Want to do something fun with your high school students? Reward them with these easy-prep Thanksgiving Win-it-in-Minute games.
Need some fun, lead-up-to-Thanksgiving-break games for high school students where they won't roll their eyes (or, at least not too badly)?
These Thanksgiving Minute to Win It games are designed for high school students (and middle school students).
They're quick (just 60 seconds each!), and you can let them compete individually or as a group with the free printable scorecard PDF below.
Thanksgiving Win it in a Minute Games for Teens
Each of these games should be timed for 60 seconds (1 minute).
Click here to automatically download this free scorecard.
Hint: the timer in each photo is this one.
1. Candy Pumpkin Catapult Game
Supplies needed: Candy Pumpkins, homemade catapult (big popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and an empty bottle cap), and masking tape
Have teens make their own homemade catapults (or make several ahead of time).
Set up the area of play by putting masking tape down on the floor, with the closest one being worth the least amount of points, and the furthest one being worth the most amount of points.
Now, let each teen catapult pumpkin candies as far as they can. Keep score.
The person with the highest score after 60 seconds, wins!
2. Chopsticks Turkey Pecking Game
Supplies needed: paper plates, several types of Thanksgiving food objects (like popcorn, Candy Corn, Candy Pumpkin, cranberries, etc.), and chopsticks
Set up a plate with things like popcorn, candy corn, and other small objects.
Serve each teen with a plate they have to fill with their feast.
Have students “peck” the objects (like a turkey would) with chopsticks, and transfer them to their Thanksgiving plate.
The winner is the person who successfully puts the most number of objects onto their plate by the time the timer goes off.
Hint: This can be timed for each individual, or you can tag-team this one for large groups competing against one another.
3. Cranberry Cliffhanger
Supplies needed: straws (one for each participant) and cranberries
Teens will take turns blowing air through a straw to make their cranberry move across a table.
The goal is to get the cranberry as close to the other edge as possible, without it falling on the ground.
Try with as many cranberries as they can in the 60 seconds. When time is up, whoever has the cranberry closest to the edge, wins.
Psst: looking for more? Here are 14 more Thanksgiving Activities for teens, and a free, hilarious Thanksgiving Mad Lib printable for high school students.
4. Turkey Feather Keep It Up
Supplies needed: Turkey baster, and feathers
This can be quite challenging – take a feather, and attempt to keep it up in the air using the air you pump through a turkey baster.
Whoever keeps it up the longest (I’m not sure someone can keep it up past 60 seconds – but maybe!), wins.
5. Cotton Ball Turkey Stuff
Supplies needed: lots of cotton balls, and an empty tissue box
Stuffing – my absolute most favorite dish in a Thanksgiving feast – is the inspiration behind this Thanksgiving minute-to-win-it game.
Each student gets timed to see how many cotton balls they can fit into the tissue box in 60 seconds.
Hint: they can only stuff in one at a time! To make this a bit more challenging, have them use tweezers and an oven mitt.
6. Marshmallow Blaster Game
Supplies needed: marshmallow blaster, small marshmallows, rings from ring toss game, and a pool noodle
Cut the pool noodle in half (crosswise), then put a slit through it to make the rings from a ring toss game stand up.
This is the hoop teens need to blast marshmallows through for 60 seconds. Whoever blasts the most marshmallows through, wins.
Psst: Here are even more Thanksgiving activities for teens at home.
7. Marshmallow Stuffing
Supplies needed: empty (dry) water bottle, lots of small marshmallows
The goal is to stuff a water bottle full of as many small marshmallows as a teen can in 60 seconds.
8. Turkey Feather Drop
Supplies needed: feathers of any kind, target of some sort (hula hoop, ring toss rings, etc.)
This is surprisingly difficult to do!
Hint: you might want to use a hula hoop if you think it’ll be too frustrating.
Each teen takes 60 seconds to drop a feather from the air, and try to hit inside of a target.
The person who gets the most feathers inside the target in 60 seconds, wins.
9. Candy Corn Chopsticks
Supplies needed: Candy Corn, chopsticks, and two bowls
Fill a bowl with Candy Corn. Set the timer for 60 seconds.
Whoever can transfer the most candy corn from one bowl to another, using only chopsticks, wins.
10. Turkey Feather Race
Supplies needed: turkey baster, feathers
Determine a finish line. Then have teens race to get their feather from a starting point, to the finish line by pumping air through the turkey baster.
11. Oven Mitt Pumpkin Pick-Up
Supplies needed: oven mitt (the kind you put your whole hand into), and pumpkin candies
Fill a plate with pumpkin candies. Each person takes a turn wearing the oven mitt for 60 seconds and trying to pick up one pumpkin at a time and move it to another plate.
The person who successfully moves the most, wins.
Bonus: Is this too easy? Then have them wear the oven mitt on their non-dominant hand to do it with!
Well, those are the Thanksgiving Minute to Win it Games for high school students I've got for you. I'd love to hear in the comments below what you tried and what worked best for your classes. Also, share any ideas you've got to help other teachers out!
Amanda L. Grossman
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