I know it’s still October, but guys… Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! There are so many ways to celebrate that day in our nation’s history, but I think that no Thanksgiving lesson is complete without really helping our students dive into Native American history, culture, and legacy from then through now! Did you know that November is Native American Heritage Month? Sounds like the perfect time to learn more about the First Americans. Today, I’m sharing five Native American activities and ideas for bringing forward Native American tribes in your classroom.
So, to help you do just that, I’ve got some perfect for 2nd Grade Native American activities, lessons, and resources to incorporate into your November lesson plans for this school year!
1. Native Americans Reading Comprehension Mini-Lesson
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin as we are studying Native American history and culture this time of year. That’s why I put together this mini-lesson kit for you!
This reading comprehension mini-lesson kit includes five days of suggested lessons done for you. This social studies unit is seriously perfect for teaching your students about the first Americans – Native Americans! This Mini-Lesson covers four different Native American tribes, all while building reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency along the way.
Best part? It is designed for your Google classroom, but can also be pulled into Microsoft and adapted to in-person learning.
2. Helpful Books
This list of November Must-Reads has a couple of really beautiful and helpful books to use to teach your students about Native Americans in a respectful way that really brings honor to their stories and histories.
3. Native American Research Poster
Have your students learn more about the amazing people who inhabited the continent long before European settlers came with this research poster activity.
To complete, students choose a tribe to research. Then, they work to create a poster to display their information. Present to the class to help students learn about how vastly different Native American tribes were. Perfect for younger students!
Check out the Beginning Research Project Unit here in my TeachersPayTeachers store!
4. Native Americans and Pilgrims Compare and Contrast
One activity that has been super helpful for my students is a simple Venn diagram to compare and contrast the differences and similarities between the Pilgrims and Native American tribes. It really brings it to life for those little minds! You can learn more about how we did that here in this blog post.
5. Facts, Crafts, and Stories, Oh My!
If you’re looking for a website to use as a reference during a Native American study, I totally suggest this resource site. It includes fact sheets on a wide variety of tribes, as well as links to stories, ideas for plays, crafts, and other literature and FAQs. It’s one of the most comprehensive resources that I have found yet and is really done so well. You have to check it out!!
Hope these ideas and resources come in handy for you this Thanksgiving as you work with your students to help them learn about and really honor Native Americans. Let me know in the comments if you implement any into your plans for November!
Need other ideas to celebrate Thanksgiving in your classroom? Check out these perfect-for-the-Holiday posts:
- No Turkey for Thanksgiving (theappliciousteacher.com)
- My Thankful Heart: A Thanksgiving Writing Activity – The Applicious Teacher
- Turk and Runt Close Reading Activities for Thanksgiving (theappliciousteacher.com)
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