digital resources Archives - Teacher's Brain

Disguise A Turkey Digital Thanksgiving Activity

November 12, 2021 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Thanksgiving in Kindergarten

November is such a great time of year. Turkeys everywhere, delicious food, and the start of Christmas decor!

As a teacher, it is especially fun because you get to do lots of turkey and Thanksgiving-themed activities with the kiddos.

Students love making pilgrim hats, completing this Thanksgiving escape room, creating turkey headbands, and even performing a Thanksgiving play!

These are all amazing for increasing student engagement throughout November, but one of my favorite activities was always the Disguise a Turkey activity.

Every year, I would have students disguise a naked turkey so it wouldn’t get eaten on Thanksgiving Day. It’s so fun! Students are sent home with the turkey printable and work with their families to come up with creative disguises. We got some cool disguised turkeys! Then students would practice their creative writing skills by writing about them.

It was a hit! But then the pandemic hit, and I was so sad that students wouldn’t be able to do this project. However, I found a way to use Google Slides to provide a digital version with a printables so students would never have to miss out on this fun activity.

So now students can disguise their turkey while distance learning!

This Thanksgiving activity is available on Google Slides

These interactive, editable slides make it easy to have students copy and paste movable parts to DISGUISE a TURKEY!

After coming up with the perfect disguise, they get to write a narrative opinion story about their turkey.

I love this activity because it is not only educational, but it allows students to engage in some creative holiday fun. They’ll get 9 backgrounds to choose from, 6 slides with movable parts, 5 slides for students to brainstorm, organize thoughts, and write a story about their disguised turkey, and black and white slides for students to digitally or handwrite stories.

You can even add some animation and music to it while in Present mode! Afterward, you can print these out to decorate your classroom or make a slideshow so everyone can see it virtually.

Check out the video tutorial here!

4 Digital Holiday Centers For Kindergarten And First Grade

December 11, 2020 teachersbrain Distance Learning, Teacher's Pay Teachers

The winter holidays are such an exciting time for children, and bringing fun activities into the classroom creates happy students! Center activities are a favorite for teachers throughout the year as they can be completed by small groups of kids independently. Once activities are introduced and demonstrated, teachers can work with a group of students or rotate around the room as groups work.

They are also exciting for students as they get to interact with peers and move around the room from activity to activity. Winter holidays provide great subject matter for centers and are the perfect addition to your lesson plans!

Read on to learn about four of my favorite holiday centers for the most wonderful time of the year.

1.The Virtual Art Calendar is a great gift for parents, and is lots of fun for students as well.

This activity allows students to use Google Slides to create a unique 12-month calendar. The editable designs let kids get creative while they learn important calendar skills. Add artwork for each month, staple or bind with a ribbon.

Since it can be completed digitally or printed out, it is a perfect option for digital learning. When students complete the calendar, they can print it out or even email it to their parents. A learning activity, virtual lesson, and parent gift combination is an awesome fit for 2020- and calendars are updated yearly so you will be able to use this resource every year!

For more parent gift ideas, check out my post here.

2. One of the most unique holiday centers idea for the holidays is the Ugly Sweater Writing Activity.

Students will use Google Slides to design their own ugly sweater, then write about it. Once students have completed their designs the slides can be compiled into a presentation for an Ugly Sweater Contest.

You can add music and let students vote on their favorite designs. Graphic organizers and prompts are also included so students can write about their sweater. This will definitely be the most fun writing activity of the year! All materials are digital or printable, so this activity is great for digital learning.

3.Next up is the Holidays Around the World Escape Room.

Don’t worry- your students will stay safely in your classroom as they solve clues. This activity is great for reading comprehension and problem solving skills.

Students will learn about winter holidays around the world and practice using the main idea as they attempt to break the spell of a bad elf. This activity could be completed during distance learning as well as it is 100% digital. You can increase the excitement by offering something special if they escape!

4. Another escape activity is the Balloons Over Broadway Digital Escape activity.

In this lesson, students will learn about the designer of Macy’s holiday windows, parade balloons- the great puppeteer Tony Sarg. Students will listen to a short story, then use their comprehension and problem solving skills to “break the locks”.

This activity is digital so students can work at home, in small groups, or independently in the classroom. The Puppet Parade activity is ideal for first, second, or third grade students but kindergarten students can still enjoy it by doing it as a group with the whole class.

I hope your students have a great time working on these holiday centers!

holiday centers