Lesson Plan | What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the Fir...
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NOVEMBER 23, 2010, 3:13 PM
What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving
By SARAH KAVANAGH AND HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO
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Overview | Why are there so many different interpretations of what
American History
happened on the first Thanksgiving? What values do the various
Teaching ideas based on
versions reflect? In this lesson, students will examine different
New York Times content.
versions of the story of the first Thanksgiving, evaluate the evidence
See all in American
History »
that supports each version and discuss why the history of
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Thanksgiving is so contentious.
Materials | Computers with Internet access, copies of the Thanksgiving Interpretations
handout (PDF)
Warm-Up | Students work in small groups to reconstruct the story of the first
Thanksgiving, as it was presented in elementary school.
They can choose to write a brief narrative of the story as they remember it, draw a
storyboard or comic strip that illustrates the story or create an events flow chart. They
should be sure to include key people, places and objects that figure prominently in their
understandings of the story.
Alternatively, bring in several storybooks written for young children that tell the
“mainstream” story of the first Thanksgiving that is often taught in elementary schools.
Have each small group read one book and record the main events and morals of the story as
well as their own questions about this version of the story.
After the small group work is completed, reconvene the class and have each group share its
stories, and then hold a discussion. Ask: What elements do our stories have in common?
What differences did you notice? What would you say is the most “mainstream” version of
the Thanksgiving story, according to what we’ve been taught or to the children’s books?
Next, ask: From whose perspective is this story told? What values and morals are inherent,
and communicated, in this story? What does this story say about our national heritage?
What might these stories teach young children about broader themes like sharing, the
American nation, cultural differences and giving and thankfulness? Why do you think this
version emerged as the dominant narrative about Thanksgiving? From what other
perspectives could the story be told, and how might it look different if told from these
perspectives?
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Lesson Plan | What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the Fir...
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Related | In the article “The Pilgrims Were … Socialists?” Kate Zernike examines a version
of the story of the first Thanksgiving promoted by some Tea Partiers and libertarians in
which the holiday is celebrated as a triumph of capitalism over socialism:
Forget what you learned about the first Thanksgiving being a celebration of a bountiful
harvest, or an expression of gratitude to the Indians who helped the Pilgrims through those
harsh first months in an unfamiliar land. In the Tea Party view of the holiday, the first
settlers were actually early socialists. They realized the error of their collectivist ways and
embraced capitalism, producing a bumper year, upon which they decided that it was only
right to celebrate the glory of the free market and private property.
Historians quibble with this interpretation. But the story, related by libertarians and
conservatives for years, has taken on new life over the last year among Tea Party audiences,
who revere early American history, and hunger for any argument against what they believe
is the big-government takeover of the United States.
Read the entire article with your class, using the questions below.
Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:
How do Tea Party historians interpret the story of the first Thanksgiving? How does this version of the story
relate to other Tea Party beliefs and values?
According to Ms. Zernike, historians say, “The Pilgrims were more like shareholders in an early corporation
than subjects of socialism.” What does this mean? On what evidence do they draw to make this claim?
What other criticisms of Tea Party historians’ version of the first Thanksgiving do the historians quoted in the
article put forth?
Richard Pickering argues that there is a connection between contemporary Tea Party historians’ versions of
the story and the cold war. According to Mr. Pickering, what is this connection, and why is it important?
What versions of the story of the first Thanksgiving are not discussed in this article? What more do you want
to know about the history of Thanksgiving?
Activity | Inform students that today they will be investigating
RELATED RESOURCES From
several different versions of the first Thanksgiving to better
the Learning Network
Thanksgiving Resources
understand not only the event itself, but how and why different
Lesson: “Guess Who’s Coming to
groups of people interpret the event in radically different ways.
Dinner“
Split the class into four groups, and have each group
investigate one of the following interpretations of the story of
the first Thanksgiving:
Lesson: “Declarations of
Independence“
Around the Web
U.S. Census Bureau:
Thanksgiving Facts and Statistics
Smithsonian: November Is
As told by mainstream popular history sources:
American Indian Heritage Month
Smithsonian: “Thanksgiving in
National Geographic Kids: First Thanksgiving
North America“
History.com: Thanksgiving
Apples4theteacher: Legends and Short Stories to Share for Thanksgiving
Holidays.net: “The Pilgrims and America’s First Thanksgiving”
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Lesson Plan | What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the Fir...
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/what-really-happene...
As told by Native American educators and some public school leaders:
NPR: “The True, Grim Story of the First Thanksgiving”
Education World: “Are You Teaching the Real Story of the First Thanksgiving?”
As told by conservatives and Tea Party activists:
Rush Limbaugh: “The Real Story of Thanksgiving”
Ludwig von Mises Institute: “The Great Thanksgiving Hoax”
Focus on the Family: “Pilgrims, Socialism and Thanksgiving”
American Institute for Economic Research: “The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving: The
Triumph of Capitalism Over Collectivism”
As told by Native American critics of the Thanksgiving holiday:
Pilgrim Hall Museum: The National Day of Mourning
Mass Moments: First “National Day of Mourning” Held in Plymouth, Nov. 26, 1970
Each group will read the sources provided for them and complete the Thanksgiving
Interpretations handout (PDF), which asks them to retell their assigned version of the
story, identify the writers and publishers and identify the evidence that the writers use to
support their interpretation.
When group work is complete, have each group present to the whole class the version of the
story that the members examined and discuss whose version it is and what evidence exists
to support it. Then discuss some or all of the following questions: What pictures of early
colonial life, and of indigenous peoples, are painted by these versions of the story of the first
Thanksgiving? How do these stories inform our understandings of the roots of American
nationhood? Why is the story of the first Thanksgiving so contentious? What’s at stake in
interpreting the story? How has learning about these different versions of the story of the
first Thanksgiving changed the way you think about the holiday and how you typically
celebrate it? What does contention over the Thanksgiving story suggest about how
historical facts are interpreted and how history is determined?
Going Further | Individually, students keep a Thanksgiving journal over the holiday
weekend in which they will take note of all of the accounts or representations of the first
Thanksgiving that they see, hear or read. They might also ask family and friends — perhaps
over their Thanksgiving meal — about what they know about the first Thanksgiving and if
and why they think it is an important story to remember.
When they return to school, discuss what they saw and heard over the holiday. How is the
story of the first Thanksgiving popularly represented to the American public? Do these
popular representations align with one of the versions of the story that students we studied
in class? Which one? How is history popularly remembered? Why does it matter how
history is popularly remembered?
Standards | This lesson is correlated to McREL’s national standards (it can also be aligned
to the new Common Core State Standards):
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Lesson Plan | What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the Fir...
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United States History
2. Understands cultural and ecological interactions among previously unconnected people
resulting from early European exploration and colonization
3. Understands why the Americas attracted Europeans, why they brought enslaved Africans
to their colonies and how Europeans struggled for control of North America and the
Caribbean
5. Understands how the values and institutions of European economic life took root in the
colonies and how slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas
Historical Understanding
2. Understands the historical perspective
Language Arts
1. Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process
7. Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of
informational texts
8. Demonstrates competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning
Civics
11. Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values,
political beliefs and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society
Behavioral Studies
1. Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development,
identity and behavior
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