Mmmm, Thanksgiving. Whether you are eating pumpkin or sweet potato pie, this holiday is one most people can get behind. But let’s be honest… planning around a short week can be difficult. Why? You only have 2-3 days (depending on your school) to work with, a long weekend between lessons, and not to mention some of your students may be absent so they can travel to see family. How do you plan for this? Here’s an insider tip: you don’t want to give a test or introduce a new topic that your students will forget over the long weekend. I like to focus my class time this week on low stress and educational activities.
Here are the options I’ve got for you:
Option 1: Enrichment
Engage ALL of your students, not just the advanced ones, in enrichment activities that you normally don’t have time for. This can come in MANY forms. Labs could be fun but remember that you still have to clean up before you leave.
Option 2: Experimental Lessons
Try out something new and give your students the power to give you feedback. Like, with an actual feedback form. Students find this type of lesson engaging and realize just how much thought goes into your lesson planning.
Over my teaching career, I’ve done both options. I would not recommend one over the other. It depends on your energy level and where you are in your curriculum. I’ve compiled a list of options for you to try next week. They range from full-on enrichment to something as simple as an infographic you can display on your screen.
Thanksgiving-Themed Chemistry Activities
Compound Interest Infographics
If you’re looking for something quick, check out compoundchem.com. They have AWESOME infographics for a variety of chemical topics. You can post it and forget it, or you can discuss it with your students. I like to talk with my kids, so I’ll pick an infographic from Compound Chemistry’s Food Chemistry Index, like Thanksgiving Turkey Chemistry or The Maillard Reaction, and project it on the screen. Then I’ll post some others on Schoology (my school’s learning management system), so my students have something to check out over the long weekend.
These infographics are great for any time, not just a short week. But I especially like to pull them out for weird weeks that are hard to plan around.
Make a color-by-numbers practice page
Find a free coloring page you like and combine it with a worksheet you already use. The questions need to be multiple choice, where each answer option also has a color. You can write the color in parentheses next to each option or completely reformat your worksheet. Up to you.
Decide which colors you want where and number the picture accordingly.
For example, I found this free coloring page with a quick google search. I want the apples and tomato to be red. If my worksheet doesn’t have many questions, I can label them all with the same number. My answer options should have red with the correct answer. If you have more questions, label them each with a different number.
Double-side your printing, and voila- a holiday-themed practice page.
TPT Thanksgiving Activities
I think we all know by now that I love TPT. Finding something quick and giving back to the creator brings me joy. I have a couple of Thanksgiving-themed activities that I’ve purchased and printed every year. While I don’t require them at all, I do print them and let it be known they are available if/when students are finished.
- Thanksgiving/ Fall Coloring Page for Early Finishers | Holiday Coloring Sheet
- Thanksgiving Logic Puzzle for Middle School – Thanksgiving Math Activity
Chemistry Enrichment Activities for a Short Week
Whole-Class Articles
Pick an interesting topic related to your current unit. Ask your students to highlight words they don’t know or highlight science vocabulary they do know (helps build confidence). If the article you’ve selected comes with questions, GREAT. Answer the questions, discuss as a group, and then discuss as a class. Bam. Lesson done. If the article does not have questions, you can 1) write questions that get them to focus on what you think is important or 2) use this very handy Current Event Article Close Reading graphic organizer. Then you can center your discussion on different parts of the organizer – like “who is this article for?”, “what was the author’s intent?” and “why is this newsworthy?”
For articles you may want to check out:
- ScienceDaily – A great sight that is updated daily. Articles are short, so you could read two in a period if you’re looking at two sides of an argument.
- NewsELA – You need an account for this website, but it can link directly to google classroom. I don’t like this website as much because the science articles aren’t as varied. Which makes sense because science is not the focus. However, what’s cool is that you can change the Lexile level, and articles come with questions.
Documentaries
Showing a video doesn’t mean you are a bad or lazy teacher. But you do need to be strategic with the videos you choose. There are a TON of great documentaries out there that can enrich your science teaching. Be sure to follow your school’s rules for showing films. The first school I taught at required an accompanying worksheet. My current school does not require a worksheet. However, I cannot show a full documentary in one class period. I must stop it periodically to chat with my students about what we’re watching.
You watch episodes from one of Netflix’s many science documentary series, Mythbusters, NOVA, Bill Nye, etc. Many of these are available on youtube.
Need something to watch? Here are some options:
Chemistry: A Volatile History
A documentary in 3 parts, this series follows the historical discoveries that make up modern chemistry. The host travels to historical sites and presents the information in a really engaging way. It is getting harder to find free access to this series, but I’ve found this playlist that has each episode in 6 short clips (about 10 minutes each), perfect for stopping to chat about each set.
Episode 1: Discovering the Elements
Episode 2: The Order of the Elements
Episode 3: The Power of the Elements
I found this list of questions years ago and have reformatted it for you. There are 50 questions total for the 3 episodes. Feel free to use the whole thing, or pick and choose as you see fit!
Here are some other great documentaries:
Absolute Zero: The Conquest for Cold (60ish minutes), worksheet
Absolute Zero: The Race for Absolute Zero (60ish minutes), worksheet
Student Research
I love having students complete research. They… hate it. But that’s ok. Research is like vegetables. They don’t like ‘em, but they’re good for ‘em. I’ve set up both short-term and long-term research projects for my students. You want to keep the research short and sweet for this short week. I would say one day of research, one day to write a report or build a presentation, and one day to present or have small group discussions. You can skip that last part if you only have two days this week, but presenting to peers puts some pressure on students to produce at least an adequate product.
Current Science Seminar
I am so happy I found this resource: Current Science News Seminar from Sunrise Science. It completely lays out the research process for your kiddos. They find an article, write a summary, and then write a short quiz for their summary. Students then present their findings to small groups and take the quiz for the presentations they listen to. They turn in a hard copy of the article, summary, and quiz. You obviously can modify all of this – but it’s a great resource to have on hand for strange weeks or even for unexpected sub plans.
Science Fiction Breakdown
Another research project I like completing with my students is a Science Fiction Literary Analysis. Students examine a scene from a movie, novel, or short story for scientific accuracy. This activity is set up in 4 parts: rationale, review, research, and essay. If this sounds like too much, you can chop it up and use the parts that you want. I have this project available in my TPT store. It comes with templates as well as real student examples!
If you have the time, I highly recommend letting your students pick the science fiction they analyze. They have a connection with the material and will be more willing to analyze it for accuracy.
And that’s it. That’s how I have survived this weird short week for the past ten or so years. Let me know what you plan on doing this year! I’d love to here from you 🙂
For more Thanksgiving advice…
Chemistry of Thanksgiving Food, acs.org
Fall and Thanksgiving STEM Activities, The Homeschool Scientist
3 Thanksgiving Science Activities You Don’t Want To Miss This Year, The Elemental Scientist
Thanksgiving Science Activities For High School, It’s Not Rocket Scientist
