The First Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving
A Topic Page designed for 5^th grade students
by Sharon Patillo and Lynn Moudy

Find out about the pilgrim’s voyage on the Mayflower from England to America.
Have you ever wondered who the children on the Mayflower were?

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What do you think the lives of Pilgrim children were like? What kind of chores did they do?
What kinds of clothes did they wear? Find out about the Pilgrim children and their lives.

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Who were the Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving feast? Meet the Wampanoag.

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Do you know the facts about the first Thanksgiving?

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What did the Pilgrims wear to the first Thanksgiving? Click Pilgrim Clothing to find out.
The Wampanoag were the Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving.
Do you think you know how they dressed? Click Wampanoag Clothing to see if you were right.

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Was the food at the first Thanksgiving similar to what you eat today?

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Test your knowledge

Use this link to print out a Venn Diagram.

TEACHER PAGE

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Activity 1

Description of Activity Students will use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast their lives with that of the Pilgrim children. They should have at least 5 differences and should try to find 5 similarities as well. The Venn Diagram will be used as a graphic organizer for the second activity.

Rationale By comparing their daily life with that of the pilgrim child, the students will be able to better understand the challenges that were faced. They will also be able to see the differences in household responsibilities that they have compared with children from a different era. Lastly, the students will see how different the first Thanksgiving was from their own.

Grade Level 5^th

Subject Area Social Studies, Language Arts, and Technology

NCSCOS Objectives Language Arts 4.05 Use a variety of preliminary strategies to plan and organize the writing and speaking task considering purpose, audience, and timeline.
Social Studies 11.1 Identify and describe changes which have occurred in ways of living in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
Social Studies 12.2 Associate an event or phenomenon in the history of the United States, Canada, and Latin America with a current situation or practice.
Computer/Technology Skills 2.1 Use technology tools to collect, analyze, and display data.

Modifications For students with fine motor skill difficulty or visual problems, I would enlarge the Venn Diagram. Students with learning disabilities could read the websites with a partner. Advanced Learners could list more than 5 similarities and/or differences.

Description of Activity	Students will use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast their lives with that of the Pilgrim children. They should have at least 5 differences and should try to find 5 similarities as well. The Venn Diagram will be used as a graphic organizer for the second activity.
Rationale	By comparing their daily life with that of the pilgrim child, the students will be able to better understand the challenges that were faced. They will also be able to see the differences in household responsibilities that they have compared with children from a different era. Lastly, the students will see how different the first Thanksgiving was from their own.
Grade Level	5^th
Subject Area	Social Studies, Language Arts, and Technology
NCSCOS Objectives	Language Arts 4.05 Use a variety of preliminary strategies to plan and organize the writing and speaking task considering purpose, audience, and timeline. Social Studies 11.1 Identify and describe changes which have occurred in ways of living in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Social Studies 12.2 Associate an event or phenomenon in the history of the United States, Canada, and Latin America with a current situation or practice. Computer/Technology Skills 2.1 Use technology tools to collect, analyze, and display data.
Modifications	For students with fine motor skill difficulty or visual problems, I would enlarge the Venn Diagram. Students with learning disabilities could read the websites with a partner. Advanced Learners could list more than 5 similarities and/or differences.

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Activity 2

Description of Activity Written and Computer Typed five paragraph Essay-Imagine you were a Pilgrim child who came to America on the Mayflower. Based on the information you’ve read and learned, how do you think life would be? What kind of chores would you have to do? What kind of clothes would you have to wear? What kind of foods would be available to eat? How would you feel about having to do all these things? (Give reasons for your feelings) How do you think you would feel being a child at the first thanksgiving feast? What kinds of things do you think you would participate in?

Rationale Students will be able to take the information they have learned and apply it to their lives. They will be able to discuss how they would feel and give explanations for this. This allows them to think on a higher level rather than just recalling information.

Grade Level 5th

Subject Area Social Studies, Language Arts, and Technology

NCSCOS Objectives Social Studies Competency Objective 1.3-Assess the role and status of individuals and groups in the US, Canada, and Latin America, past and present.
English Language Arts Competency Objective 3.01-Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by: creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience.
Objective 5.08-Create readable documents through legible handwriting and word processing.
Computer/Technology Skills Objective 2.4-Use a word processing application to create and format a document.

Modifications Students with learning disabilities may write a modified essay if necessary. This would be a 3 paragraph essay with the first paragraph introducing the topic, the 2^nd paragraph telling about the things you might do, and the third paragraph tell describing food you might eat.

Description of Activity	Written and Computer Typed five paragraph Essay-Imagine you were a Pilgrim child who came to America on the Mayflower. Based on the information you’ve read and learned, how do you think life would be? What kind of chores would you have to do? What kind of clothes would you have to wear? What kind of foods would be available to eat? How would you feel about having to do all these things? (Give reasons for your feelings) How do you think you would feel being a child at the first thanksgiving feast? What kinds of things do you think you would participate in?
Rationale	Students will be able to take the information they have learned and apply it to their lives. They will be able to discuss how they would feel and give explanations for this. This allows them to think on a higher level rather than just recalling information.
Grade Level	5th
Subject Area	Social Studies, Language Arts, and Technology
NCSCOS Objectives	Social Studies Competency Objective 1.3-Assess the role and status of individuals and groups in the US, Canada, and Latin America, past and present. English Language Arts Competency Objective 3.01-Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by: creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience. Objective 5.08-Create readable documents through legible handwriting and word processing. Computer/Technology Skills Objective 2.4-Use a word processing application to create and format a document.
Modifications	Students with learning disabilities may write a modified essay if necessary. This would be a 3 paragraph essay with the first paragraph introducing the topic, the 2^nd paragraph telling about the things you might do, and the third paragraph tell describing food you might eat.

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Activity Rubric

Needs Improvement
( 1-2 points )
Adequate
( 3 points)
Good
( 4 points)
Excellent
( 5 points )

Most questions not answered Some questions answered Most questions answered Answers all questions

Writing is not neat and organized and contains many grammatical errors and/or spelling errors Writing is not neat and organized and contains minor grammatical errors or spelling errors Writing is neat and organized with minor grammatical errors or spelling errors Writing is neat and organized with no grammatical errors, no spelling errors

Essay does not show evidence of learning and/or essay does not have 5 paragraphs Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay. Sentence structure is simple and not varied and vocabulary is limited Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay, including an attention grabbing introductory paragraph, and uses more than simple sentence structure Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay, including an attention grabbing introductory paragraph, rich vocabulary and a variety of sentence structure

Venn Diagram is incomplete with less than 3 similarities and 3 differences Venn Diagram complete with 3 similarities and 3 differences listed Venn Diagram complete with 4 similarities and 4 differences listed Venn Diagram complete with 5 similarities and 5 differences listed

Needs Improvement ( 1-2 points )	Adequate ( 3 points)	Good ( 4 points)	Excellent ( 5 points )
Most questions not answered	Some questions answered	Most questions answered	Answers all questions
Writing is not neat and organized and contains many grammatical errors and/or spelling errors	Writing is not neat and organized and contains minor grammatical errors or spelling errors	Writing is neat and organized with minor grammatical errors or spelling errors	Writing is neat and organized with no grammatical errors, no spelling errors
Essay does not show evidence of learning and/or essay does not have 5 paragraphs	Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay. Sentence structure is simple and not varied and vocabulary is limited	Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay, including an attention grabbing introductory paragraph, and uses more than simple sentence structure	Shows evidence of learning with well developed 5 paragraph essay, including an attention grabbing introductory paragraph, rich vocabulary and a variety of sentence structure
Venn Diagram is incomplete with less than 3 similarities and 3 differences	Venn Diagram complete with 3 similarities and 3 differences listed	Venn Diagram complete with 4 similarities and 4 differences listed	Venn Diagram complete with 5 similarities and 5 differences listed

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