Every November, in New York, giant balloons float down the street while crowds watch from the sidewalk. Most children have seen the parade on television. Few of them know how the balloons are made, who holds the ropes, or why a man named Tony Sarg started it all. This unit starts with that curiosity and ends with a parade of the class's own making: children read the parade's history, design a balloon, build it from paper, solve parade math, write about their balloon — and then march it down the hall for their families.
The unit runs as a 5-day Thanksgiving plan with a 7-day option, and the reading, math and writing all come in two levels: Level 1 for 1st–2nd grade, Level 2 for 3rd–4th grade. The reading tells the parade's story: a Level 1 parade story with 5 circle-the-answer questions, a Level 2 article about Tony Sarg with 6 written questions, a cut-and-paste parade history timeline in 2 levels, a "Behind the Scenes" page on balloon handlers and helium, and 8 parade vocabulary cards with a vocabulary match. The design work runs from a 15-idea Balloon Menu through a Balloon Plan in 2 levels, a 12-step parade balloon checklist and a teacher Balloon Tracker, to 15 large balloon outlines with dashed cutting lines. Parade Math word problems come in 2 levels, 6 problems each, and the writing is opinion writing with sentence frames at Level 1 and a planner and paragraph page at Level 2, plus a Thanksgiving parade reflection in 2 levels. Parade-day extras include a class parade invitation with a family note for supplies, a 5-Star Balloon Review for classmates, word searches in 2 levels, a Happy Parade Day coloring page and a Balloon Designer Award. The 54 pages come in both a color and a black-and-white version, and an answer key covers the reading passage, timeline, vocabulary, math and word-search pages.
This guide walks through the week day by day, from the first read-aloud to the parade itself.
Day 1: The Parade Comes to the Classroom
Start with the parade, not the packet. Before you hand out a single page, show the children the parade. A short video of balloons floating down a street, or a few photos of the biggest balloons, is enough. Ask what they see. "What is holding the balloon up?" "Who is holding the ropes?" "How big do you think that balloon is?" The answers will be guesses, and the guesses are the hook. The unit answers them over the week, and the children will listen because they asked the questions first.
Then the reading. The Level 1 parade story is for the youngest readers, with 5 circle-the-answer questions. The Level 2 article about Tony Sarg is for the older readers, with 6 written questions. Both levels tell the same story — how the parade began and how the balloons came to be — and both levels end with questions that check whether the child understood it. Read the story together first, then let children answer the questions on their own. A child who answers the questions alone has read the story. A child who copies the answers from a neighbor has not, and the teacher who walks the room will see which is which.
The 8 parade vocabulary cards go up on day one. Words like "balloon," "parade," "helium," "handler" — the words of the week. Teach them the way the cards teach them: say the word, show the card, use it in a sentence. Then do the vocabulary match, where children match the words to their meanings. Do the match as a partner activity. Two children matching words together will talk about the words, and the talking is the learning. Put the cards on the word wall, and leave them there all week. The children will use them in their writing on day four, and the wall is where they will look for the spelling.
End day one with the question that carries the week: "If you could design a parade balloon, what would it be?" Let children answer out loud, one at a time. A dinosaur. A turkey. A rocket. A cat. Write the answers on the board and leave them there. Those answers are the seed of the Balloon Menu work on day two, and the children who hear their idea on the board will want to draw it tomorrow.
Day 2: History on a Timeline
Day two is the history. The cut-and-paste parade history timeline comes in two levels, and it asks children to put the events of the parade's history in order. That is harder than it looks, because order is a thinking skill, not a memory skill. A child who can put three events in order understands that things happened one after another, and that understanding is the history lesson. Do the timeline on the carpet, with the pieces spread out, and let children handle them. A timeline done with hands is remembered longer than a timeline done with a pencil.
The "Behind the Scenes" page belongs on day two, because it answers the questions from day one: who holds the ropes, and what holds the balloon up. Balloon handlers hold the ropes, and helium holds the balloon up. Those two facts are the science of the unit, and they are worth teaching carefully. Helium is lighter than air, so it lifts. Handlers are people who walk with the balloon and keep it steady, and there are many of them for one balloon. Ask the children how many handlers a giant balloon needs. Let them guess. Then tell them: a lot. The guessing is the engagement, and the answer is the learning.
The Balloon Menu in the Thanksgiving Parade Balloon Unit starts on day two, and it is the most joyful page in the set. Fifteen balloon ideas, and the child picks the ones they like. Do not let children pick on day two and draw on day two. Picking and drawing are different jobs, and doing both in one lesson means neither gets done well. Day two is for picking and talking. "Which three ideas do you like? Why?" The talking is the design thinking, and the design thinking is what makes the balloon worth building.
The "My Balloon Ideas" page is where the picking becomes a plan. Children sketch 3 designs on one page — three quick sketches, not three finished drawings. A sketch is a rough idea, and three sketches are three choices. Teach that. A child who sketches three balloons and picks the best one has designed something. A child who draws one balloon and calls it done has not designed anything. The sketches are small on purpose: small sketches are fast, and fast sketches let a child try three ideas in the time it takes to draw one.
Day 3: The Plan and the Build
Day three is the plan. The Balloon Plan comes in two levels, and it asks children to decide what their balloon will be, what it will look like, and how they will build it. Level 1 is for the younger children, with simpler choices. Level 2 is for the older children, with more to decide. Both levels end with a plan the child can follow, and a plan is what turns a sketch into a balloon.
The 12-step parade balloon checklist is the teacher's best friend on day three. Twelve steps, in order, from the first cut to the last glue. Put the checklist on the board and check off each step as the class does it. A checklist that the whole class follows together is a routine, and a routine is what keeps thirty children building at the same pace. The teacher Balloon Tracker is the teacher's copy of the same idea: a way to see which children are on step three and which are on step nine, and who needs help.
The build starts on day three, and the 15 large balloon outlines are the material. The outlines have dashed cutting lines, and they are made to cut and trace or project. Cut the outline first, then trace it onto the paper the balloon will be made from, then cut the balloon shape. The Butcher Paper Guide gives 3 balloon sizes and a supply list, so the teacher knows how much paper to buy and how big each balloon can be. Three sizes means the class can make small balloons for the youngest children and large balloons for the oldest, and the parade will have balloons of different sizes, the way a real parade does.
The 8 picture steps for building a paper balloon are the instructions, and they should be on display while the children build. A child who can see the next step does not have to ask the teacher what to do next. Put the steps on the board in order, and point to the step the class is on. The children who are ahead can look at the next step and keep going. The children who are behind can see where they are. The steps are the teacher when the teacher is helping someone else.
Day 4: Math and Writing
Day four is the quiet day, and it is the day the unit proves it is a school unit and not just a craft project. Parade Math word problems come in 2 levels, 6 problems each, and they are about the parade: how many handlers, how far the balloons travel, how many balloons in the parade. The numbers are the parade's numbers, and the problems are the math the children have been learning all year, dressed in parade clothes. A child who can solve the word problems has done math. A child who can only build the balloon has done art. Both matter, and day four is the math day.
Teach the word problems the way word problems should always be taught: read the problem, ask what it is asking, ask what you know, ask what to do first. Do the first problem together, on the board, with the whole class. Then let children do the rest on their own. The two levels split the class the usual way: Level 1 for the younger children, Level 2 for the older ones. The problems are the same kind at both levels, and the numbers are different. That is the point.
The opinion writing belongs on day four, too. The question is simple: which balloon is the best, and why? Level 1 gives sentence frames, so a young writer can say "My favorite balloon is ___ because ___" and fill in the blanks. Level 2 gives a planner and a paragraph page, so an older writer can plan three reasons and write a paragraph. Opinion writing is the hardest writing a young child does, because it asks for a reason, not just a fact. Teach the reason. "Because it is big" is not a reason. "Because it is big enough for everyone to see from the sidewalk" is a reason. Ask "why" one more time than the child wants to answer, and the paragraph gets better.
The Thanksgiving parade reflection, in two levels, is the other writing of the day. It asks children to think back over the week: what did they learn, what did they make, what would they do differently. A reflection is not a test. It is a chance for the child to tell the teacher what the week meant, and the answers are the best feedback the teacher will get. Read them. A child who writes "I learned that helium lifts balloons" learned the science. A child who writes "I liked building the balloon" learned the joy. Both are worth knowing.
The word searches belong on day four as well, in 2 levels — 6 words at Level 1, 12 words at Level 2. They are the quiet work for the children who finish the math and the writing early, and they use the vocabulary from day one. A word search that uses the week's words is review, not busywork, and the children who do it will spell "helium" correctly in their writing.
Day 5: Parade Day
Day five is the parade, and it is the day the whole week has been building toward. The class parade invitation goes home before the day — it is in the set, with a family note for supplies — so families know to come and know what to bring. The invitation is the difference between a parade for the class and a parade for the community. Send it on Wednesday, not on Friday morning. A family needs time to arrange to come, and an invitation sent the morning of the parade will be read after the parade is over.
The morning of parade day is for finishing. Balloons that are not finished get finished. The Happy Parade Day coloring page is for the children who finished early, and it is the calm work while the last balloons are being glued. The 5-Star Balloon Review is for the parade itself: classmates review each other's balloons, five stars for the best ones, with reasons. Teach the review before the parade. A review is not "I like it." A review is "I like it because the colors are bright and the shape is clear." The "because" is the thinking, and the thinking is the point.
Then the parade. The class marches down the hall, or around the school, or outside if the weather allows, carrying their balloons. The teacher leads, the children follow, and the families watch. It does not need to be long. Ten minutes of marching is a parade. The children will remember it for the rest of the year, and the families will photograph it. That is the payoff for the week.
End the day with the Balloon Designer Award. One award per child, or one award per balloon, or one award for the class — decide before the parade, and give them out after it. An award that every child gets is not a prize. It is a certificate of completion, and completion is worth celebrating. The child who built a balloon, solved the math, and wrote the paragraph has done a week's work, and the award says so.
The 7-Day Option and the Rest of the Week
The unit is a 5-day plan with a 7-day option, and the extra two days are for the classes that have the time. Use them to slow down, not to add more. A seven-day week gives day three two days instead of one, so the building is not rushed. It gives day four two days, so the math and the writing are not crowded. Or it gives the class a rehearsal day before the parade, so the marching is practiced and the balloons are tested. A rehearsal is worth a day. A balloon that falls apart in rehearsal can be fixed. A balloon that falls apart in the parade cannot.
The 7-day option also fits a week with a holiday in the middle. Thanksgiving week is often short, and a 5-day plan that loses a day becomes a 4-day plan with a hole in it. The 7-day option gives the teacher room to lose a day and still finish. Plan for the 7-day version if the week looks uncertain, and use the extra days for the building and the rehearsal.
Early finishers while balloons are being built are the easiest use of the set. The word searches, the coloring page, and the "My Balloon Ideas" sketches are all quiet work for a child who has finished their balloon. Keep them in a tray near the building table, and let children take one when they are done. The rule is the same as the rest of the week: finish your work first, then take the extra page.
For homeschool families, the unit is a Thanksgiving week on its own: reading on Monday, history on Tuesday, building on Wednesday and Thursday, math and writing on Friday, and a parade for the family on the weekend. The family note for supplies tells the family what to buy, and the parade invitation becomes an invitation to grandparents. A homeschool parade with three children and two grandparents is a parade, and the children will remember it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grades is this parade balloon unit for?
It is written for grades 1st through 4th. Level 1 fits 1st–2nd grade and Level 2 fits 3rd–4th grade. The reading, math and writing all come in two levels, and the 54 pages come in both a color and a black-and-white version.
How long does the unit take?
The unit is a 5-day Thanksgiving plan with a 7-day option, and the week closes with a class parade for families. The 7-day option gives extra time for the building and a rehearsal day before the parade.
What reading is included?
A Level 1 parade story with 5 circle-the-answer questions, a Level 2 article about Tony Sarg with 6 written questions, a cut-and-paste parade history timeline in 2 levels, a "Behind the Scenes" page on balloon handlers and helium, and 8 parade vocabulary cards with a vocabulary match.
How do children build the balloon?
Children sketch designs from a 15-idea Balloon Menu, plan with a Balloon Plan in 2 levels, follow a 12-step checklist, and build a paper balloon using 15 large balloon outlines and 8 picture steps. A Butcher Paper Guide gives 3 balloon sizes and a supply list, and a teacher Balloon Tracker follows the class's progress.
Is there math and an answer key?
Yes. Parade Math word problems come in 2 levels, with 6 problems each, and an answer key covers the reading passage, timeline, vocabulary, math and word-search pages.
Can I use it for homeschool?
Yes. The Thanksgiving Parade Balloon Unit gives a homeschool Thanksgiving week its shape with its 5-day and 7-day plans, and the family note for supplies tells the family what to buy. The parade can be for the family at the end of the week.
What do I need besides the packet?
Butcher paper in the sizes from the guide, plus pencils, crayons or colored pencils, scissors and glue. The class parade invitation includes a family note for supplies.
