November Teaching Ideas: A Planning Guide for Elementary Teachers

November is rich with meaningful content — and it’s easy to let Thanksgiving dominate the whole month at the expense of everything else. Veterans Day, Native American Heritage Month, Día de los Muertos, and World Kindness Day all deserve real instructional attention. The teachers who plan November well are the ones who spread the content intentionally across the month rather than cramming everything into the last week before break.

This guide covers every key date worth planning around in November, classroom activity ideas that stay rigorous even as holiday energy builds, and ready-to-use resources for every week of the month.

Key Dates to Plan for in November

  • Native American Heritage Month — All month
  • Día de los Muertos — November 1–2
  • Election Day — First Tuesday in November (even years)
  • Veterans Day — November 11
  • World Kindness Day — November 13
  • Thanksgiving — Fourth Thursday in November
  • End of first quarter / report cards — Often falls in November

Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month runs all November — and the most common mistake is saving it for the week before Thanksgiving, where it gets treated as a Thanksgiving warm-up rather than its own meaningful content. Plan it for the first two weeks of November, before the Thanksgiving unit takes over.

Biography research projects are one of the strongest formats for this content. Students research a significant Native American figure, write an informational piece, and create a bulletin board display — hitting research writing standards while engaging with real history. The Indigenous Peoples Day Research Project from October bridges naturally into this month’s deeper exploration.

Día de los Muertos — November 1–2

Día de los Muertos is a festive — not somber — holiday honoring loved ones who have passed. It’s a natural opportunity to build cultural awareness while keeping instruction connected to real ELA skills: personal narrative writing, research, compare and contrast, and descriptive language all fit naturally into activities built around this holiday. Start with a read aloud to build background knowledge, then move into a writing or art response.

Veterans Day — November 11

Veterans Day is one of the most personally meaningful lessons of the year for many students — especially those with family members who have served. Acrostic poem writing crafts displayed on a bulletin board are particularly powerful when veterans come in for a school assembly or breakfast. Thank-you card writing hits the friendly letter format standard while giving students genuine purpose.

World Kindness Day — November 13

World Kindness Day on November 13 is a natural SEL anchor point that connects directly to the community-building work from August. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch is one of the strongest read-aloud anchors, covering summary, character development, and cause and effect while giving students a meaningful discussion entry point about kindness. A kindness chain classroom activity extends the lesson across the week with minimal prep.

Thanksgiving — Planning It Well

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a lost instructional week — it just requires planning. The best Thanksgiving units front-load the history, give students a rigorous writing task, and end with something celebratory. The week before break is not the time for new instruction; it’s the time for engaging review and meaningful writing projects students actually want to finish.

For a full breakdown of Thanksgiving activities that keep instruction running through break: Engaging Ideas for Teaching about Thanksgiving — covering How to Cook a Turkey procedural writing, the Thankful Banner, turkey math, and Macy’s Parade activities.

Thanksgiving Writing

Thanksgiving Reading

Thanksgiving Math

November Math Warm-Ups

November Sub Plans

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is notoriously difficult. Have sub plans ready before November 15.

Tips for Planning November Well

Front-load Native American Heritage Month. Plan it for weeks one and two. By week three, the Thanksgiving energy takes over and there’s no room left.

Don’t conflate Indigenous Peoples and Thanksgiving. These are separate topics. Native American Heritage Month is about honoring living cultures and history. Thanksgiving is a separate historical event with its own complicated story. Teach them separately.

Use the week before break for rigorous review, not new instruction. Fragmented schedules and holiday excitement make new concept instruction nearly impossible. Use that week for meaningful review, engaging writing projects, and activities students want to finish.

Get report card comments done before November 15. Report card season and Thanksgiving prep landing in the same month is genuinely one of the hardest stretches of the year. Getting comments done early means the second half of November is less overwhelming. The Report Card Comments hub has everything you need.

Looking for ideas across the whole school year? Head back to the Elementary Teacher Planning Calendar for monthly planning guides from August through summer.

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