Interactive Thanksgiving grammar worksheet for kids to practice verb tenses with fun holiday-themed sentences.

Let’s go step by step to fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms: present simple, past simple, or present perfect.

We’ll read each sentence and decide which tense fits best based on time clues (like “every year,” “in 1620,” “since last year”) and whether the action is finished, ongoing, or repeated.

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Sentence 1:
Hi everyone, my name is Bradford, I ___ (be) eleven years old.
→ This is a fact about now → present simple → *am*

Sentence 2:
I live with my mom in Boston, so I ___ (be) American.
→ Also a current fact → present simple → *am*

Sentence 3:
The fourth Thursday of November is ___ (be) Thanksgiving today. My uncles, aunts and cousins ___ (come) from different parts of the USA to be all together tonight for Thanksgiving dinner.
→ First blank: “is” is already there — but it says “is ___ (be)” — that must be a typo. Probably meant “Today ___ (be) Thanksgiving.” Since it’s happening today → present simple → *is*
→ Second blank: They are coming tonight — future plan, but we use present continuous for arrangements. But the instruction says only present simple, past simple, or present perfect. So maybe they mean “come” as habitual? No — context is “tonight”. Wait — perhaps it’s “are coming” but since we can’t use present continuous, maybe it’s intended as present simple for scheduled events? Actually, in informal English, sometimes present simple is used for schedules. But better check: “My uncles... come from different parts...” — if it’s every year, then present simple. The text says “every year” later, so likely this is annual → present simple → *come*

Wait — let’s look ahead: “Every year, my family ___ (have) a big pumpkin pie...” — so yes, this is a yearly tradition. So “come” should be present simple → *come*

But wait — “to be all together tonight” — that’s specific to this year. Hmm. Maybe it’s present perfect? No. Let’s think: In American English, for planned future events, especially with “tonight”, we often use present continuous. But since the worksheet restricts us to three tenses, and “come” can be used in present simple for habits, and the whole story is about traditions, I think it’s safe to use present simple → *come*

Actually, re-reading: “My uncles, aunts and cousins ___ (come) from different parts of the USA to be all together tonight...” — “tonight” suggests this is happening this evening, so it’s a one-time event. But the next sentence says “Every year...” so maybe the coming is part of the yearly tradition. I think the intended answer is present simple → *come*

Alternatively, could it be present perfect? “Have come”? That would mean they arrived already. Possible. But “to be all together tonight” implies they haven’t arrived yet. So probably not.

I think the safest is present simple for habitual actions → *come*

Sentence 4:
Everyone helps in the kitchen with preparing the biggest meal of the year. Every year, my family ___ (have) a big pumpkin pie.
→ “Every year” → habit → present simple → *has* (family is singular)

Sentence 5:
Thanksgiving ___ (be) one of my favourite holidays because I ___ (get) lots of food.
→ First blank: general truth → present simple → *is*
→ Second blank: also general truth → present simple → *get*

Sentence 6:
My great-grandfather ___ (live) in England until he was twenty. He ___ (leave) his home country in 1620 when he ___ (be) only 18 years old.
→ All these are finished actions in the past → past simple
→ *lived*, *left*, *was*

Sentence 7:
He ___ (travel) across the Atlantic in the Mayflower.
→ Past action → past simple → *traveled* (or travelled — both ok, but US spelling usually without extra ‘l’)

Sentence 8:
It took a few months, but finally they ___ (reach) land.
→ Past action → past simple → *reached*

Sentence 9:
They ___ (not have) enough to eat at first.
→ Past negative → past simple → *did not have* or *didn’t have*

Sentence 10:
But happily, they ___ (receive) help from the native Americans or Indians as they ___ (call) them then.
→ Both past actions → past simple → *received*, *called*

Sentence 11:
They ___ (teach) the Pilgrims how to grow new plants here such as corn, beans and squash.
→ Past action → past simple → *taught*

Sentence 12:
These crops helped them survive, and other pilgrims ___ (join) them in 1621.
→ Past action → past simple → *joined*

Sentence 13:
After one year the Pilgrims ___ (decide) to celebrate their survival with a feast.
→ Past action → past simple → *decided*

Sentence 14:
Unfortunately, native Americans ___ (not be) very respectful of the first inhabitants of America.
→ General statement about the past? Or present? Context is historical, so likely past. But “unfortunately” might imply ongoing issue. However, the sentence continues: “For this reason, Thanksgiving has become one of the most controversial national holidays...” — so the disrespect is in the past. → past simple → *were not* or *weren’t*

Wait — actually, the sentence says: “Unfortunately, native Americans ___ (not be) very respectful...” — this seems odd historically. Native Americans were the first inhabitants. Probably a mistake in the text. It should say “the Pilgrims” or “Europeans”. But as written, if we take it literally, and since it’s talking about the past event, we use past simple → *were not*

But let’s read carefully: “Unfortunately, native Americans ___ (not be) very respectful of the first inhabitants of America.” — This doesn’t make sense because native Americans ARE the first inhabitants. Likely a typo. Should be “the Pilgrims” or “the Europeans”. But since we have to work with what’s given, and the context is past, we’ll use past simple → *were not*

Alternatively, if it’s meant to be a general truth, present simple → *are not*. But the next sentence says “For this reason, Thanksgiving has become...” — which suggests the disrespect happened in the past and led to current controversy. So past simple is better → *were not*

Sentence 15:
For this reason, Thanksgiving ___ (become) one of the most controversial national holidays and today it ___ (mean) different things to different people.
→ First blank: “has become” — because it started in the past and continues to now → present perfect → *has become*
→ Second blank: “today it means” — present fact → present simple → *means*

Sentence 16:
In my family, we ___ (celebrate) Christmas shopping too on Black Friday.
→ Habitual action → present simple → *celebrate*

Sentence 17:
That ___ (be) a very busy day for those who work in shops!
→ General truth → present simple → *is*

Sentence 18:
I hope you ___ (enjoy) your birds this Thanksgiving!
→ Future hope, but we use present simple after “hope” for future meaning → present simple → *enjoy*

Wait — “I hope you enjoy” is correct for future. Yes.

Now let’s list all answers in order:

1. am
2. am
3. is (for "Today is Thanksgiving") — but the text says “The fourth Thursday of November is ___ (be) Thanksgiving today.” — that’s redundant. Probably it’s “Today ___ (be) Thanksgiving.” → *is*
And “My uncles... come” → *come*
4. has
5. is, get
6. lived, left, was
7. traveled
8. reached
9. did not have / didn’t have
10. received, called
11. taught
12. joined
13. decided
14. were not / weren’t
15. has become, means
16. celebrate
17. is
18. enjoy

But let’s double-check sentence 3:
“The fourth Thursday of November is ___ (be) Thanksgiving today.” — this is awkward. Likely it’s meant to be “Today ___ (be) Thanksgiving.” → *is*
And “My uncles, aunts and cousins ___ (come)...” → since it’s “tonight”, and it’s a specific event, but the worksheet may expect present simple for habits. Given that the next sentence starts with “Every year”, I think “come” is meant to be present simple for the annual tradition → *come*

Also, sentence 14: “native Americans ___ (not be) very respectful...” — as discussed, probably a mistake, but we’ll go with past simple → *were not*

Final list:

1. am
2. am
3. is, come
4. has
5. is, get
6. lived, left, was
7. traveled
8. reached
9. didn’t have
10. received, called
11. taught
12. joined
13. decided
14. weren’t
15. has become, means
16. celebrate
17. is
18. enjoy

Now, write them in the order of the blanks.

Count the blanks:

Line 1: I ___ (be) → 1
Line 2: I ___ (be) → 2
Line 3: is ___ (be) → probably skip or assume it's "Today ___ (be)" → 3
Then: My uncles... ___ (come) → 4
Line 4: my family ___ (have) → 5
Line 5: Thanksgiving ___ (be) → 6; I ___ (get) → 7
Line 6: great-grandfather ___ (live) → 8; He ___ (leave) → 9; when he ___ (be) → 10
Line 7: He ___ (travel) → 11
Line 8: they ___ (reach) → 12
Line 9: They ___ (not have) → 13
Line 10: they ___ (receive) → 14; as they ___ (call) → 15
Line 11: They ___ (teach) → 16
Line 12: other pilgrims ___ (join) → 17
Line 13: the Pilgrims ___ (decide) → 18
Line 14: native Americans ___ (not be) → 19
Line 15: Thanksgiving ___ (become) → 20; it ___ (mean) → 21
Line 16: we ___ (celebrate) → 22
Line 17: That ___ (be) → 23
Line 18: you ___ (enjoy) → 24

So 24 blanks.

Answers:

1. am
2. am
3. is [assuming "Today is Thanksgiving"]
4. come
5. has
6. is
7. get
8. lived
9. left
10. was
11. traveled
12. reached
13. didn’t have
14. received
15. called
16. taught
17. joined
18. decided
19. weren’t
20. has become
21. means
22. celebrate
23. is
24. enjoy

I think that’s all.

Final Answer:
am, am, is, come, has, is, get, lived, left, was, traveled, reached, didn’t have, received, called, taught, joined, decided, weren’t, has become, means, celebrate, is, enjoy