Thanksgiving Word Games

Thanksgiving is a great time of year, and a perfect time to incorporate Thanksgiving word games into your classroom activities. Read below to learn how to invent your own word games, learn good vocabulary words, and find games word games online that have to do with Thanksgiving.

Build a Thanksgiving Vocabulary List

Before you start making word games about Thanksgiving, consider establishing a Thanksgiving-themed vocabulary list, building it with your students. Give them a starter list, including the common words like turkey and Pilgrims, and see if you can encourage them to build a complex, thorough list.

If they are having trouble, take this opportunity to read a Thanksgiving-themed book to your kids. Encourage them to write down the Thanksgiving-themed words that they hear and once the story is over, use their notes to build a list together on the blackboard.  

Here are some great words to get you started: acorns, treats, turkey, vegetables, America, apple pie, harvest, Mayflower, holiday, meal, home, autumn, bake, baste, casserole, celebrate, centerpiece, stir, stuffing, tablecloth, cider, colonists, serve, gravy, ham platter, Plymouth, eat, fall, family, feast, giblets, gobble, prayer, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, voyage, Puritans, recipe, religion, roast, rolls, sail, blessings, bread, canoe, carve, sauce, seasons, squash, settlers, sleep, cook, corn, cornbread, cornucopia, cranberries, delicious, dessert, dinner, Indians, leaves, leftovers, maize, Massachusetts, nap, native, New World, November, oven, pans, parade, pecan pie, pie, Pilgrims, plantation, planting, plate, dish, drumstick, napkin, thanks, Thanksgiving, Thursday, tradition, grandparents, gratitude, pots, travel, tray, wishbone, yams. 

Thanksgiving Word Games

Try incorporating Thanksgiving-themed words into all aspects of your classroom.  You can make lots of Thanksgiving word games that include this holiday vocabulary on your own. Students will have fun playing these games since they are related to the holiday. Also, with the shortened school week that comes with the Thursday holiday, it is important to consider that games will keep students interested in school even though they know their break is only a few days away.  

Turkey on the Table:  A Thanksgiving Word Game

Have your students stand in a circle all facing each other. One student, the turkey, should stand in the middle. The game starts when you have the turkey “trot” to any student at random in the circle. They say to the other student, “I’m the Turkey on the table and I have apples on the table. What do you bring to the table?” The other student has to think of another Thanksgiving-related vocabulary word that begins with the same letter. If they can’t think of one, they become the turkey. When the student is stumped, offer a word suggestion or two for the next time that letter comes up. 

This game builds vocabulary skills and can be a great break from desk work. It gets kids moving around, laughing, and working together. Make sure that you stay on theme, and that students learn new words for food, family, and other Thanksgiving vocabulary. 

Finding Thanksgiving Games Online

• K6 Educators features a great lesson plan about writing Thanksgiving-themed poetry with your students. Encourage your students to think about what they are thankful for, and help them use as much Thanksgiving-themed vocabulary within their work! Turn it into a game by having students work as teams to write stanzas of poetry: Each team can write a stanza about a theme in their life, such as “friends,” “family,” “foods,” “activities,” and “home.”  Then, put the stanzas together to have a creative class poem.
• Alphabet-Soup.net has Thanksgiving word searches, online crossword puzzles, word scrambles, and printable materials. You can also let your students play the drag-and-drop puzzles on the computer as a break from vocabulary games.
• Blackdog.net will send you to a variety of puzzles that are related to the Thanksgiving theme. Try building a Thanksgiving “Madlib” that stars your students, or playing a game of Turkey Tic-tac-toe. Crossword puzzles, word jumbles, word searches, hangman, and other games are all available on this website.
• This printable packet at Teacher Vision contains lots of activities related to Thanksgiving vocabulary. Simply print out enough packets so that each student has one, and set them to work on completing their Thanksgiving word games either alone or with a partner.