksgiving?
When does Thanksgiving usually happen?
How do people usually celebrate Thanksgiving?
What do people usually eat at Thanksgiving?

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and ask which two words it is made from, (Thanks

giving) and elicit predictions from students about what
they think the festival is about.

TEACHERS NOTES
Festivals:Thanksgiving

by Frances Bates-Treloar

Age: 8-9

Main Activity

Time needed: 40-50 mins

Return to the topic of Thanksgiving and discuss

with the class what the compound word, thanks
giving, means.

Objectives: Students will:

learn more about the traditions of the festival
of Thanksgiving.
practise reading skills: skimming and scanning
and guessing meaning from context.
take part in a speaking game.
practise using the structure adjective +
preposition + verb-ing. (Im thankful for ...ing ... )
revise vocabulary related to families.
Materials: Essential:
1 copy of WOrksheet 1 for each student
Desirable: Large picture of a feast/family
gathering/thanksgiving meal
Summary: Students read short texts about one
girls Thanksgiving with her family, and what
family members were thankful for. Students then
discuss what they are thankful for.

Explain that the class is going to think about what

they would like to give thanks for.
2

Hand out Worksheet 3 to each student and ask

them to keep the sheets face down.
3

Before they read, explain that this is one American

girls account of her most recent Thanksgiving.
4

Tell them that they are going to answer just the

first section of questions from the longest speech at the
top of the page, and to encourage them to try to
understand the whole text rather than sticking to
single words, you will time them.
5

6 They turn over the sheets and they have three

minutes to answer the Section 1 questions. They dont
need to write answers to the questions, just find them
in the text.
7

Students form pairs and compare their answers.

Check their answers with the whole class.

9 Students read and answer Section 2s question in

pairs. Ask them to explain how they know what it
means.

Teachers notes

10

Introduction
1 If you have them, display the pictures of families
feasting and ask students to say what is going on.

Revise what they know about the festival of

Thanksgiving.
2

3 Focus on families: brainstorm all the words for

family members that they know.
4 Ask six students to come to a place where the
whole class can see them, to be members of an
imaginary family.

Ask two students to stand up and tell them that

theyre the grandfather and grandmother. Ask two to
sit on chairs in front of them - theyre the mother and
father. Ask two to sit on the floor - theyre the children.
Prompt words for family relationships by saying two
names of the students who are in the imaginary family
e.g. Hans and Debbie and the class has to say what their
relationship is in the imaginary family.
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YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Students do Section 3 individually or in pairs.

11 Discuss with the whole class the different things that

the family members were thankful for and which things
they, too, are thankful for. Make sure they have understood the concept of being thankful for something.

Explain that they are going to tell their partners

what they feel thankful for in their own lives, and give
them the structures to use. Encourage them to come up
with one of each type of structure:
12

Im thankful for my ........

the .....
Im thankful for being....

having....

living.... etc.
13 Students form pairs and tell each other what they
are thankful for.
14

The class sits together in a circle.

15

Go round the circle with each student saying what

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Main skills: Reading, Speaking

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Subjects included: festivals, Thanksgiving,

special meals and food, giving thanks, families

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Level: Young Learners: CEF level A2

(Examination levels: Cambridge YLE Flyers/KET )

Extend the imaginary family by adding students

to the group to be aunts, uncles, cousins. Students can
say their own relationships to the rest of the students
in the family group and/or they can be prompted for
specific words.
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Activity 2

TEACHERS NOTES
Festivals:Thanksgiving

by Frances Bates-Treloar

Start at the beginning of the circle and say from

memory what each member of the class said they were
thankful for.
16

17

Students do the same.

This could also be done in the same way as the

game I went on holiday and I took a ..... :
18

Student 1: Im thankful for my iPod.

Student 2: Hes thankful for his iPod and Im thankful for
having a nice home.
Student 3: Hes thankful for his iPod, shes thankful for
having a nice home and Im thankful for my new jacket.
etc.

Before class
1 Prepare the tree by drawing a basic outline of a tree
on the white card with a branch/twig for each member
of your class.
2 At the top of the card, write:
Class ..... s Thanksgiving Tree.
3 Colour in the tree trunk with the paints/pencils/
pens.

In class
1

Bring the prepared tree into the classroom.

Give each child a piece of coloured paper and ask

them to draw around their hand on the paper.
2
3

Students cut out their hand outline.

Students write one thing that they are thankful for

on the hand that they have cut out, starting with the
phrase Im thankful for ...
4

Follow up activity
Make a Thanksgiving tree: see Extra Activity

Extra Activity

Students stick their hands onto the tree.

Pin up the tree where everyone can see it.

Level: Young Learners: CEF level A2

(Examination levels: Cambridge YLE Flyers/KET)
Age: 8-10
Time needed: 20 -30 mins in class, some
preparation

Main skills: Writing

Suitable class size: Any:any number of trees
can be produced
Objectives: Students will:
make a Thanksgiving tree
learn more about the traditions of the festival
of Thanksgiving.
practise writing skills
practise using the structure adjective +
preposition + verb-ing. (Im thankful for ...ing ... )
Materials: 1 large sheet of white card a pencil
paint, crayons, coloured pencils or felt tips,
coloured paper, marker pens, glue or tape,
glitter glue (optional), scissors
Summary: Students write what they are thankful
on their own handprints which form leaves which
they then stick on a picture of a tree.
YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

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Teachers notes

Subjects included: festivals, Thanksgiving,

giving thanks

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they are thankful for. Warn students that they need to

listen to what everyone says.

WORKSHEET 1

Festivals:Thanksgiving
by Frances Bates-Treloar

(1 set of words/phrases cut up per group of students, 1 set of questions cut out per group of
students)

winter

autumn

died

summer

catch fish

give thanks

families

turkeys

November

plums

spring

sailed

had a
party

1620

planted
seeds

October

remember

meal

cranberries

sweet
patatoes

pumpkin pie

ducks

fish

Thursday

Monday

leeks

bread

eat

ate

What did the

people do at
the first
Thanksgiving?

When does
Thanksgiving
usually happen?

YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving / Worksheet 1

Macmillan Publishers 2006; Text: Mark Harrison 2002

How do people
usually
celebrate
Thanksgiving?

What do people
usually eat at
Thanksgiving?

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Why did the

first
Thanksgiving
happen?

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Sheet 1

WORKSHEET 2

Festivals:Thanksgiving
by Frances Bates-Treloar

In

, a group of people left England and

across

the Atlantic Ocean to go and live in North America. They arrived in North
America in a very hard
them

. It was a difficult time, and many of

because of the cold and because they were hungry.

In

, they

that they brought from England, and

the Native Americans showed them how to grow corn and

and

other animals. At the end of the first

, the people had enough

food for the second winter, and they

together with the

Native Americans to give thanks for the harvest of corn, fruit and
vegetables. At the party, they
and

,
,

, and

Today, people in the USA and Canada celebrate Thanksgiving every year
in

. In the USA, Thanksgiving is usually on the fourth

in
second

, and in Canada, it is usually on the

in

. Families get together at home or

meet in a restaurant and they eat a special meal. They

the

brave people who came from England to live in North America, and they
for all the good things that they have. For the main part of
the special meal they usually

turkey, and they often also have

Macmillan Publishers 2006; Text: Mark Harrison 2002

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YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving / Worksheet 2

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Thanksgiving

WORKSHEET 3

Festivals:Thanksgiving
by Frances Bates-Treloar

Im thankful for my
rabbit and my hamster.

Im thankful for having

my health and my
beautiful grandchildren.
Im thankful for
my new car.

Im thankful for my wife,

and for my daughter who
gives us a delicious meal
every Thanksgiving!
Im thankful for
being good at drawing
and painting.

What key has legs

and cant open doors?
A turkey!

Section 1
1 How many people visited Amys house for Thanksgiving?
2 What did they eat?
3 Who comes to Amys house every Thanksgiving?
4 What did they do after the meal?
Section 2
Do you think David is animal-mad means that he loves animals or he
hates animals?
Section 3
Who said what? Write Uncle Richard, Fiona, Grandpa, Grandma,
Amy or David next to each speech. One person said two of them.

Macmillan Publishers 2006; Text: Mark Harrison 2002

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YOUNG LEARNERS / Festivals / Thanksgiving / Worksheet 3

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YOUNG LEARNERS

Im Amy. At Thanksgiving, my moms mom and dad came to eat

with us. They always do. My grandma looked really well. She was
ill in the summer, but shes better now. My grandpa told us lots of
Thanksgiving jokes. My dads brother and his children came this
year, too. They dont come every year. My uncle Richard loves
driving, and hes got one son and one daughter, David and Fiona.
David is animal-mad. He has five pets! Fionas a really good artist.
We ate lots of turkey and apple pie, and then we all sat around
the table and told each other what we were thankful for this year.