Thanksgiving Persuasive Writing and a FREEBIE

I have always had a hard time with Thanksgiving crafts. I can never seem to find the art project that is “so cute I just can’t stand it!” One year I tried cornucopia’s. I thought “Oh this will be unique and fun!” I had my students write one thing they were thankful for on each piece of food and we hung them in the hall. It wasn’t awesome. It was okay but not great. I decided that since I haven’t been able to find anything super amazing for my Thanksgiving craft, I would make it more academic based.

My thesis for my Master’s program was on writing, specifically expository writing. I knew from my studies and from talking to other teachers that when schedules are tight, writing is the first thing to get cut back or cut out. I think writing is so powerful and can reach so many students once they feel comfortable being the authors and not just the readers! So I figured now is as good a time as any to incorporate some writing.

One of the three main components of the common core writing standards is that of persuasive writing. I normally do a few persuasive pieces throughout the year but nothing for Thanksgiving. I decided to have my students write a persuasive piece from a turkey’s point of view. Now this may sound a little morbid (and it probably is) but I had my students write a letter to the farmer convincing them that they shouldn’t be the turkey picked for Thanksgiving dinner. They had to list their reasons and justify their answers. They actually turned out really cute!

If you are interested in doing a similar activity, you can download my FREE persuasive writing pages by clicking on the link below.