As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect moment to bring themes of gratitude, connection, and reflection into the Spanish classroom. Below you’ll find a collection of engaging, student-friendly activities that celebrate the season while supporting meaningful language learning. Each idea is designed to help students express gratitude, build community, and enjoy Spanish in a purposeful and joyful way.
1. El Día de Acción de Gracias – Interactive Notebook A fun printable set that helps students express what they’re thankful for in Spanish through writing and drawing. These activities can also be displayed on a bulletin board to showcase what’s happening in your classroom. This can be used with multiple grade levels.Explore the resource here »
3. Gratitude Craft A simple and beautiful project where students write or draw what they’re thankful for in Spanish. It’s perfect for a bulletin board or mural de gratitud. It includes a variety of templates. Explore the resource here »
I also have a few no-prep Thanksgiving freebies waiting for you here!
Last but not least, don’t forget to stop by my YouTube channelto check out the new and updated videos.
This year I wanted to do something more connected to nature in some of my classes for Thanksgiving, but this resource can be used any time during the school year. It’s a great and simple way to talk about gratitude with your students. I came across these two beautiful books that inspired my short story in Spanish called “Gracias Madre Tierra.”
The first book is called “Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message” by Chief Jake Swamp. If the book is not available, you can find different read alouds on YouTube, but the one below is my favorite.
It’s also a great idea to team with homeroom teachers and ask them to read the books with your students. What a beautiful way to create cross-cultural connections!
Here are some ideas that can be done in class:
Have a conversation about the true story of Thanksgiving. Hopefully, this conversation is also happening with your students’ homeroom teachers. And yes! I have this conversation in English with my students.
I have attended some conferences that start with land acknowledgments, especially the People of Color Conference. The school where I currently teach has a land acknowledgment on their website, and many other public and private institutions have one too!
Land Acknowledgement: This is usually done at the beginning of a public event to recognize and acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ land and belonging to a certain territory. It’s a way to honor and show respect to the Indigenous Peoples of the land on which we live or visit. Once you have identified whose lands you are on, you can share the information with your students. It is not necessary to use Spanish for this portion of the class, but you are of course welcome to give it a try.
Here is an idea of what you can say:
I do have to clarify that I am not an expert on this topic, but given the history of these lands, it’s important for our students to know and acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples whose lands were stolen and not to sugarcoat this issue.
Use this website to learn about the territory you live on: Native-Land.ca
Resources to learn more about Land Acknowledgement:
I am proud of this resource I created in connection with the gratitude theme. With this resource I also invite teachers to bring Land Acknowledgment to their classes, take a nature walk, and invite students to be thankful to our Madre Tierra.
My younger students love all kinds of movement cards. We use them as quick brain brains. Movement cards are also a great opportunity to connect language with movement. If you explore my blog you will find that I have made different ones related to different holidays or topics that are of the interest of my students. The movement cards also have a lot repetition. You will find the same action verb or object in different cards.
How do they work? Just read them to your students and have them act every card. These Thanksgiving movement cards have been a hit these days! Download yours here and let the fun begin!
