A thoughtful and meaningful gift that students can give their families to celebrate Thanksgiving is a set of family dinner conversation starters. These prompts encourage families to engage in thoughtful discussions around their dinner table. Sharing stories, experiences, and thoughts bring families closer together and facilitate conversations around what everyone is thankful for. These prompts will be something families will look forward to during their Thanksgiving dinner! Learn more about this Thanksgiving gift for students to give to their families below!
Thanksgiving Gift for Students
My favorite Thanksgiving gift for students is this Family Dinner Conversations Project. Learn more about what it is, what it includes, why teachers love it, and tips for using it in your classroom.
What is the Family Dinner Conversations Resource?
The Family Dinner Conversations Resource is a fun and engaging craft project that brings students’ families closer together. Students decorate a short Pringles can or another type of container (jar, can, paper bag, mason jar, etc) to house discussion prompts that they can write or type, or use pre-made ones. When students bring it home, they can pass it around the dinner table to help facilitate thoughtful discussions among their family. It quickly becomes something your students and their families treasure!
This resource includes:
- teacher guide that walks you step-by-step through how to implement this resource in your classroom
- letter to families asking for donations for the project (Pringles can, gift wrap, etc.)
- informational letter to families explaining how to use the gift
- container labels including lid cover labels and cylinder labels
- 20 question cards that come in multiple card template options as well as a blank template where students can write their own questions
- additional resource extensions to use for special events and holidays (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, end of the year, back to school, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and more)
- digital versions of the resources so students can create the activity at home or in school
Why Teachers Love This Thanksgiving Gift for Students
Elementary teachers love this Thanksgiving gift because it…
Saves Time
As teachers, we know we have a lot to cram into each day. While I fully support taking time from “academics” to fit in extra activities that your students will remember most, it is unfortunately not always possible to do so. This project is a quick and easy way to welcome students and their families Thanksgiving!
Minimizes Cost
I had taken on projects with students in prior years that ended up costing me more money than I had originally anticipated. When you have 20-30 students, it quickly adds up. You can use this project year after year even if you switch grade levels.
Small Level of Difficulty
Even before Pinterest, I took on projects that seemed simple, but, in reality, left me pulling my (glitter-sprinkled) hair out. This project is quick and easy and doesn’t require a lot of teacher-support.
Easy for Students to Reproduce
Many of my students came from non-traditional homes. As a result, they needed to produce more than one gift so they could give something to their parents and/or guardians. This project is simple so it’s easy for students to create more than one if needed.
Meets Diverse Needs
This resource comes with many different options (e.g. differentiated writing paper) so all of your students can participate in the learning experience no matter their writing ability.
3 Tips for How to Use this Resource in Your Classroom
Below are 3 tips for how to use this resource in your elementary classroom.
1. Make a Packet
I found it best to make copies and staple them together into packets for each student. This was helpful because it kept all the pages organized until it was time to cut them out.
2. Think about What Would Work Best for Your Students
You can have your students work on this project as time allows, or have them sit and do it in one session. Think about what would work best for your group of students.
3. Request Donations
This resource includes a donation request letter that you can send home to your students’ families. It makes it quick and easy to get a collection of containers, bows, wrapping paper, and ribbons.
Related Thanksgiving Activities
Below are some other popular Thanksgiving activities you might be interested in.
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Thanksgiving Read Alouds
Below are some popular read alouds for Thanksgiving that you might find pair well.
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In closing, we hope you found this post about our popular welcome Thanksgiving activities helpful. If you did, then you may also be interested in these other posts:
