Thanksgiving trivia for kids

Thanksgiving trivia questions for kids

38 questions. Tap a question’s answer line to see it.

1. Which sachem led the Wampanoag group that joined the 1621 celebration at Plymouth?

   1. Massasoit
   2. Samoset
   3. Hobbamock
   4. Metacom
   Show answer

   A. Massasoit Plimoth Patuxet describes Massasoit as an important sachem, or leader, of the Wampanoag People.

2. What does the word 'Friendsgiving' describe?

   1. The Friday after Thanksgiving
   2. A Thanksgiving feast with friends
   3. A food drive held in November
   4. A gift swap before Christmas
   Show answer

   B. A Thanksgiving feast with friends Dictionary.com dates the word, a blend of 'friends' and 'Thanksgiving,' to the years 2005 to 2010.

3. Which Patuxet man taught the Plymouth colonists how to grow corn and where to fish?

   1. Squanto
   2. Massasoit
   3. Hobbamock
   4. Samoset
   Show answer

   A. Squanto Squanto, also called Tisquantum, spoke English after years in Europe and helped the colonists build ties with the Wampanoag.

4. What is an adult male turkey called?

   1. A tom
   2. A billy
   3. A drake
   4. A gander
   Show answer

   A. A tom A tom is also known as a gobbler.

5. The name Wampanoag is often translated as what?

   1. People of the First Light
   2. People of the Morning Star
   3. People of the Tall Pines
   4. People of the Great River
   Show answer

   A. People of the First Light In the 1600s, the Wampanoag Nation had as many as 40,000 people living in 67 villages.

6. A resolution signed in 1941 fixed the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on which day?

   1. The last Friday of November
   2. The fourth Thursday of November
   3. The last Thursday of November
   4. The third Thursday of November
   Show answer

   B. The fourth Thursday of November The House had voted for the last Thursday, but the Senate amended it to the fourth before it passed.

7. In a wet harvest, what do cranberry growers do to their bogs so the berries can be collected?

   1. Drain them dry
   2. Spread hay over them
   3. Flood them with water
   4. Plow them under
   Show answer

   C. Flood them with water Machines loosen the berries from the vines, and the floating fruit is corralled on the water's surface.

8. What is the red flap of skin on a turkey's throat called?

   1. The gizzard
   2. The wattle
   3. The snood
   4. The comb
   Show answer

   B. The wattle Turkeys also sport a dark tuft of feathers on the chest.

9. In which season of 1621 did the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag share a harvest celebration?

   1. Spring
   2. Summer
   3. Fall
   4. Winter
   Show answer

   C. Fall Historians place the event sometime between September 21 and November 9, 1621.

10. Which cartoon character was the first giant balloon in the Macy's parade, introduced in 1927?

    1. Snoopy
    2. Felix the Cat
    3. Popeye
    4. Mickey Mouse
    Show answer

    B. Felix the Cat Balloons were a new addition in 1927, and Felix the Cat led the way as the first of them.

11. What happens inside a leaf in autumn that lets the yellow and orange colors show?

    1. The green pigment breaks down
    2. The leaf stores extra sunlight
    3. Frost soaks into the leaf
    4. The stem pumps in orange sap
    Show answer

    A. The green pigment breaks down The yellow and orange pigments were in the leaf all summer, hidden behind the green.

12. Cranberries grow on which type of plant?

    1. Low-lying vines
    2. Underground tubers
    3. Thorny bushes
    4. Tall shade trees
    Show answer

    A. Low-lying vines The vines grow in beds layered with sand, peat, gravel, and clay, known as bogs or marshes.

13. Fresh cranberries headed for grocery stores are screened partly by their ability to do what?

    1. Bounce
    2. Sink
    3. Spin
    4. Shrink
    Show answer

    A. Bounce Soft, spoiled berries fail the test because they will not bounce.

14. What name is used today for the English settlers who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620?

    1. The Shakers
    2. The Pilgrims
    3. The Puritans
    4. The Quakers
    Show answer

    B. The Pilgrims According to Plimoth Patuxet Museums, the core members of the emigrant group were Separatists.

15. Which bird gave the cranberry its name?

    1. The crane
    2. The stork
    3. The swan
    4. The heron
    Show answer

    A. The crane Settlers called the fruit 'crane-berry' — some say cranes loved to eat them, others that the blossom resembles a crane's head and neck.

16. How many passengers did the Mayflower carry on its 1620 voyage to New England?

    1. 145
    2. 87
    3. 102
    4. 120
    Show answer

    C. 102 It was the ship's only trip to New England, and the passengers included men, women, and children.

17. What is the green substance inside leaves called?

    1. Chlorophyll
    2. Keratin
    3. Calcium
    4. Carotene
    Show answer

    A. Chlorophyll Leaves act as food factories, using chlorophyll to take in energy from sunlight and make food for the tree.

18. Which president issued the October 1863 proclamation calling for a national day of thanksgiving?

    1. James Buchanan
    2. Ulysses S. Grant
    3. Abraham Lincoln
    4. Andrew Johnson
    Show answer

    C. Abraham Lincoln The National Archives blog dates the proclamation to October 3, 1863.

19. About how many days did the Mayflower's ocean crossing take?

    1. About 6 days
    2. About 66 days
    3. About 30 days
    4. About 200 days
    Show answer

    B. About 66 days The ship reached Cape Cod, well north of the Virginia territory the group had been aiming for.

20. Pumpkins usually grow on what?

    1. A tree
    2. A bush
    3. A root
    4. A vine
    Show answer

    D. A vine A large-fruited pumpkin plant usually produces only about two pumpkins per vine.

21. Which president issued a 1789 proclamation naming a national day of public thanksgiving and prayer?

    1. James Madison
    2. John Adams
    3. Thomas Jefferson
    4. George Washington
    Show answer

    D. George Washington The proclamation set aside a Thursday that November as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.

22. What agreement did the Mayflower's adult male passengers sign before coming ashore in 1620?

    1. The Plymouth Charter
    2. The Cape Cod Covenant
    3. The Mayflower Compact
    4. The New England Articles
    Show answer

    C. The Mayflower Compact Forty-one male passengers signed it on November 11, 1620; the name Mayflower Compact only came into use in 1793.

23. Which cartoon dog made his first flight as a giant Macy's parade balloon in 1968?

    1. Clifford the Big Red Dog
    2. Scooby-Doo
    3. Snoopy
    4. Pluto
    Show answer

    C. Snoopy By the 2007 parade, CBS News counted 28 flights for Snoopy since that 1968 debut.

24. What do you call the flap of skin that hangs over a turkey's beak?

    1. The wattle
    2. The snood
    3. The crest
    4. The dewlap
    Show answer

    B. The snood The snood engorges and turns bright red when a tom is upset or courting; the wattle is the flap under the chin.

25. Which ocean did the Mayflower cross on its 1620 voyage to America?

    1. The Atlantic Ocean
    2. The Pacific Ocean
    3. The Indian Ocean
    4. The Arctic Ocean
    Show answer

    A. The Atlantic Ocean Many passengers were seasick on the rough crossing, and the ship took 66 days to reach Cape Cod in November 1620.

26. The 1621 letter from Plymouth says Wampanoag hunters brought how many deer to the gathering?

    1. Twelve
    2. Eight
    3. Two
    4. Five
    Show answer

    D. Five The letter says the deer were brought to the plantation and presented to the governor.

27. To a botanist, what kind of plant part is a pumpkin?

    1. A stem
    2. A tuber
    3. A fruit
    4. A root
    Show answer

    C. A fruit Commercially, pumpkins are treated as a vegetable even though botanists label them a fruit.

28. Early Macy's parades featured bears, camels, and monkeys on loan from which place?

    1. The Bronx Zoo
    2. The Central Park Zoo
    3. The Philadelphia Zoo
    4. The Prospect Park Zoo
    Show answer

    B. The Central Park Zoo Elephants were part of the borrowed menagerie too, before balloons replaced the animal acts.

29. Corn kernels grow in rows on which part of the corn plant?

    1. The tassel
    2. The stalk
    3. The ear
    4. The root
    Show answer

    C. The ear Wind carries pollen from the tassel at the top of the plant to the silks on the ears.

30. What are baby turkeys called?

    1. Poults
    2. Cygnets
    3. Goslings
    4. Keets
    Show answer

    A. Poults Young male turkeys have a nickname of their own: jakes.

31. Who rode the final float, as guest of honor, in the first Macy's Thanksgiving parade?

    1. Mrs. Claus
    2. Santa Claus
    3. Mother Goose
    4. Uncle Sam
    Show answer

    B. Santa Claus Macy's placed its guest of honor at the rear of the lineup, saving him for the parade's big finish.

32. The 1863 proclamation that called for a national Thanksgiving came in the midst of which war?

    1. The Spanish-American War
    2. The Mexican-American War
    3. The Civil War
    4. The War of 1812
    Show answer

    C. The Civil War The proclamation's own words describe 'a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity.'

33. Where do wild turkeys usually sleep at night?

    1. Up in trees
    2. In hollow logs
    3. In underground burrows
    4. In pond reeds
    Show answer

    A. Up in trees Young turkeys can already fly up to a tree roost when they are about two to three weeks old.

34. The Mayflower landed its passengers on the shores of which present-day U.S. state?

    1. Rhode Island
    2. Massachusetts
    3. Connecticut
    4. Maine
    Show answer

    B. Massachusetts The settlers kept the name Plymouth partly because the Mayflower had set sail from the port of Plymouth in England.

35. What is another name for the corn plant?

    1. Maize
    2. Barley
    3. Sorghum
    4. Millet
    Show answer

    A. Maize USDA scientists have described maize, or corn, as the most diverse crop species known.

36. What name is given to the loud call a male turkey makes in spring?

    1. A honk
    2. A hoot
    3. A quack
    4. A gobble
    Show answer

    D. A gobble Toms strut, fluff their feathers, and drag their wings to impress the females.

37. What is a female turkey called?

    1. A mare
    2. A ewe
    3. A doe
    4. A hen
    Show answer

    D. A hen Hens are smaller than the males and weigh about 9 to 12 pounds.

38. According to a colonist's 1621 letter, how long did the Plymouth harvest celebration last?

    1. Five days
    2. Seven days
    3. One day
    4. Three days
    Show answer

    D. Three days The gathering came after a bountiful harvest that followed a year of sickness and scarcity.