Teach your class about Pilgrim families and the first Thanksgiving. Children will learn historical facts through games, math and language skills and art projects.
Materials Needed
Here are the things that you will need for the lesson today:
- Colored photos of pilgrims
- Colored photos of ships (old and modern)
- Globe
- Cardboard tubes (paper towel rolls)
- Popcorn kernels
- Liquid glue
- Pre-cut sail boats
- The Pilgrims of Plymouth by Marcia Sewall
Circle Time Discussions
Discuss the Pilgrim families. How are they the same or different from ours?
Show pictures of Pilgrims. How do they look the same or different from us?
Review the globe again. Study the Pilgrim’s voyage from Europe to the United States. Define vocabulary, voyage.
Discuss traveling in a ship for several months. Talk about some of the dangers, like inclement weather, disease, and lack of resources that they faced.
Compare the Pilgrims voyage to traveling in a car.
Read The Pilgrims of Plymouth by Marcia Sewall- The story is long, so you should plan to read parts of it today and the remainder of the book tomorrow.
Pilgrim Song
(To the tune of “Three Blind Mice”)
The Pilgrims sailed,
The stormy sea,
To start a country new,
New and free.
They met some other people there,
Then had a great party with food so rare.
In the land that they would share,
The Pilgrims sailed.
The Pilgrims sailed.
Make Napkin Rings
Thanksgiving Napkin Rings
Cut 1 1/2 inch sections of cardboard tube (2 for each child).
Instruct the children to glue popcorn kernels onto the tube, to resemble corn on the cob.
*When attempting to control the amount of liquid glue being used, tell children “A little dot glues a lot”.
Math Skills
Ship Shape
On pre-cut sail boats, draw a shape onto each boat.
Instruct the children to place the boats into shape patterns.
** It would be a good idea to create pattern arrangements on note cards ahead of time for them to follow.*
Language Skills
Prepare a list of food items that might have been served on the first Thanksgiving.
As a second part to the language activity, make a list of favorites that are served at Thanksgiving dinner today.
For another lesson about Thanksgiving foods, by another writer at Bright Hub, please click here.
Suggested Reading
Franklin’s Thanksgiving by Sharon Jennings and Brenda Clark
The Best Thanksgiving Ever by Nancy Inteli
References
- Author experience.
