Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Activities (1st Grade)

Spread some Thanksgiving cheer with this fun collection of Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Activities. The Thanksgiving printables feature turkeys, pilgrims, and Native Americans making it easy to bring seasonal fun into the classroom. Best of all, these worksheets are all aligned to essential outcomes and require no prep – just print and teach.

Activities included in the Thanksgiving Literacy Activities (1st Grade) packet.

The following activities are included in the Thanksgiving Literacy Activities (1st Grade) packet:

Thanksgiving Math Activities

Numbers to 20

• Spin and Color a Ten Frame

• Thanksgiving Ten Frames I

• How Many More to Make 10

• Thanksgiving Number Words 

• Spin and Color a Ten Frame (Numbers to 20)

• Thanksgiving Ten Frames II (Numbers to 20)

• Spin and Build a Number (Numbers to 20)

• Counting Forward

• Thanksgiving Number Words II (Numbers to 20)

• Thanksgiving Tally Count

Numbers to 50

• Numbers 1-50 Maze

• Skip Counting by 5s

Numbers to 100

• Skip Counting by 10s

• Skip Counting by 2s

• One More One Less

• Numbers to 120 Chart

• More and Less

• Thanksgiving Number Order

• Thanksgiving Tens and Ones

• Place Value

• Base Ten Spin and Color

Addition and Subtraction

• Number Bonds to 20

• Missing Addends

• Doubles True or False

• Doubles Plus 1

• Doubles Facts +1 5 in a Row Game

• Spin and Add

• Color by Addition

• Subtraction with a Number Line

• Spin and Subtract

• Fact Families

Measurement, Graphing, and Patterns

• Thanksgiving Measurement I

• Thanksgiving Measurement II

• Thanksgiving Time I (Time to the Hour)

• Thanksgiving Time II (Time to 1/2 Hour)

Thanksgiving Literacy Activities

• Thanksgiving ABC Order

• My Thankful List (List Writing)

• Thanksgiving Syllables

• Short Vowels Review

• Long Vowels Sound & Write (Long a)

• Long Vowels Sound & Write (Long i)

• Long Vowels Sound & Write (Long o)

• Long Vowels Sound & Write (Long u)

• Long a Vowel Rhyming Words (a)

• Long i Vowel Rhyming Words (i)

• Long o Vowel Rhyming Words (o)

• Long u Vowel Rhyming Words (u)

• Spin an L Blend (4 in a row)

• Spin an R Blend (4 in a row)

• Spin an S Blend (4 in a row)

• Beginning Digraphs

• Thanksgiving Nouns

• Singular and Plural Nouns

• Noun or Verb?

• Match the Adjective

• Describe: The Turkey

• Describe: The Native American

• Describe The Pilgrim Boy

• Describe The Pilgrim Girl

• Thanksgiving Capitalization

• Thanksgiving Punctuation

• Scrambled Sight Words

• Colorful Turkeys

Let’s have a look at a sample of these Thanksgiving activities in action.

Thanksgiving Maths Activities

There are numerous counting worksheets included in the Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Activities packet. Beginning with counting from 1 to 10, children will practice counting up to 100. The variety of counting worksheets will make it easy to differentiate the activities based on the student’s needs.

Ten frames allow students to visually see how numbers work together and using this strategy helps build number sense skills. In the Spin and Color a Ten Frame activity, students spin a number and color the matching ten frame.

When students have mastered counting to 20, they move on to counting to 50. In the Numbers 1-50 number maze, students dot or color the numbers from 1-50 in the correct order to show the Mayflower the way to North America.

Skip counting by multiples of 10 is a foundational skill for multiplication and division. In this printable, students count and paste the numbers in the correct order up to 100 by multiples of 10. Pair this activity with base ten blocks or math counters to create a hands-on math learning center for your students.

In the Thanksgiving Tens and Ones worksheet, students count the base ten blocks to identify and write the tens and ones for the two-digit number. Then, they write the whole number.

Similarly, in the Base Ten Spin and Color worksheet, students build a two-digit number by spinning the Tens and Ones spinners. After writing the number down, students color the hundreds block to visually show the number.

Once students have an understanding of the base-ten system and how numbers are composed, they won’t need to rely on the visual support from the base ten blocks. In the Place Value worksheet, students are given a two-digit number which they decompose into tens and ones and write in expanded form.

An essential math outcome in Kindergarten and 1st grade is for students to be able to decompose the numbers 10 and 20.

In the How Many More to Make 10 math activity, using ten frames students visually explore ways to make 10. Students find the missing number of pumpkin pies to complete the addition fact.

In Number Bonds to 20, students complete number bonds to 20 by writing the missing number. Pair this math activity with math blocks or counters and you have a ready-made November math center.

In the More and Less worksheet, students spin a two-digit number on the turkey spinner, write the result in the center of the number grid, and complete the number grid to show 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, and 10 less. By adding 1 more and 1 less, and 10 more and 10 less, students will identify the patterns that are found on the 100 number chart and be able to work on their addition and subtraction skills.

Knowledge and an understanding of doubles facts aids in mental calculation. In the Double Facts +1 5 in a Row Game, students spin a number, double the number, add 1 and color the result. The game ends when the student has colored 5 numbers in a row.

Another fun activity for reviewing addition facts is the Color by Addition worksheet. In this no prep worksheet, students roll 3 dice, add the numbers and color the result on the turkey. Add math blocks or counters to the worksheet and you have a quick and easy to prepare math center.

Telling Time to the hour and half-hour is introduced in Grade 1. Both these essential skills are covered in the Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Activities packet. The Thanksgiving Time II worksheet reviews time to the half-hour. Students read the analog clock and write the matching time on the digital clock.

The following measurement activity provides students with an opportunity to practice standard linear measurement with a paper ruler.

Students cut out the ruler and measure the Thanksgiving objects to the nearest inch.

Thanksgiving Literacy Activities

This Thanksgiving worksheet will help kids practice putting words in alphabetical order. Knowing how to put words in alphabetical order is an important life skill. To help the students, the alphabet is printed on the side of the page. They can refer to this when they are deciding which word comes next in the ABC order. To help students read the words, a picture of the Thanksgiving object is printed beside each word.

Students cut and paste the words in the correct ABC order.

CVCE words are reviewed with a collection of Long Vowels Sound it Out printables. There is a sound it out worksheet for all the CVCE long vowels. In this activity, students look at the picture and say the word. As they sound out the word, they color or dot the matching letters to spell the word. Finally, students write the word. This activity is great for blending words and reviewing how to read magic e words.

A fun way to review beginning blends is with the Spin a Blend worksheets. Students spin a beginning blend and color a picture with the matching blend. The game ends when the student has colored 4 pictures in a row. This activity is great for developing phonemic awareness.

In Grade 1 students begin learning about beginning grammar concepts. One of these concepts is the different types of sentences and their ending punctuation marks. In the Thanksgiving Punctuation activity, students cut and paste the ending punctuation marks to the matching sentence. This activity is a great way to review the purpose of each sentence in a small group setting. The sentences having matching pictures to support students in their reading of the sentences.

In the Singular and Plural Nouns printable, students sort the pictures (nouns) by whether they are singular or plural. This is a great way to visually introduce the concept of singular and plural nouns to young children.

Help students review their color words with this fun Colorful Turkeys printable. Students read the color word on each turkey and color it. Simple and fun, your students will love their cute colorful turkeys.

Lots more activities are included in the Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Activities (1st Grade) packet! Click on the link below to purchase the packet.

Don’t forget to check out the Fall Math & Literacy 1st Grade Activities.