Kindergarteners Go Around The World: Week 13 ~ United States (Thanksgiving Lesson)

This post is part of the series “Around the World in 28 Weeks: Art, Literature & Geography Lessons for Kindergarten.” For an introduction, overview of the entire course, and links to more lesson plans, please click here. Thank you for visiting Cotton Ridge Homeschool!

Introduction to Week 13

This week you will be returning with the children in your class to North America and the United States. You can do the lesson plan activities in the order that you prefer.

For a Printable Lesson Plan Schedule for the entire 28 weeks, please see the Around the World introductory post.

Prep Work

Gather books and supplies (see Checklists below)
Print out Tree Trunk PDF
Print out handouts and 3-hole punch them for notebooks (see Checklist below)

Check back during the year, as I will be adding pictures of completed projects and let you know if the kids enjoyed the lesson and any changes I would make for next time. Thanks for joining us!

Disclosure: The books and supply links below lead to products on Amazon. I am an affiliate and will receive a small commission if these links are used to make a purchase.

Statue of Liberty by bigmike33x on flickr

Week 13 Lesson Plan

Date and Destination

Date: Fourth Week of November**
Continent: North America
Country: United States of America (Massachusetts)

Pretend Passport: Please see Week 2 for suggestions on how to use the Play Passports during your lesson. Below are free printable Passport Stamps. Please click here for free Airline Tickets and Cruise Ship Tickets printables. Just click on the thumbnails below to open and view. For best viewing/printing results, open in Adobe Reader.

Reading (10 – 15 minutes)

Story: The Story of Thanksgiving by Nancy Skarmeas (or other Thanksgiving story)

Discussion: Ask questions to determine reading comprehension; tailor these to your children’s ages and abilities. Depending on the size of your class and as time permits, try to allow each child to participate. Don’t drag this part on too long or your kids will lose interest. Here are a few to get you started:

Did you like the story? Why or why not?
What was your favorite part?
Questions based on the Who?, What?, Why?, When?, and How? of a story are great for getting kids thinking.

Geography (5 – 15 minutes)

Globe or Wall Map Activity: With your class,

find the Continent of North America
find the state and city where you live
find the capitol of your state
find Plymouth, Massachusetts.

I have been allowing the kids to take turns putting little dot stickers on the country we visit on our wall map each week. They have really enjoyed this little extra!

United States Map Handout*: Pass out the Map Handout to your class and allow them to color the page as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Below is a free printable Map Handout in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.

Art (30 – 40 minutes)

Autumn Tree Craft: Print out the PDF below on cardstock – one copy per child – or have them draw or paint their own tree trunk on construction paper. You could also have them cut a tree trunk and branches out of brown paper, then glue them on another piece of construction paper.

Color the tree trunk with colored pencils, markers, crayons, or paint. Then add some Fall leaves!

There are many possibilities for leaves – choose the option that best fits your class, or you may come up with your own!

Use markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint.
Rubber stamps with washable ink pads in Autumn colors.
Fingerprints with washable paint or ink pads.
Cut out from colored construction paper and glue on the branches (great for practicing scissor skills).
Go on a nature walk and gather real leaves to glue on the branches.

The materials you will need for this project depend on the method used to complete the craft. You can print out the following list, and check off the items needed:

Tree Trunk Printable (above)
Markers, Colored Pencils, or Crayons
Washable Paint
Washable Ink Pads
Rubber or Foam Stamps in Leaf Shapes
Real Leaves
Construction Paper in Autumn Colors
White glue
Scissors
Disposable Tablecloth to protect work surface

Other Activities (10 – 15 minutes)

Eagle Tracing & Coloring Page Handout and U.S.A. Facts and Flag Handout*: Pass out one or both of these handouts to your class and allow them to color the pages as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Just click on a thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, open in Adobe Reader before printing.

*If there is not time in class, provide these as handouts for the kids to do at home. The pages can go in their World Traveler Notebooks as a record of their journeys.

**Our homeschool coop begins during the last week of August, but the Around the World course can be started at any time of year. Some re-arranging of the weekly plans may be necessary due to holidays, but with a little planning ahead of time, this should be very manageable.

Supply Lists

General Supply List

Globe or large World Wall Map
3-Ring Binder for each child for handouts, 1-1/2″ size
3-Hole Punch
Date Stamp
Markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils
Roll of paper towels
Computer and Printer (color printer is recommended)

Week 13 Supply List

Book: The Story of Thanksgiving by Nancy Skarmeas (or other Thanksgiving story)
Passports and World Traveler Notebooks for each child from Week 1
Printables from this post: Travel Tickets, Passport Stamps, Map Handout, Eagle Handout, Tree Trunk, and Facts & Flag Handout

Week 13 Art Supply List

The materials you will need for this project depend on the method used to complete the craft. You can print out the following list, and check off the items needed: