November in the Classroom

November is such a sweet time of year, as we pause and reflect on all the things we are thankful for. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite books and activities for November in the primary classroom!

Thankfulness and Gratitude Journals

I love using with the book  "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes. Life is full of things we are thankful for, we just have to think of them to begin! “Thank you for play dates, for swings and for slides. Thank you for hopscotch and piggy back rides” Your students will enjoy the beautifully detailed illustrations while they pause to reflect on things they are thankful for in their own lives. 

Gratitude Journals are perfect for the month of November and make for a beautiful keepsake to send home for Thanksgiving! I purchased these 8x8 blank books from Target and glued the pages inside. You can also find 8x8 blank books from Michaels in store or online! I've included 25 prompts so you can choose which pages you want to use and how many days you want to do! Click the picture below to find these in my TPT store or click here ->  Gratitude Journal Prompts .

Seasonal Changes and Hibernation

November is also a great time to learn about the changes we see around us! "In November" by Cynthia Rylant ​​is perfect for just that! Animals find food and shelter, families harvest food and gather together with thankfulness as November prepares us for winter! This book is a beautiful representation of all that November brings. This story would pair perfectly with a study of animal hibernation and adaptation! This book is available in paperback and currently under $7 on Amazon (link here!)

Traditions & Personal Narratives

I love sharing all the beautiful traditions families have! There are a few great books you can include in this discussion and you may already have a few in rotation. I stumbled upon  ​"Thanksgiving in the Woods" by Phyllis Alsdurf   and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with this heartwarming story about a real family who skips the traditional dinner table and spends their thanksgiving in the woods! Every year, for over 20 years, in rain or snow this family treks through the woods in upstate New York to celebrate with friends and family.

Here are a few other amazing inclusive books I recommend for learning about traditions. You can click any of the titles to find them directly on Amazon:

• Duck for Turkey Day (Tuyet and her Vietnamese American family are having duck instead of turkey)
• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (a Cherokee reflection of gratitude)
• Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Thanksgiving 
• I Am Thankful: A Thanksgiving Book for Kids (follows 3 different families as they celebrate the holiday)​

Follow up with a personal narrative of student traditions and have a publishing party to share them as a group! You can find this Thanksgiving Traditions Personal Narrative Writing Set HERE.

Get into some "Turkey Trouble"

This TURKEY TROUBLE Playdough & Literacy Set is a fun little spin on the traditional disguise a turkey project! Students build their own playdoh turkeys and write about HOW their turkey ended up a strange color! Grab the book TURKEY TROUBLE on Amazon here!

This super engaging literacy activity is perfect as a follow-up to the book Turkey Trouble! Use these anytime in Fall or include them at your Thanksgiving party. ​

I love finding ways to make math FUN!! My students always obsess over these Thanksgiving Math Riddles and check out my NEW Differentiated Turkey Math Craft!

This set includes riddles for addition, subtraction, and mixed addition & subtraction. This set is differentiated for your little learners, with 3 levels: Addition/Subtraction to 10, Addition/Subtraction to 20, Two Digit Addition/Subtraction. Click HERE for the direct link!

Get those little turkeys up and moving! Check out these Fall themed SCOOT games! 

Scoot games are perfect for getting your kids moving! You can place the cards on students desks and students use their recording page to solve. I like to use a timer to allow ample time solving! My Turkey Trot activity has your little turkeys unscrambling CVC words! We also love using Pumpkin Scoot in Math! Click HERE for Addition to 10 or HERE for Addition & Subtraction to 10. 

Fall themed NO PREP SUB PLANS

#sweaterweather makes for a fun hashtag when you want to shop for cute Fall clothes but colder weather can also bring a case of the sniffles (let's hope that's all it brings) and having No Prep Sub Plans ready helps my stress and anxiety levels SO MUCH! 

I create ALL of my sub plans for read alouds! The substitute reads the story (you provide the book) and the activities for the day are themed and correlate with that book! It's SO easy and NOT busywork (#teacherguiltfree)! 

I keep these printed and ready in my Sub Station (click here for more info). These are also amazing when you're too exhausted to plan your own lesson plans!!! Here are my FALL themed No Prep Sub Plans. Click each title for more details!

• Turkey Trouble
• A Turkey for Thanksgiving
• Stellaluna
• The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat
• Karma Wilson (bear stories)

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