Thanksgiving: Gratitude, Harvest, and Helping Others

Learner: Joella, age 5

Materials for the Whole Week

• Paper, crayons, washable markers, child-safe scissors, and glue
• One paper plate or large sheet of paper
• Leaves, small sticks, or pictures of plants and foods
• Blocks or building toys
• Several toy foods or real foods such as corn, beans, apples, bread, or pumpkin
• A small basket or bowl
• Three paper bags or containers
• Optional: a children’s book about gratitude, harvest, or Thanksgiving

Day 1: What Does “Thankful” Mean?

Goal: Joella will explain that being thankful means noticing and appreciating people, things, or experiences that help or bring happiness.

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Show Joella the basket. Ask, “What is something that makes you feel happy or cared for?” Place one object in the basket for each answer, such as a toy, drawing, or stuffed animal.
2. Show it — 5 minutes: Say, “Thankful means feeling glad for something. I am thankful for your help because you put away the crayons.” Give two examples: “I am thankful for food,” and “I am thankful for people who care for me.”
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Draw three simple pictures together: a person, a place, and a thing. Ask Joella what she is thankful for in each category. Write her words beside the pictures.
4. Do it alone — 10 minutes: Joella draws one picture of something she is thankful for. Help her complete the sentence: “I am thankful for _____ because _____.”
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Repeat together: “Thankful means noticing what is good and appreciating it.”

Quick check: Ask, “What does thankful mean?” Then ask Joella to name one thing she appreciates and explain why.

Day 2: Harvest Foods and the People Who Help

Goal: Joella will identify foods that come from plants and describe how many people help bring food to a table.

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Put toy or real foods in the basket. Ask, “Which of these foods do you like to eat? Where do you think it came from?”
2. Show it — 7 minutes: Explain simply: “Many foods begin as plants. Farmers grow and care for plants. Other people harvest, pack, transport, sell, and prepare the food.” Show the corn, beans, apple, bread, and pumpkin. Explain that bread may be made from wheat, which is a plant.
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Sort the foods into two groups: “grows on a plant” and “made from a plant.” Explain that some foods, such as bread, are made from plants rather than picked ready to eat.
4. Do it alone — 8 minutes: Joella draws a meal. Help her draw or name at least three foods and one person who helped provide or prepare the meal.
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Say together: “Food connects many people: growers, helpers, sellers, cooks, and eaters.”

Quick check: Show two foods and ask Joella which one grows on a plant. Ask, “Who might help food get from a farm to our table?”

Day 3: Learning About Thanksgiving Respectfully

Goal: Joella will learn that Thanksgiving is connected with harvest celebrations and that the history includes both English settlers and Indigenous peoples, whose cultures and communities are still present today.

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Show pictures or real examples of corn, beans, or squash. Ask, “Why might people celebrate after food has been grown and gathered?”
2. Show it — 8 minutes: Explain: “Long ago, English settlers in North America had a harvest gathering. Wampanoag people lived in the region and helped the settlers in important ways. We do not know every detail about the event, and the story is more complicated than a simple friendship story. Indigenous peoples were already living here, and Indigenous nations and cultures are still here today.”
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Make a three-part picture timeline:
   1. People lived in this land before the settlers arrived.
   2. Settlers and Wampanoag people had contact during a harvest time.
   3. People today celebrate in many different ways, and Indigenous peoples continue their traditions and communities.
4. Do it alone — 8 minutes: Joella draws a respectful harvest gathering. Encourage pictures of food, families, sharing, or helping. Do not ask her to dress up as or imitate an Indigenous person.
5. Recap — 4 minutes: Say, “We can learn about the past respectfully. We can be thankful for food and helpers while remembering that history has many parts.”

Quick check: Ask Joella to tell one fact about harvest gatherings and one respectful way to learn about people from the past.

Day 4: Sharing and Helping

Goal: Joella will identify ways to show gratitude through sharing, helping, and kind words.

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Present a pretend problem: “Someone helped us carry our food, but we forgot to say thank you. What could we do?”
2. Show it — 5 minutes: Model three ways to show gratitude: saying “thank you,” helping with a task, and sharing fairly. Say, “Thank you for setting the table. Can I help you?”
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Act out these situations:
   • A person gives you a snack.
   • A family member cleans up with you.
   • A friend wants a turn with a toy.
   Practice a kind response for each one.
4. Do it alone — 10 minutes: Joella chooses one helpful action, such as placing napkins on a table, putting away toys, drawing a thank-you note, or helping sort laundry. Let her complete it with only the help needed for safety.
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Create a “Gratitude Promise”: “I can show thanks with my words, my actions, and my sharing.”

Quick check: Give Joella one situation and ask, “What could you say or do to show gratitude?”

Day 5: Our Gratitude Gathering

Goal: Joella will review the week by creating and sharing a small gratitude display or gathering.

1. Hook — 5 minutes: Ask, “If we made a special gathering to celebrate gratitude, what would we include?”
2. Show it — 5 minutes: Model making a paper “Thankful Tree.” Draw a tree trunk and branches. Cut or tear paper leaves. On one leaf, write: “I am thankful for my family because they care for me.”
3. Do it together — 10 minutes: Help Joella make her tree. Add leaves for:
   • A person who helps her
   • A food she enjoys
   • A place she likes
   • A kind action she can do
4. Do it alone — 10 minutes: Joella adds pictures or words to the leaves. Invite her to set up a pretend gratitude gathering with the basket, toy foods, and her display. She may say, “I am thankful for _____.”
5. Recap — 5 minutes: Review the week: “We learned about thankfulness, harvest foods, people who help, the complicated history of Thanksgiving, and ways to share kindness.”

Quick check: Ask Joella to name one thing she learned about harvest, one person she appreciates, and one way she can help or share.