November Activities For Kindergarten and First Grade
November activities here we come! There is so much to be thankful for during this month (and everyday). With Thanksgiving around the corner, and not many weeks until Thanksgiving Break, here are a few ideas to help you make it to the end.
(Speaking of “the end” — if you make it to the end of this blogpost I have a FREEBIE for you!)
Little Red Hen
During that awkward October AND November week…you know the one…where the kids come back on a little sugar high all the way until Thanksgiving…have some Little Red Hen fun. Read the story to them (there are a lot of versions) and sing a song then bake some bread together at the end of the week. Nothing could be more fun than baking and singing…nothing…well maybe Thanksgiving BUT that’s coming up.
After you bake and sing have the kids do a retell of the story The Little Red Hen. They could do it orally, act it out, or do a cut and paste activity. Have them write about it as well. You might have some of your own wonderful activities! Great! But maybe you don’t. I can help with that.
Secret Tip: In this song resource there is cut and paste story retell. I’ve taken grades on retelling a story so I use cut and paste retells. This way, if kids really struggle with the cut and paste I can pull those few students aside (instead of the entire class) and have them retell the story orally to see if they are not understanding retelling a story OR if they are having a hard time with the activity (multiple skill sets).
Community Helpers
I am sharing this with you during the month of November mainly to highlight it. You might not have time to do this theme in November (with everything else going on) and would prefer to wait on these activities until later this winter (or spring). BUT if you are trying to plan November and you have NO IDEA what to do…consider Community Helpers.
Guess what activity I’m going to suggest? That’s right! A SONG!!! Wait what? You don’t like to sing? Well, good thing you can just play the audio or video and let your kids sing along.
This is also a great time to invite parents into your classroom to tell students (or teach them) about their jobs. This is my favorite part! Pick the times of day that work for your class to have visitors and send an email for parents to sign up for a time. Then let the fun begin!!!
Secret Tip: This is a great time to teach the concept of questions so your students can ask the parents questions about their jobs (instead of telling stories).
You might even want to teach informational writing about community helpers. You could do this all orally if you are short on time. If you have more time, incorporate some writing about their favorite jobs. Or add some writing to your November centers with Community Helpers Write the Room, Writing Center and Fine Motor.
Turkeys & Thankfulness
I know I saved this for the end BUT it’s my favorite. I could teach kids about turkeys and being thankful ALL November.
I incorporate songs again. In fact, if you are wondering how I use music ALL YEAR LONG check out this blogpost: Tips For Poetry Journals In The Classroom
I also LOVE to teach kids about turkeys. There are lots of books to read to them and many ways to teach informational writing. If you want something that is already created for you check out Informational Writing Turkeys.
Of course I have center activities that might work for your class as well.
You might already have a month of November activities planned out and all is well. But in case you don’t, hopefully something I shared with you can help you as you begin planning out the month of November! Maybe it reminded you of something you already do or have OR maybe you are looking for a new resource already prepared for you.
Either way, I hope you have a wonderful start to the month of November!
Enjoy this FREE song that is great ANY time of the year! This will show you an example of what many of my song resources include.
