Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks | PreK Read-Aloud Companion & Activities

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks | PreK Read-Aloud Companion & Activities

Celebrate gratitude, build early literacy skills, and bring a little Thanksgiving magic into your preschool classroom!

This Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks Read-Aloud Companion is a low-prep collection of literacy, vocabulary, early math, and gratitude activities designed to accompany a Thanksgiving read-aloud. Students will make predictions, hunt for items in the illustrations, retell story details, explore vocabulary, and think about the people and things that make them thankful.

With a mix of interactive activities, printable worksheets, and a thankful turkey craftivity, this resource makes it easy to turn a seasonal story into meaningful learning experiences for young learners.

What's Included?

• Let's Make a Prediction! – Students use the book's title and cover to draw what they think will happen.
• The Great Thankful Hunt! – A picture-hunting checklist encourages students to look closely at the illustrations during the read-aloud.
• Vocabulary Cards – Introduce and reinforce six words from the book: thankful, turkey, family, teacher, friends, and lollipop.
• Retell the Story – Three picture-based comprehension questions help students recall story details.
• My Thankful Turkey Craftivity – Students color, cut, and assemble a turkey, then draw or write what they are thankful for on its feathers.
• I Am Thankful For... – Color-themed gratitude pages give students another way to express what they appreciate.
• People & Things I'm Thankful For – Students sort picture cards into people and things, places, and pets.
• Count the Lollipops – A simple counting activity provides early math practice.
• A Thank-You Card – Students create a card and draw or dictate a message of gratitude.
• How Does It Feel to Say Thank You? – Students identify and discuss feelings associated with expressing gratitude.

Skills Practiced

• Listening comprehension
• Making predictions
• Story recall and retelling
• Vocabulary development
• Visual discrimination and observation
• Sorting and categorizing
• Counting
• Fine motor skills
• Drawing, early writing, and oral expression
• Gratitude and social-emotional learning

Why You’ll Will Love It

• Low prep: Print the activities you need and prepare materials for your lesson.
• Flexible: Use the pages together as a read-aloud companion or select individual activities to fit your schedule.
• Developmentally appropriate: Picture-based responses, drawing, coloring, and hands-on crafting support young learners.
• Meaningful: Connect a favorite seasonal theme with early learning skills and conversations about gratitude.

Perfect For

• Preschool and Pre-K classrooms
• Thanksgiving literacy centers
• November read-alouds
• Small-group instruction
• Whole-group storytime
• Early learning and gratitude activities

Please Note: This resource is designed to accompany Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks. The book is not included, but a purchasing link is provided, as students will need access to the book to complete the read-aloud-specific activities.

Bring your Thanksgiving read-aloud to life with engaging activities that encourage young learners to notice, think, create, count, and give thanks!

If you use this resource, please leave a review — it helps other teachers find it and lets me know what to create next. Thank you for supporting independent educators!

Practical. Engaging. Just a little magical.

©  The Bewitched Teacher. For single-classroom use. Please purchase additional licenses for sharing with colleagues.