Students will love this Thanksgiving activity where they will be using their math and problem-solving skills to plan a holiday dinner. They might get so engrossed in the fun that they don’t even realize that they are doing math!
This resource is perfect for in-person and virtual classrooms in grades 2-5.
Let me give you a peak into this new Thanksgiving activity…
The Project
In this activity, students will be planning Thanksgiving dinner for a family. They are given a menu with drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts to choose from. They will select different menus items for members of the family based on their food likes and dislikes.
Students are given a budget and so they must plan this dinner for the entire family without going over the budget. Students will be adding the money amounts to track their spendings.
This is real world math in action!
Printable and Digital Activity
This resource is completely digital. This makes it a great option for hybrid and fully virtual classrooms. It is also ideal for classrooms that are 1:1 with technology.
The digital version of the activity has been created on Google Slides. It is easy to assign using Google Classroom. We have also included directions about how to download the Google Slides as a PowerPoint. You can use the PowerPoint version in platforms such as Teams, Schoology, and Canvas.
We have also included a printable version that is identical to the digital activity. This is ideal for in-person classrooms and classrooms that are not 1:1 with technology.
Differentiation
This project is easy to differentiate so that it can be used in multiple grade levels and with multiple skill levels.
Family Size
There are two different sets of student directions that you can choose from. Students are either preparing dinner for a family of four or a family of six. The larger family size does add a little more of a challenge to the activity as they will be working with a larger budget.
Money
We have included two different levels- one that is less complex and one that is more complex. If you assign the less complex version to your students, they will be working with money amounts that don’t include decimals. This works well with grades 2-3. The more complex level includes money amounts with decimals and is a great option for most students in grades 4-5.
We also included an editable version. You can use this version to change the dollar amounts to add even more variety and challenge!
Of course, you can assign one level to some students and the other level to the rest of your class.
Problem Solving
We have included a slide that has family food preferences (such as Dad doesn’t like turkey or stuffing). This slide adds some extra problem solving to the activity because students must consider food preferences and the budget. You can choose to include this slide or delete it to make the activity a little less challenging.
Typing or Drag and Drop
Another way that this activity can be differentiated is that we have included an option where students will just drag and drop the information into the tracking sheets. This is great for younger learners. We have also included tracking sheets where students will type the information. This is great for older learners and those who have more experience with technology.
Whether you are teaching via Zoom or face-to face, there is no doubt that students are going to love this fun Thanksgiving resource!
We have included a detailed video that walks you through the entire resource. You will find that video in the resource description.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
And for more great Thanksgiving activities, check out this post.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Not So Wimpy Day,
Thank you so much for all these wonderful holiday Virtual theme Projects. You are truly amazing! ?
Happy thanksgiving to you and your Family.
This Thanksgiving Dinner is a fabulous idea! I had a similar idea to use this week leading up to Thanksgiving, but having it digital is a much better idea. My students are very familiar with Google Slides and they will be able to complete this assignment because of their background knowledge with the program. Thank you for the ideas of differentiating the lesson as well. I have a few students who need extra support and the drag and drop option will help greatly.