Looking for an engaging Thanksgiving nonfiction unit for your middle school students? This resource combines a rigorous nonfiction article, comprehension quizzes, and interactive task cards with built-in ADHD supports and Pre-AP extensions. Perfect for 6th–8th grade ELA classrooms!

Your Thanksgiving lessons don’t have to be repetitive or surface-level. This resource provides a complete, multi-day unit that blends history and literacy. Students read a full nonfiction article on The Pilgrims and the Mayflower and then deepen comprehension through 7 standards-aligned lesson plans.

With flexible activities like task card stations, movement-based learning, and evidence-based quizzes, this resource supports all learners. ADHD-friendly scaffolds keep students focused, while Pre-AP challenges push advanced learners toward higher-level analysis. Teachers save valuable time with included lesson plans and detailed answer keys.

The Contents

Here’s what’s included:

• Nonfiction Article: The Pilgrims and the Mayflower: A Journey to Freedom(student-friendly, historically accurate, middle school level)

• 7 Complete Lesson Plans:

  • Text Features Quiz (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false)

  • Text Structures Quiz (multiple-choice, short answer, application-based)

  • Task Card Station Activity (24 task cards included)

  • Whole Group Task Card Discussion

  • Movement-Based Task Card Activity (great for kinesthetic learners)

  • Common Core Reading Comprehension Quiz (10 multiple-choice, 5 matching, 3 fill-in-the-blank, 2 short answer)

  • 10 Short Answer Quiz (with peer review + reflection)

• Answer Keys: Fully explained answers for teacher support

• Differentiation Options: ADHD supports (highlighting, chunking, movement breaks, oral processing) + Pre-AP extensions (extended analysis, synthesis, peer teaching)

Ideas for Use

• Seasonal ELA Unit: Use in November to connect history and literacy

• Small-Group Learning: Task card stations for collaboration and movement

• Independent Practice: Quizzes with text evidence for assessment

• Sub Plans: Structured lesson outlines make this sub-ready

• Cross-Curricular Learning: Supports both ELA skills and American history content

Why They’ll Love It

• Engaging: Interactive task cards and movement-based lessons keep students interested

• Time-Saving: Complete lesson plans with explained answer keys included

• Flexible: Adapt for 1-day review or expand into a full 5–7 day mini-unit

• Rigorous: Standards-based, with scaffolds for struggling learners and challenges for advanced students

Additional Details

• Grade Levels: 6th, 7th, 8th

• Student Pages: 20+ (not counting answer keys)

• Standards: CCSS RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.7, SL.6-8.1, W.6-8.4

• Formats: PDF – print and digital-friendly

• Seasonal Tie-In: Thanksgiving / Early American History

Related Resources

• [Thanksgiving Compound Sentence Worksheets – Middle School ELA]

• [Leif Erikson and the Land of Vinland Nonfiction Pack]

• [American Colonies Nonfiction & Comprehension Bundle]

©2025 Light Up Literature. All rights reserved. For classroom use only. This resource may not be distributed or uploaded to public/shared drives.