Thanksgiiving day

[Gavhar]

Hello, dear collegues.
I'm an English teacher in Uzbekistan.
I'm going to organise a small party on the proud of Thanksgiving Day with my students (15-17 years old).
I need some more information on the topic, please send me information, flash cards, videos, plan how to organise it,(if you have).
Or give me sites where I can find useful things, please.
Thanks beforehand.

[samuel]

Thanksgiving day is an important holiday especially in the united states and in Canada. Currently, in Canada, Thanksgiving (Action de grâce) is celebrated on the second Monday of October and in the United States, it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest.

For your party, you could show this interesting video which describes very well what this celebration is all about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reDiz5nkxK8

Basically, this is a celebration of everything that we are thankful for. So, use your imagination. Think about what you guys are thankful for and create your own atmosphere in your country!

[samantha]

Thanksgiving is an important holiday in the USA and in Canada although they are not celebrated in the same month. In the states they actually get a whole week off of school! :) Lucky them!!
Here, in Canada, we get a a few days off.
Thanksgiving is a holiday which is there to remind us to be thankful. Since we live in such a fast-paced society, we tend to take so many things for granted. It's important to take some time to spend with our family and be thankful for what we have.
Typically, a thanksgiving supper is shared with the whole family.

[jetar]

It is a really interesting idea to discuss Thanksgiving Day with your students since it is related to English culture. You do not mention at which level you are teaching, but if you go on bogglesworldesl.com, you will find ready to use Thanksgiving Day worksheets and activities that could be done with younger learners.
I also have a suggestion for you. I think it would be interesting to have your students find a similar celebration in their own culture so that they would be able to become aware of similarities and differences between the English culture and their own culture.

Have fun!

[culture]

Thanksgiving Day is a joyous family holiday celebrated with lot of enthusiasm in US, Canada and some other countries. But the date of celebration in the United States differs from that in Canada. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. Canadians celebrate it on the second Monday in October. The reason of the difference is merely geographical. Autumn (Fall) season starts earlier in Canada than in America.

You could find a video history of Thanksgiving if you click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJwJrQfd ... re=related

Thanksgiving Day is a celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life. Thanksgiving Day tradition includes Family Reunion and Feasting, symbolic food (Turkey with Cranberry sauce, Pumpkin Pie, Corns etc.).
Click here and you could find a nice Thanksgiving Song with rather simple text for those who started studying English not long ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz83Oh8l ... re=related

[cyndie]

I don't think that we should actually celebrate Thanksgiving day in Canada's school.
I mean at least in Quebec since it is not a holiday that we ( Quebecers ) make it as an important day. English Canadian are much more interested in this holiday, they do special occasion meals and family dinners just for the Thanksgiving. Quebec just does not pay attention to this day, it is not in our culture to celebrate it at home, so why should we celebrate it at school?

[samueltremblay]

One good activity to do with your students on Thanksgiving Day is to give them a list of important people—for example: the president Obama, a professional hockey player and also a superhero if you feel more imaginative—and have them write a sentence or a paragraph to describe what these people have to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. I found that activity on a web site for ESL teachers and tried it with a group of students. It turned out that it worked very well, especially when you let your students be creative and invent their own character if they want to. I hope that this will give you an idea of what to do with your students!

[culture]

Thanksgiving Day is a joyous family holiday celebrated with lot of enthusiasm in US, Canada and some other countries. But the date of celebration in the United States differs from that in Canada. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. Canadians celebrate it on the second Monday in October. The reason of the difference is merely geographical. Autumn (Fall) season starts earlier in Canada than in America.

You could find a video history of Thanksgiving if you click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJwJrQfd ... re=related

Thanksgiving Day is a celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life. Thanksgiving Day tradition includes Family Reunion and Feasting, symbolic food (Turkey with Cranberry sauce, Pumpkin Pie, Corns etc.).
Click here and you could find a nice Thanksgiving Song with rather simple text for those who started studying English not long ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz83Oh8l ... re=related

[karineculture]

Hello !
I am from Quebec and honestly, I know nothing about Thanksgiving day or "Action de Grâce" since we don't celebrate it. The only thing good about it is that we don't work or go to school on Thanksgiving day ;)
Consequently, I think that as a future English teacher, it could be a good idea to create an activity for this occasion in order to teach students things about this day. It would be good for them, and for me, to know WHY they don't go to school on that day. I looked on the Internet for some activities and I found this interesting website where you can find games, recipes, printables, etc.: http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/

This one has printable books, coloring worksheets, etc. : http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/

I would like to know how Thanksgiving is celebrated in other countries. What do English people do on that day?

[amrif]

Having lived in both, the United States and Canada, I have experienced thanksgiving in both places. I feel that Thanksgiving Day seems to be more of a big deal in the United States than it is here in Canada. I feel that in Quebec, celebrating Thanksgiving (l’action de grâce), is not as important as it is to the rest of English Canada. I have been able to compare how both, French Canadians (Quebecers) and English Canadians, celebrate. Quebecers use this holiday as a chance of getting family members together, but many people I have talked to and observed say that it isn’t a necessary thing.