Beyond the Feast: The Real Story of Thanksgiving
Independent Google Slides Lesson | Grades 9-12 | SEL + ELA Aligned
Teach your students the truth behind Thanksgiving with a respectful, meaningful, and student-friendly independent lesson. This resource helps students rethink the traditional Thanksgiving narrative, explore Indigenous perspectives, and reflect on gratitude in a thoughtful way — all while building reading, critical thinking, and SEL skills.
Perfect for Thanksgiving week, sub days, block periods, or as a calm, reflective lesson before fall break.
This no-prep Google Slides lesson includes:
Warm-Up Reflection: Students reflect on what they’ve been taught about Thanksgiving and activate prior knowledge.
True or False Interactive Game: Students will determine whether the 3 statements provided are true or false, and then will answer a reflection prompt
Student Choice: Students choose to read a 2-minute article or watch a short video explaining the National Day of Mourning.
Native Land Digital Activity: Students identify the Indigenous nations connected to the land where their school is located.
Create Your Own Land Acknowledgment: A student-friendly explanation of what a land acknowledgment is + a guided writing task.
Final Reflection: A thoughtful closing prompt to help students process what they learned.
SEL + ELA Skill Building: Students practice...
Self-awareness
Social awareness
Reflection + meaningful writing
Perspective-taking
Informational text understanding
Critical thinking
Why Teachers Love It:
Completely student-led
Great for block periods, Friday classes, or Thanksgiving week
Perfect blend of truth, gratitude, and SEL
Creates meaningful conversation and respectful awareness
Helps students understand history and build empathy
Perfect For...
Thanksgiving week
Independent work days
Sub plans
Calm, reflective class periods
ELA + Social Studies crossover
Brain breaks with purpose
Make This November Meaningful: Teach students the truth and the gratitude behind Thanksgiving with this ready-to-use, thoughtful Google Slides lesson.
