Lesson 1
Title: Thanksgiving Today
Teacher
Jennifer Root
Days of Class
1
Enduring Understandings
Grade: Kindergarten
Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the United States. It is a time to come together
with family and friends, to give thanks and to celebrate. People do this in many different
ways. There is not one “correct” way to celebrate.
Essential Questions
-What is the significance of Thanksgiving? Why is it celebrated?
-How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving? Is it the same or different than your
classmates? How?
Learning Standards Addressed (from MA Curriculum Frameworks or Local
Standards) as well as Historical Thinking Skills Standards
PreK-K 1, Identify and describe the events or people celebrated during United States
national holidays and why we celebrate them. e. Thanksgiving Day.
Historical Thinking Skills, Standard 1 Chronological thinking; A. Distinguish between
past, present and future time.
Historical Thinking Skills, Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation B. Compare
and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors and institutions.
Materials/Resources Needed
Family responses (optional)
Chart paper
Markers
8 1/2x11 Paper labeled “Thanksgiving Today” for each child (attached)
Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Students will be able to draw and write or dictate what Thanksgiving Day will look like
with their family.
Students will be able to notice ways that their family celebrates in similar and different
ways from their classmates.
Learning Activities/Plan
1. Before starting this activity with the class, you may wish to ask parents to send in
a note sharing the special and unique ways their family celebrates Thanksgiving,
with whom they celebrate, and the special foods and activities of the holiday.
Keep in mind that you may have students that do not celebrate the holiday and if
that is the case, sensitivity must be shown.
2. As a whole group, brainstorm on the chart some things that the children plan to do
with their families on Thanksgiving. Explain that Thanksgiving is a holiday
celebrated in the United States every November. Pull down the map, show the
United States.
3. Notice what similarities and differences there are between classmates and the
ways in which their families celebrate.
4. At tables, or during centers, have the children illustrate and label pictures of what
their plans are this Thanksgiving. Add teacher writing as needed. Hold onto
these pictures for later.
Closure (Summarize, Review, Homework, Preview Next Day)
This is a simple introductory lesson on a Thanksgiving mini-unit however it is an
important one for children to make a connection between today and long ago.
A math activity to show differences might be to do a class graph of favorite holiday foods
or what we are most thankful for in our lives today.
Additional teacher information (other resources, websites, etc.)
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See next lesson
Lesson 2
Title: Thanksgiving, Long Ago
Teacher
Jen Root
Days of Class
2
Enduring Understandings
Grade: Kindergarten
Thanksgiving has been celebrated in our country for a long time. The first Thanksgiving
looked very different than Thanksgiving today. The Wampanoag and English colonists
had many similarities and differences when they came together to celebrate their harvest
in 1621. People of the past made decisions that affect our celebrations today.
Essential Questions
-What did the first Thanksgiving look like? What were they celebrating? How did they
celebrate?
-How is Thanksgiving different today?
Learning Standards Addressed (from MA Curriculum Frameworks or Local
Standards) as well as Historical Thinking Skills Standards
PreK-K 1, Identify and describe the events or people celebrated during United States
national holidays and why we celebrate them. e. Thanksgiving Day.
History and Geography 2. Use correctly words or phrases related to chronology and time
(now, long ago, before, after; present, past and future tenses of verbs)
PreK-K 5. Retell stories that illustrate honesty, courage, friendship, respect, responsibility
and the wise or judicious exercise of authority, and explain how the characters in the
stories show these qualities.
Historical Thinking Skills, Standard 1 Chronological thinking; A. Distinguish between
past, present and future time and G. Explain change and continuity over time.
Historical Thinking Skills, Standard 2: Historical Comprehension E. Appreciate historical
perspectives. H. Draw upon visual data presented in photographs.
Historical Thinking Skills, Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation B. Compare
and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors and institutions. D.
Distinguish between fact and fiction. E. Compare different stories about a historical
figure, era, or event. G. Consider multiple perspectives. J. Hypothesize influences of the
past.
Materials/Resources Needed
The First Thanksgiving 1621, Karen Rinaldo, Oil on Canvas, 1995. Prints available
online at www.plimoth.org
Primary source, excerpt from Edward Winslow’s letter in 1621.
Chart paper and markers
Picture book, Giving Thanks, the 1621 Harvest Feast, by Kate Waters.
 Kate Waters. Photographs by Russ Kendall. In Cooperation with Plimoth
Plantation. Giving Thanks: the 1621 Harvest Feast. New York: Scholastic Books,
2001.
8 1/2x11 Paper labeled “Thanksgiving Long Ago” for each child (attached)
Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Children will be able to notice differences between life today and life long ago.
Children will draw and write about those differences.
Learning Activities/Plan
DAY ONE:
In the beginning, show children the print of The First Thanksgiving 1621 (Rinaldo). If
you have multiple prints, let children sit with a partner or in small groups to look at the
picture.
Read the primary source letter from Edward Winslow to give children an idea of the
language and a true voice from that time. Explain that you are reading a letter by one of
the men in the painting.
(In modern spelling)
"our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we
might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of
our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside,
served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations,
we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst
the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three
days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which
they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the
Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this
time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often
wish you partakers of our plenty."
Using Dr. Rhonda Bondie’s sample questions for “Images Draw You In” ask:
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What do you think this is a picture of? What makes you think that?
(comprehension)
Is this picture happy or sad? What makes you say that (comprehension)
Is this picture new or old? What makes you say that? (comprehension)
Give a title to this picture. Why did you choose that title? (application)
Where might this picture have been taken? What makes you think that?
(analysis)
What might the people in this picture be saying? (evaluation)
What don’t you see in this picture that you think you should see? (evaluation)
ALSO choose from:
Howard Gardner and Entry Point into Artworks (1995 Harvard, Project Zero MUSE
Project):
 What is the story that you see in this work of art? (narrative)
 Do you think this work of art is real? (foundational)
 Take a look at what is happening in this work of art. Act out what you think
might happen next. (experimental)
 What makes this work of art look real to you? What makes it look unreal?
(aesthetic)
When it is appropriate in the class conversation, explain that this is a painting of what the
very first Thanksgiving was thought to look like. Tell the children that it happened in
1621, almost 400 years ago!! Explain that the Native American Indians from the
Wampanoag tribe came together with the English colonists (or Pilgrims) to celebrate a
good harvest. Explain that harvest was a time when people gathered all the food they had
been growing to prepare to eat or store for winter. Tell them that this was important
because there we no grocery stores long ago and they needed to have food for the winter.
DAY TWO:
1. In the beginning, remind the children of the painting of the first Thanksgiving.
Tell them that you are going to read a book about that time long ago. Read
Giving Thanks, The 1621 Harvest Feast by Kate Waters.
2. Following this story, brainstorm a list of Thanksgiving time in 1621 and how it is
different than Thanksgiving today. Be sure to address any myths or
misinformation that the children may mention. Write the children’s responses on
chart paper. Encourage them to notice things like dress, customs, games, food,
and living circumstances.
3. At tables either in the whole group or during centers, have children choose
something from the chart to illustrate and label. Try to find a balance between the
lives of the Colonists and the lives of the Wampanoag. Use teacher writing to tell
about the picture.
4. Match each child’s picture from Thanksgiving Today in the first lesson and
Thanksgiving Long Ago, laminate and bind into a classroom book. Take turns
sending the book home for children to share with their families.
Closure (Summarize, Review, Homework, Preview Next Day)
Using Howard Gardner’s Entry Points, we have used the narrative entry through the
picture book, the aesthetic entry through studying the first Thanksgiving painting, the
social entry through the children’s personal sharing of Thanksgiving experiences, and the
logical entry through the questions explored while looking at the painting. If you are
doing classroom centers about Thanksgiving here are 2 other ideas to add to the mix that
would fit the experimental entry approach:
1. Bring in a mortar and pestle and hard corn seeds and have the children try to grind
them (as the character Resolved White did as part of his chores).
2. Have children trace and identify deer tracks, or even have a deer tracking game
where the children need to find deer tracks in the classroom and figure out which
way the deer is heading (as Dancing Moccasins was doing).
Additional teacher information (other resources, websites, etc.)
It is important as educators to enter into conversations as knowledgably as we can. This
is especially true when there are historical inaccuracies that need to be corrected. There
are some valuable resources about the first Thanksgiving as well as life in 1621 that I
recommend reading prior to introducing this subject in the classroom.
 Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac, with Plimoth Plantation.
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving. Washington: National Geographic, 2001.
 Investigating “The First Thanksgiving”, An Educator’s Guide to the 1621
Harvest Celebration. Plymouth, MA: Plimoth Plantation Inc., 2003.
Thanksgiving Today
by, ______________________
Thanksgiving Long Ago
by, ______________________