Get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and express gratitude in your Chinese immersion classroom or at home with some fun and engaging Chinese activities! In this post, we’ve gathered creative ideas and hands-on learning activities to help your little ones learn Chinese while embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving.

1. Read Chinese Children’s Books about Thanksgiving

Reading books about Thanksgiving is a wonderful way for children to learn about the holiday’s traditions, stories, and the importance of gratitude. Here’s a list of 6 fun and heartwarming Chinese children’s books about Thanksgiving. These books explore themes like family gatherings, Macy’s Thanksgiving parade traditions, showing thankfulness, helping young learners connect with the spirit of the season.

We found read aloud videos for these three books on YouTube:

• 《火鸡的感恩节》

• 《感谢的味道》

• 《跟大伙儿说谢谢》

2. Playing Thanksgiving Chinese vocabulary games

Introduce Thanksgiving words in Chinese with clear and colorful flashcards! Each card features one Thanksgiving symbol with the Chinese word and pinyin or zhuyin.

Click here to get the flash cards in our TPT store. We provide three versions: Simplified Chinese with pinyin, Traditional Chinese with pinyin, and Traditional Chinese with zhuyin.

Check out our blog to discover creative ways to make Chinese vocabulary learning fun and exciting!

Some of our favorite activities include using a fly swatter to swat the vocabulary cards and a lively "Write the Room" activity. These interactive games will keep your little ones excited about learning new words!

3. Learning about Thanksgiving food in Chinese

Thanksgiving is known for its delicious traditional dishes, and this activity gives students a tasty introduction to the holiday’s foods in Chinese! Start by reading a Chinese mini-book about popular Thanksgiving foods like turkey (烤火鸡 kǎo huǒ jī), mashed potatoes (土豆泥 tǔ dòu ní), and pumpkin pie (南瓜派 nán guā pài). A word bank with pictures is included for students to learn and practice the Chinese vocabulary.

After reading, invite students to make personal connections by sharing their favorite foods, and even discussing any dishes their families enjoy during festive gatherings!

4. Learning about Thanksgiving activities in Chinese

Thanksgiving activities go beyond just food! With this resource, your Chinese learners will read a Chinese mini-book and learn about traditional Thanksgiving activities in Chinese like “看电视 kàn diàn shì” (watching TV), “玩橄榄球 wán gǎn lǎn qiú” (playing football), and “探望家人 tàn wàng jiā rén” (visiting family).

Students can then make connections to their own family traditions by sharing what they enjoy doing on Thanksgiving, drawing scenes from their day, and writing about their experiences. It’s a fun way to build Chinese vocabulary and inspire personal storytelling!

Grab the simplified or traditional Chinese Thanksgiving Activities resource in our TPT store.

5. Blending science in your Chinese lesson - Exploring Thanksgiving with 5 senses

Bring science into your Chinese lessons with a sensory Thanksgiving experience! Students will read about the five senses, and learn how they can use the five senses to describe the Thanksgiving gathering, sharing what they see (看到 kàn dào), hear (听到 tīng dào), smell (闻到 wén dào), taste (尝到 cháng dào), and touch (摸到 mō dào). This fun exploration will help students expand their vocabulary while connecting their sensory experiences to the holiday. It's a creative way to make language learning more vivid and meaningful!

Grab the simplified or traditional Chinese Thanksgiving 5 Senses resource in our TPT store.

6. Reading a Mini-book to practice numbers and Chinese

A perfect activity for toddlers and preschool Chinese learners! They’ll practice counting from 1-10 while learning thanksgiving-themed Chinese words like “火鸡 huǒ jī (turkey)” and “蔓越莓 màn yuè méi (cranberry)”.

This activity helps them grasp the concept of using objects to represent numbers, building a strong math foundation as they learn Chinese vocabulary and measure words!

Grab the simplified or traditional Chinese version here.

7. Thanksgiving Turkey Activities and Crafts

Get creative this Thanksgiving with three fun, hands-on turkey-themed activities in Chinese! Students can enjoy the Turkey Disguise project, where they’ll read a story and come up with clever costumes to help their turkey hide. For the Thankful Turkey craft, they’ll write down things they’re grateful for on colorful feathers. Finally, dive into All About Turkeys to explore facts about these birds and write a short informational piece in Chinese.

For full activity guides and printables, head over to our Thanksgiving Chinese Turkey Activities and Crafts blog post!

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8. Celebrating Thanksgiving with Chinese Songs and Videos

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to celebrate thankfulness and gratitude, and songs are an wonderful way to help children learn a new language! These four Chinese songs will bring the spirit to life for young learners!

《听我说谢谢你》 (“Let Me Say Thank You”) is a beautiful song for young children to express gratitude. The lyrics are simple, repetitive, and easy to sing along to, making it perfect for kids to learn and follow. It’s our favorite Chinese song for kids to say “thank you” in the Thanksgiving season.

《感恩歌》 is a simple and engaging song that helps children learn words for gratitude and appreciation in Chinese. Its catchy melody and repetitive lyrics “你感谢什么呢？我感谢…” make it easy for young Chinese learners to follow along and remember, while introducing essential phrases to say thank you in a fun way.

《感谢歌》 is a heartwarming song that teaches children to express gratitude in Chinese through simple, repetitive phrases. With an easy-to-follow tune and meaningful lyrics, this song helps kids learn to say “thank you” to family, friends, and teachers, making it a lovely way to practice Chinese while celebrating thankfulness.

The 《火鸡跳舞》 (“Turkey Dance”) video is a lively, fun way for kids to get moving while celebrating Thanksgiving! With easy dance moves and a catchy beat, this video encourages children to follow along and “dance like a turkey,” making it a perfect activity for adding some joyful movement to your holiday lessons.