Thanksgiving Reading Lessons for 2nd Grade
Thanksgiving is such a fun time in the classroom! November is a great month for establishing a strong community of kindness and gratefulness. It’s also a great month for reading! Today, I have my three favorite reading lessons for Thanksgiving to share with you. These are great to use in your second great classroom this November.
The Picture Book Lesson Plan
I firmly believe that any reading skill can be taught with just a handful of lesson plan sequences. If I’m planning to teach a reading skill through a picture book, I use the same lesson sequence. These are the steps I take to teach a reading skill through picture books:
Begin with a first read of the story. Preview relevant vocabulary before reading. Discuss basic comprehension points during and after reading. The purpose of the first read is to basically free the brain up to focus on the skill. We want to get our students on the same page when it comes to vocabulary knowledge and comprehension. Then, they won’t be struggling to understand the story while also trying to find the skill during the close read!
Do a close read (preferably during your next whole group lesson). Choose one skill to focus on, define the skill for your students through a brief lesson and anchor chart. Then, read the text, modeling how to find and think about the skill. Have students follow along and chart evidence on a graphic organizer.
Release some of the responsibility by having your students read a paired text the next day. I recommend reading it together once, then sending students off to try to find evidence of the week’s skill. This can be done independently or with a partner. Paired texts should be brief and student-friendly. Articles and leveled readers make great paired texts.
Complete a writing extension activity. You can use this as an opportunity to work on language or writing standards for the week, as well as reinforce the skill. Reading and writing are closely linked. So, asking students to write about the weekly text and discuss the skill is a great way to cement their learning.
Assess. Either through a weekly reading test or a quick check, be sure you have a pulse on how your students understood the skill for the week. Use their scores to determine if your class is ready to move on.
Thanksgiving Reading Lessons
Using the sequence above, I use these three picture books every November:
Turk & Runt: A story of two brothers. One is Turk. He is a big, strong turkey who dreams of being the star of someone’s Thanksgiving. The other is Runt. A small, wimpy turkey who sees his brother’s strength for what it really is: a juicy dinner. This story is great for teaching problem and solution,
Thank You, Sarah: A story that tells the history of Thanksgiving, beyond what you think you already know. Thanksgiving wasn’t actually established as a national holiday until after the Civil War, by Abraham Lincoln. We have Sarah Hale to thank for that, and this book tells her story!
Balloons Over Broadway: Tony Sarg isn’t necessarily a household name, but the thing he invented is loved by households all over America every Thanksgiving. He is the man responsible for the large balloon floats that we see in every Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. His story is fascinating!
Book Companions
I developed book companions for each of the stories above, using the lesson plan framework I have found to be so successful! If you want pre-made lesson plans, graphic organizers, vocabulary slides, and original paired texts to go with each story, check out my book companions for Thanksgiving!
