Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
It’s a Thanksgiving tradition filled with music, color, and giant balloons floating through the streets of New York City. Now imagine bringing that same excitement into your classroom—while celebrating your English learners’ unique cultures at the same time!
Disclaimer: In this blog, the terms ESL students (English as a Second Language), ELLs (English Language Learners), and ML (Multilingual Learners) are used interchangeably. While “Multilingual Learners” is becoming the more widely accepted term, “ESL students” and “English Language Learners” are still commonly used in various contexts. My aim is to be inclusive and clear to all readers, regardless of the terminology they are familiar with.
This ESL Thanksgiving unit lets you do just that. It’s based on my original read-aloud, Balloons in the Sky: Tony Sarg’s Story, which was written specifically to meet the needs of English language learners. This nonfiction picture book-style text retells the inspiring story of Tony Sarg, a German immigrant whose creativity and determination led to the creation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Many ELLs will immediately connect with Tony’s journey—he was an immigrant who dreamed big, worked hard, and brought joy to millions through his ideas. His story encourages our students to see themselves as innovators and dreamers too!
If you have access to Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, you can certainly use it alongside this unit. However, my read-aloud was designed with accessible vocabulary, visuals, and built-in scaffolds to make the content more approachable and meaningful for multilingual learners.
ESL Thanksgiving Lessons with Visuals and Vocabulary
I start this unit by building background knowledge with picture-based vocabulary activities using the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM). Students label and describe images of “Balloons in the Sky” and “Balloons in the Sky in the Past.”
These activities are powerful for English learners—they allow students to practice oral language, use new vocabulary in context, and connect visuals to meaning before diving into the text.
We then do a See–Think–Wonder activity with real photos of the Macy’s Parade. This helps students observe carefully, use descriptive language, and make inferences. It’s a perfect warm-up for reading about Tony Sarg’s life.
Read-Aloud: Balloons in the Sky – Tony Sarg’s Story
Our main read-aloud, Balloons in the Sky: Tony Sarg’s Story, tells the fascinating true story of the immigrant inventor behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons.
Through this nonfiction story, students learn how Tony’s creative ideas changed the way parades were celebrated. I frontload vocabulary with illustrated cards and use a nonfiction anchor chart to highlight text features such as captions, bold print and headings.
Because this story is written with ELL-friendly language and visuals, even beginning English learners can follow along and participate.
Building Vocabulary and Retelling for English Learners
After the read-aloud, students complete vocabulary matching activities—cutting, gluing, or labeling depending on their language level. These hands-on tasks make vocabulary concrete and memorable.
Next, we move into story sequencing using picture cards. Students retell the story in order, orally and in writing. Retelling builds comprehension, strengthens sentence structure, and gives ELLs confidence using academic language in a meaningful way.
Thanksgiving Reading and Writing for ESL Students
The next lessons focus on comprehension and writing. Students complete a 5Ws organizer (Who, What, Where, When & Why) to summarize the story. The activity is differentiated—some learners draw, others label, and advanced students write full sentences.
We also explore Tony’s character traits (creative, hardworking, kind) and identify the problem and solution in the text. These tasks help students understand story structure and connect to character development.
To make comprehension checks fun, students complete a color-by-code reading assessment, which provides an easy and engaging way to review key ideas.
Connecting Cultures: Parades Around the World
After learning about Tony Sarg and Macy’s Parade, we shift to global connections with a second read-aloud: Parades Around the World.
This nonfiction picture text introduces different cultural celebrations from around the world. Students use a Venn diagram to compare the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade to parades in their own countries. Then, they use a paragraph frame to write a short comparative paragraph.
This writing task encourages students to practice compare-and-contrast skills while proudly sharing details about their own cultures—one of the most powerful parts of the unit!
Multicultural Balloon Craft: Celebrating Heritage in the ESL Classroom
The unit concludes with a fun and meaningful Multicultural Balloon Craft, inspired by Balloons Over Broadway. In this culminating activity, students design, color, and describe parade balloons that represent their culture, traditions, or personal identity. To spark creativity, I’ve included templates inspired by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade—such as a turkey, gingerbread man, snowman, Santa, dinosaur, and more—alongside multicultural symbols and designs.
Students can choose from three creative options for their balloon project:
- Option 1: Create a full-size balloon craft using real balloons. Students decorate an inflated balloon with their chosen flag, symbol, or design, attach straws as handles, and proudly march in a classroom parade while describing their creation.
- Option 2: Make a paper-based version using paper plates and templates. Students tape or glue their balloon design onto a plate, attach straws, and join the parade just like in Option 1—perfect for younger learners or when balloons aren’t available.
- Option 3: Build a mini “street parade” model. Using a printed street template and small balloon cutouts, students tape their designs to straws and guide their miniature balloons along the parade path, simulating the big event on a smaller scale.
Some popular student-inspired examples include a dragon for Chinese students, a piñata for Mexican students, or any unique flag, symbol, or design that represents their background and identity.
I’ve provided templates for many countries and cultural symbols, but students are encouraged to think beyond the examples and create something original that reflects who they are. This culminating craft not only celebrates creativity and self-expression but also provides a joyful opportunity for students to share their heritage and cultural pride in a vibrant classroom or school-wide parade.
Why ESL Teachers Love the “Balloons in the Sky” Thanksgiving Unit
- Combines reading, writing, speaking, and listening for authentic language development.
- Includes visuals, vocabulary supports, and differentiation for all proficiency levels.
- Builds cultural pride while teaching American traditions.
- Promotes creativity, collaboration, and confidence.
- Ends with a joyful, schoolwide celebration your students will never forget!
Your students will learn, create, and celebrate their cultures—just like Tony Sarg did nearly a century ago when he dreamed up those first floating balloons.
Need more Thanksgiving lessons ideas for your ELLS? Click here and here.
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