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Home > Resource Center > Articles > This Cross-Curricular Thematic Activity Combines Thanksgiving, Writing & Math.
This Cross-Curricular Thematic Activity Combines Thanksgiving, Writing & Math.
This Cross-Curricular Thematic Activity Combines Thanksgiving, Writing & Math.
Idea by Catherine, 4th Grade Teacher, Oakdale, Minnesota:
In preparation for celebrating Thanksgiving, my class brainstorms questions for a "Thanksgiving Day Survey." Typical survey questions include:
- Who do you share your Thanksgiving meal with?
- Do you watch the Macy Thanksgiving Day parade?
- Do you like white meat or dark meat?
- What's your favorite kind of holiday pie?
- What do you do after the Thanksgiving Day meal?
- ...And so on.
We then look at each question separately to determine if it is the open-ended kind that can have many different answers, or if it can be answered by a simple yes or no. I then divide the class into small groups representing the different Thanksgiving categories reflected in the questions (e.g., Meal, Desserts, Activities, Traditions, etc.). Each group uses a computer to prepare and print the list of questions related to its category. Students then distribute their individual questionnaires to each other to complete. After the questionnaires have been filled out and returned, the groups use the data collected to create a graph displaying the results. The groups use these small group graphs to create a master graph poster displaying all the results. We display our "Thanksgiving Day Survey" poster in the hallway for the whole school to enjoy.
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