US Citizenship and Immigration Services
Thanksgiving 1—Pilgrims and American Indians
The Pilgrims first arrived in America in order to gain religious freedom. Here is a lesson that takes the class on this journey with the Pilgrims, stopping to look at how they got here, who they met when they arrived, and a peek into...
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Middle schoolers write a Thanksgiving story. In this holiday writing lesson, students use s list of specific words to create a fictional or non-fiction Thanksgiving story.
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The Mayflower Story Up-Close and Personal
Students gain a deeper understanding of what the early colonists experienced in search of a new life in America while giving them a taste of historical methodology. This is an engaging way to assess what your students know about the...
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Thanksgiving and Agriculture
Students listen to the book "The Pilgrim Story" and discuss the Pilgrims and why they came to America. Students role play the Thanksgiving story and write about how Pilgrims and Indians relate to them today.
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Students write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...
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Window of Words
Students imagine that they are looking out (or in) a window with four panes and write about what they see using a variety of sentence structures. They create a paragraph about what they see looking through their window on Thanksgiving day.
University of Northern Iowa
Additional Folklife Information
Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find a...
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Introduce Vocabulary: The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving
Students study tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students explore new vocabulary words while reading The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving. Students record their new vocabulary words using a word journal or discovery chart.
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Details: Writer's Workshop Mini-Lesson
Learners read the story I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow. They discuss the details from the story. Students draw an illustration of what they expect their Thanksgiving dinner table will look like. They list details that describe their...
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Thanksgiving Through Literature
Students dramatize scenes from the picture book Turk and Runt. In this holiday lesson, students view the book Turk and Runt and identify the events of the text. Students dramatize scenes from the text to demonstrate comprehension.
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Minnie and Moo and the Thanksgiving Tree
Third graders practice retelling stories. They read a story and work with a partner to discuss the key elements: characters, setting, events, beginning, and end. They assess one another as they retell the story. They rewrite the story in...
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Illustrating and Writing a Short Story
Students use their art materials to go outside and draw a picture of a scene. They can also write down specific notes in a small spiral notebook about the scene they want to remember so they can write their stories. They complete their...
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Making Cranberry Bread
While the preparation for this lesson is extensive, the results are well worth the effort. Prior to the lesson, Xerox the pictures from Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, collect the ingredients for Cranberry Bread, and...
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A Plump and Perky Turkey
Help readers recognize elements in a story. They will use pictures and text to gain meaning from written material. Have learners listen to the story A Plump and Perky Turkey and participate in a discussion. They recognize the Internet...
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My Trip to America
Students create their own stories about a trip to America, based on an oral reading. Student stories be compiled for a class Thanksgiving book.
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I'm Thankful I Can Summarize
Students summarize a selected piece od nonfiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a nonfiction article concerning Thanksgiving. They write a summary paragraph using the five step process outlined by...
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View: Visual Inquiry/Experience in Writing
Students discuss the importance of having good observational skills. Using artifacts, they discuss what can and cannot be told about previous cultures. They use their observations to write a paper about the culture and use the internet...
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Sula/Song of Solomon/Tar Baby
Students answer assigned questions as a group, write individual essays, complete a research project, and complete a writing project.
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Introduce Vocabulary: I Love You the Purplest (Joosse)
Use Barbara Joosse's heartwarming story I Love You the Purplest (which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it) to practice vocabulary in context with emerging readers. This sensory text is an excellent opportunity to learn new...
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Thanksgiving Unit
Second graders identify: why the Pilgrims came to America; how they adjusted to life in America; what impact the Native Americans had on the survival of the Pilgrims; and what events brought about the First Thanksgiving.
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Write to Read
Students discover how to write to improve their reading skills. In groups, they take pictures of a variety of school events and compile them into a PowerPoint presentation. To end the lesson plan, they add a narration to the slides and...
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Pilgrim's Progress- Get on the Boat
Students investigate the Pilgrims and their journey. In this history lesson, students role play the journey of the Pilgrims and discuss the conditions of the Mayflower. Students record their feelings about the "journey" in a journal.
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Make Mine Turkey
Young scholars compare foods available for the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving with contemporary Thanksgiving foods. After reading information about the first Thanksgiving, pupils create a menu and compute the cost of a turkey dinner, using...
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CULTURAL COMPARISON OF NATIVE AMERICANS AND PILGRIMS
First graders explore the practices and products of the two cultures. They build log cabins and teepees or Hogans, make costumes, use vocabulary and Native American symbols to write stories, create art products such as pinch pots and...