Our Thanksgiving Writing Prompts will get your student’s creative juices flowing and inspire an explosion of words and creative ideas. 

It’s November, and that means it is NaNoWriMo month — the National Novel Writing Month hundreds of students participate in each year. Even though my kids are a little young to participate in this month-long novel-writing spree, I’m all about helping them get better at writing because someday they might want to write a novel! Use our November Writing Prompts to practice writing.

Our fun Thanksgiving writing activities are a great way to get words on paper for students of all ages. If you are stuck with writer’s block try one of our creative writing prompts and see what happens. The silly gnomes that decorate each page of the free Thanksgiving printable will make writing easy.

How to Use our Thanksgiving Writing Prompts

The easiest thing to do is grab our gnome Thanksgiving writing prompts printable, print out a full copy, hole-punch the stack, stick them in a three-ring binder and give them to your student to use throughout the month of November. 

How should I schedule the Thanksgiving Writing Prompts?

You can use our story starters as daily writing prompts or just complete one or two per week. You have ultimate flexibility here. You can also start on page one and work your way through the gnome writing prompts in order, or you can let your student pick and choose based on what is most appealing. During this time of year, you might also enjoy our Fall Writing Prompts and can throw those in the mix. 

What age group can use the Thanksgiving Writing Prompts?

Elementary students, middle school students, high school students, and even adults will enjoy and benefit from these Thanksgiving Writing Prompts. Reluctant writers will find inspiration in the quirky graphics and impish story starters. Our Thanksgiving writing activities will work for everyone! Beginning as early as first grade, you can have your student respond to the writing prompts and if necessary treat these like narration and record your child’s response for him or her so that handwriting is not a hindrance. 

Where can I get the Thanksgiving Writing Prompts?

While I have spelled out each and every writing prompt in a list format below, I believe our Thanksgiving story starters are best enjoyed with the use of the Gnome Thanksgiving Writing Prompts printable. The gnomes are adorable and cheekish and seriously help your children have positive attitudes about writing.

What else can we do with the November Writing Prompts?

Make a new Thanksgiving tradition! Pick one or two of the completed story starters to read out loud as a family on Thanksgiving Day. 

Try a round-robin writing prompt activity. Place the writing prompt and a few extra sheets of lined paper on a clipboard, and pass the writing prompt around between different students or family members. The only rule is that each person must read what has been written and add three to five sentences that make sense. You can pass it around for as many days as you like. In the end, enjoy reading your story together.

The Thanksgiving Writing Prompts List

1. As I opened the gratitude journal, I got the distinct feeling that a giant pile of leaves was exploding from the pages of the book. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I . . .
2. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because I can enjoy pumpkin spice in all of my favorite foods, especially on the Federal holiday of Thanksgiving. Here’s the strangest way I’ve used pumpkin spice. . . 
3. One of my favorite food items served at Thanksgiving is the variety of pies. Let me describe my favorite pie in great detail.
4. Thanksgiving time is a time to be thankful for all that we have. To me, being thankful means that I will . . . 
5. Besides sweet potatoes, pumpkins are my favorite Fall harvest, so I brought home a big bucket of them to enjoy. {Describe how you will enjoy these pumpkins.}
6. I made this wreath for our dinner table and the best thing about it is that it will work for Thanksgiving and Christmas both. Here’s the story of how I made a wreath.
7. Pumpkin pies are the best thing about this impressive holiday. Sadly, while I was making my pie, a thief stole all but one piece from my windowsill. Here’s what happened next. 
8. I designed a thankful turkey to sit on the mantel for Thanksgiving. Somehow it fell off the mantel and got smashed into pieces. {Describe what happened next.} 
9. It’s the perfect time of year to give thanks. Write ten sentences describing ways you have been blessed.  (Answers can be fictional or non-fiction.)
10. On the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together for a day of feasting and sport. This is the untold story of the history of Thanksgiving.
11. As Grandpa walked up to our dining table with a platter full of perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey, a surprising thing happened. Tell the story.
12. Weirdly, the Thanksgiving holiday is sometimes called Turkey Day instead. I made up an advertising campaign to save the turkeys. Here’s the deal.
13. One of our Thanksgiving family traditions is to decorate with pumpkins everywhere. My favorite pumpkin decoration ever was the time I . . . 
14. During the whole month of November, we celebrate the harvest and blessings in our life. Each piece of wheat in this bouquet represents a blessing. The next thing I’m going to do with it is. . .
15. I’d like to express gratitude to all the people in my life who have gotten me to this point and onto this stage. Finish the speech. 
16. I just spent 24 hours trying to get home for the holidays. Here’s what happened to ruin what was supposed to be a four-hour drive over the river and through the woods.
17. A slice of pie and a pumpkin spice frappuccino are the symbols of today’s Thanksgiving. Make up three new symbols for Thanksgiving this year and describe each in detail.
18. I’m headed to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a hundred buckets of little pumpkins. Once I get there, I will . . .
19. I just made a turkey dinner for the first time ever and it did not turn out so well. Here’s what happened.  
20. If you’ve never celebrated this important holiday, you might wonder what it’s all about. Here is Thanksgiving in a nutshell. 

Download your Thanksgiving Writing Prompts

Our writing prompts include twenty pages with lines appropriate for beginning handwriting, and twenty pages with lines appropriate for older students. Each page has a full-color illustration of a gnome or related item centered around a Thanksgiving holiday theme. The writing prompts are found at the top of each page and provide just enough information to tickle your child’s imagination and help get the writing process started.

To download the Thanksgiving Gnomes Writing Prompts, simply add it to your cart and then checkout. **Upon checkout, you will be added to my Weekly Newsletter list.**

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