ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING AN AUTHENTIC THANKSGIVING STORY
Giving Thanks is Universal
Holidays from around the world celebrate thanks (scroll down)
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Squanto's Journey and 1621
Texts and pictures to study and Discuss (Scroll down for details)
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Thanksgiving Address and a Tool for Healing
Two different takes on Thanksgiving Holidays by Native Americans (Scroll down for details)
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Giving Thanks is Universal:
K-3: The gist of this activity is to connect the American holiday of Thanksgiving with the idea that giving thanks is beneficial and universal. Ask the children about how Thanksgiving is celebrated in their families. Explain briefly the origin of the American tradition: that English people who, having landed on and begun living on land occupied by the Wampanoag Indians in Plymouth, Mass. and who, having endured near-starvation, had a successful harvest, held a three-day feast to celebrate. And that Wampanoag Indians, hearing gun fire from the celebration, approached first cautiously, and eventually joined in the feast, contributing deer they killed for the occasion. Mention that the Indians helped the English colonists learn to grow a lot of food used for the feast. Acquaint the children with some of the different ways various cultures around the world express their thanks. Some of these are described in this article: https://www.startribune.com/how-cultures-around-the-world-show-gratitude-in-their-ceremonies-of-thanksgiving/565530632.
In the culminating activity, which was developed by the American Indian author of the book We Are Grateful, students can practice being thankful all year long. Students each choose a deciduous tree near the school and make it their Thanksgiving tree. They would visit it every Thursday and makes notes and drawings on how it changes with the seasons. Link to this activity is at: https://www.readacrossamerica.org/we-are-grateful-otsaliheliga/
Squanto's Journey
GRADE 4: Squanto’s Journey, The First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruhac is a biography of a member of the Patuxet tribe of Massachusetts who served as an interpreter and guide for the Pilgrims. Squanto promoted trade and peace between the English and the Indians of the region around Plymouth. His story is complex and compelling: Kidnapped by the captain of an English fishing boat and brought to Europe as a slave, he was freed by Catholic friars and, with the help of a friendly officer of a British ship, returned to his home territory. The book is told in the voice of Squanto and from his perspective. The book ends with a description of the colonists’ bountiful fall harvest and with Squanto’s hope of a both English and Indians having many days of thanks ahead. LESSON SUGGESTION: After reading the book to the class, ask the students to answer questions about the story: Who is Squanto? What is the name of his tribe? What does the name mean in English? Where did he live? What happened to Squanto when the white men arrived? Why did the Indians fear the white man? In what way did Squanto help create peace? Did the colonists have enough food? How did Squanto help the colonists? Looking at the two-page picture, describe the foods that they ate at a feast they had together, what was Squanto thankful for? Then, relate how this first feast became known as Thanksgiving, and how we have made it an annual celebration, and ask the children how they celebrate.
1621
GRADES 5-8: David Silverman, who wrote a recent book on the true story of the events surrounding the so-called First Thanksgiving, wrote this about the myth of Thanksgiving: “It is that friendly Indians, unidentified by tribe, welcome the Pilgrims to America, teach them how to live in this new place, sit down to dinner with them and then disappear. They hand off America to white people so they can create a great nation dedicated to liberty, opportunity and Christianity for the rest of the world to profit. That’s the story—it’s about Native people conceding to colonialism. It’s bloodless and in many ways an extension of the ideology of Manifest Destiny.” 1621 is a photographic essay telling the real Thanksgiving story through reenactors, both Native Americans and Colonists, who are shown in authentic dress and in authentic settings. Published by National Geographic and staged at the Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, the book is powerful and well done. This lesson entails having students read the quote from Silverman, then read the book, taking written notes on when the facts contradict the myth. They will compile their notes into a short essay on the myths and facts surrounding Thanksgiving, and share their ideas in a discussion with the class as a whole.
Thanksgiving Address and a Tool for Healing
GRADES 6-12: Teaching Tolerance offers this excellent activity for grades 6-12 with two source materials. The first is the Thanksgiving Address given by a Wampanoag Indian, Wamsutta James, who was invited to speak at a celebration of the 350th anniversary of the so-called First Thanksgiving. He was not allowed to give the speech he intended to – which told the story of the first encounters of the Wampanoags with the colonists through the eyes of the Wampanoags (the tribe that lived on the land where the Pilgrims settled) -- but it was widely disseminated and has prompted many Indians to boycott Thanksgiving. James speaks in plain and moving words about the robbing of their land and the continuing spirit of the Indian people. The other resource is a statement Jacqueline Keeler, a Sioux and Dineh Nation Indian who celebrates Thanksgiving, which she considers a tool for healing. She recounts the generosity of the Wampanoags to the colonists and hopes for the end of bigotry and self-righteousness and a fulfillment of our ability “to share and give intact.” To start the activity, the students will pair off. While one describes what he/she knows about the origin of the American holiday of Thanksgiving, the other writes down key words and images. Then one the students will read the first essay while the other reads the second, and each will summarize to the other what they read. That will be followed by a class discussion around questions given in the lesson that challenge students to broaden their perspectives and think cross-culturally, and finally an essay wrapping up what they have learned. The activity is available at: https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/thanksgiving-mourning
More Teaching Tolerance resources: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/teaching-thanksgiving-in-a-socially-responsible-way?fbclid=IwAR2QxuL1fHWoZ0PHX4iIq-UcIXrXq32CNvR46nxcUe2dJHWUfXWvEes0HQ0
Thanks to Brian Miller for these lesson plans and compiling these resources.
K-3: The gist of this activity is to connect the American holiday of Thanksgiving with the idea that giving thanks is beneficial and universal. Ask the children about how Thanksgiving is celebrated in their families. Explain briefly the origin of the American tradition: that English people who, having landed on and begun living on land occupied by the Wampanoag Indians in Plymouth, Mass. and who, having endured near-starvation, had a successful harvest, held a three-day feast to celebrate. And that Wampanoag Indians, hearing gun fire from the celebration, approached first cautiously, and eventually joined in the feast, contributing deer they killed for the occasion. Mention that the Indians helped the English colonists learn to grow a lot of food used for the feast. Acquaint the children with some of the different ways various cultures around the world express their thanks. Some of these are described in this article: https://www.startribune.com/how-cultures-around-the-world-show-gratitude-in-their-ceremonies-of-thanksgiving/565530632.
In the culminating activity, which was developed by the American Indian author of the book We Are Grateful, students can practice being thankful all year long. Students each choose a deciduous tree near the school and make it their Thanksgiving tree. They would visit it every Thursday and makes notes and drawings on how it changes with the seasons. Link to this activity is at: https://www.readacrossamerica.org/we-are-grateful-otsaliheliga/
Squanto's Journey
GRADE 4: Squanto’s Journey, The First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruhac is a biography of a member of the Patuxet tribe of Massachusetts who served as an interpreter and guide for the Pilgrims. Squanto promoted trade and peace between the English and the Indians of the region around Plymouth. His story is complex and compelling: Kidnapped by the captain of an English fishing boat and brought to Europe as a slave, he was freed by Catholic friars and, with the help of a friendly officer of a British ship, returned to his home territory. The book is told in the voice of Squanto and from his perspective. The book ends with a description of the colonists’ bountiful fall harvest and with Squanto’s hope of a both English and Indians having many days of thanks ahead. LESSON SUGGESTION: After reading the book to the class, ask the students to answer questions about the story: Who is Squanto? What is the name of his tribe? What does the name mean in English? Where did he live? What happened to Squanto when the white men arrived? Why did the Indians fear the white man? In what way did Squanto help create peace? Did the colonists have enough food? How did Squanto help the colonists? Looking at the two-page picture, describe the foods that they ate at a feast they had together, what was Squanto thankful for? Then, relate how this first feast became known as Thanksgiving, and how we have made it an annual celebration, and ask the children how they celebrate.
1621
GRADES 5-8: David Silverman, who wrote a recent book on the true story of the events surrounding the so-called First Thanksgiving, wrote this about the myth of Thanksgiving: “It is that friendly Indians, unidentified by tribe, welcome the Pilgrims to America, teach them how to live in this new place, sit down to dinner with them and then disappear. They hand off America to white people so they can create a great nation dedicated to liberty, opportunity and Christianity for the rest of the world to profit. That’s the story—it’s about Native people conceding to colonialism. It’s bloodless and in many ways an extension of the ideology of Manifest Destiny.” 1621 is a photographic essay telling the real Thanksgiving story through reenactors, both Native Americans and Colonists, who are shown in authentic dress and in authentic settings. Published by National Geographic and staged at the Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, the book is powerful and well done. This lesson entails having students read the quote from Silverman, then read the book, taking written notes on when the facts contradict the myth. They will compile their notes into a short essay on the myths and facts surrounding Thanksgiving, and share their ideas in a discussion with the class as a whole.
Thanksgiving Address and a Tool for Healing
GRADES 6-12: Teaching Tolerance offers this excellent activity for grades 6-12 with two source materials. The first is the Thanksgiving Address given by a Wampanoag Indian, Wamsutta James, who was invited to speak at a celebration of the 350th anniversary of the so-called First Thanksgiving. He was not allowed to give the speech he intended to – which told the story of the first encounters of the Wampanoags with the colonists through the eyes of the Wampanoags (the tribe that lived on the land where the Pilgrims settled) -- but it was widely disseminated and has prompted many Indians to boycott Thanksgiving. James speaks in plain and moving words about the robbing of their land and the continuing spirit of the Indian people. The other resource is a statement Jacqueline Keeler, a Sioux and Dineh Nation Indian who celebrates Thanksgiving, which she considers a tool for healing. She recounts the generosity of the Wampanoags to the colonists and hopes for the end of bigotry and self-righteousness and a fulfillment of our ability “to share and give intact.” To start the activity, the students will pair off. While one describes what he/she knows about the origin of the American holiday of Thanksgiving, the other writes down key words and images. Then one the students will read the first essay while the other reads the second, and each will summarize to the other what they read. That will be followed by a class discussion around questions given in the lesson that challenge students to broaden their perspectives and think cross-culturally, and finally an essay wrapping up what they have learned. The activity is available at: https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/thanksgiving-mourning
More Teaching Tolerance resources: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/teaching-thanksgiving-in-a-socially-responsible-way?fbclid=IwAR2QxuL1fHWoZ0PHX4iIq-UcIXrXq32CNvR46nxcUe2dJHWUfXWvEes0HQ0
Thanks to Brian Miller for these lesson plans and compiling these resources.