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Do Other Countries Celebrate Thanksgiving?

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Do Other Countries Celebrate Thanksgiving?

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I pulled three questions from my jar. Which question do you want to explore next week?

How does a calculator work?

-Owen, 5th Grade

What causes lightning?

-Meredith, 1st Grade

What do garbage trucks do with garbage?

-Miles, 3rd Grade

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Do other countries celebrate Thanksgiving?

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I pulled three questions from my jar. Which question do you want to explore next week? How does a calculator work? -Owen, 5th Grade What causes lightning? -Meredith, 1st Grade What do garbage trucks do with garbage? -Miles, 3rd Grade

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What is Thanksgiving? K-5

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THINGS SIMON'S CAT IS THANKFUL FOR (Thanksgiving Collection)

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Newest resources are at the bottom.

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Thanksgiving is coming-up in a few weeks, so I thought another "The Best..." list was in order (you might also be interested in The Best Resources On "Gratitude").

As with The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus, many of the online resources accessible to English Language Learners tell the usual and uncritical story of Europeans and Native Americans. So the first part of this post those accessible links, while the second part lists online resources that I've found helpful to me in developing classroom lessons that try to demonstrate a Native American perspective.

Here are my picks for The Best Sites To Learn & Teach About Thanksgiving (not in a strict order of preference, but with the ones I think that are most accessible listed near the top):

Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. have two good Thanksgiving movies that provide closed-captioning. Unfortunately, both require registration - either as a free trial or as a paid subscription. Brainpop is only one of two sites on the entire Web that I think are worth paying for but, as I mentioned, you can also get a free trial. These are the only two sites on this list that are not free. Of course, I think they're the best, too.

Scholastic has a good feature on The First Thanksgiving that provides audio support to the text and is very engaging.

Pilgrim Village is a simple E-Book, also from Scholastic, that provides audio support for the text.

What Really Happened At Thanksgiving? is an interactive from Plimoth Village where players become investigative "historians."

EL Civics has an ESL Thanksgiving Lesson that provides a good overview of the holiday in an accessible way.

The History Channel has a ton of online videos and other resources on The History of Thanksgiving, plus excerpts from their special presentation on the Crossing of the Mayflower.

Students can send Thanksgiving E-Cards and have links to them posted on teacher or student websites/blogs. The best ones are from Blue Mountain because they appear to host the card indefinitely on their sites.

The Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving is a very accessible "web adventure" where students have to answer questions along the way.

Here's a NY Times slideshow on the famous Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

Here's an online Thanksgiving crossword puzzle from the Internet TESL Journal.

Thanksgiving in the USA and The First Thanksgiving in America from "Many Things," the excellent resource for ESL/EFL activities. They are both multiple-choice "Fill-in-the-blank" exercises connected to Voice of America broadcasts, but very useful standing alone, too.

Elizabeth Barnwell has created a nice series of online flashcards about Thanksgiving. The language is accessible, and a good number have images, too.

Time Magazine also has a slideshow on Black Friday called Shop Till You Drop.

Here is a New York Times slideshow about the Macy's Day Parade.

How Thanksgiving Works.

Here's a related slideshow from the Telegraph newspaper in the UK called What really Happens To The Turkey The President Pardons At Thanksgiving.

Turkey Escape is the latest addition (tongue-in-cheek) to this list. As regular readers of this blog know, I believe using online video games with walkthroughs (the instructions on how to win the game) are good language-development tools for English Language Learners. You can read more about how I use them in this article. In "Turkey Escape" players get to develop vocabulary, reading skills - plus rescue a turkey from being served as the main course at a Thanksgiving dinner. Here's the Walkthrough.

Thanksgiving Room Escape is a fun online video game that provides English-language-learning opportunities. Here's its walkthrough.

ESL Holiday Lessons has another excellent feature on Thanksgiving.

The First Thanksgiving is a Webquest from Scholastic.

I'm going to add three more resources to this list. The caveat is that if you are going to use the most obvious and most accessible one, I believe it's critical that at least one of the other two is also used.

The most visible engaging and accessible to English Language Learners is a new "talking story" with animation from The Weekly Reader called The Story of Squanto. It's engaging and well-done. Unfortunately, it also doesn't make any attempt at communicating anything other than the whitewashed version of the story.

To leave out even a mention of his life as a slave and the destruction of his people seems pretty insulting to Native Americans and to the student audience of the story. Jeez, I know Brainpop gets criticized, but even their Thanksgiving movie refers to the damage caused to Native Americans.

But I do think the Weekly Reader movie could be an excellent learning opportunity for students, one that I use with students.

It could be a great lesson combining that movie with a lesson from Squanto Worksheet from EL Civics, along with questions like: What are the differences between the stories? Why do you think they are different? Are there examples in your own life or culture where the "public" story is different from what really happened?

I've also found two resources helpful in developing lessons that give a little more of a critical perspective to Thanksgiving. One is from Education World and is called Are You Teaching The Real Story of Thanksgiving? The other is an older blog post from Education Week titled Rethinking Thanksgiving (the post itself is thought-provoking, though the link within it is no longer active).

Of course, the most helpful resource is a book you can buy from Rethinking Schools (which is on The Best Teacher Resource Sites For Social Justice Issues). It's called Rethinking Columbus.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has two classroom lessons on Thanksgiving from the Native American perspective.

Rethinking Schools also published a good article, Rethinking Thanksgiving, that some lessons that include critical thinking.

Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving is a brand-new online activity by Renee Manfroid.

US presidents and Thanksgiving turkeys is a Guardian slideshow.

Myth and Truth: The "First Thanksgiving" seems like a nice lesson plan. It's from Read Write Think.

What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving is a great feature from The New York Times Learning Network. It has links to a lot of useful resources.

Here are some interactive online Thanksgiving quizzes that I'm adding to this list:
How Stuff Works
Slate has a fun slideshow titled "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Ten Thanksgiving Myths Dispelled is a useful infographic.

Reader Photos: The Thanksgiving Countdown comes from The New York Times.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade 2010 is a slideshow from The Guardian.

Thanksgiving from the home front to the war zone is a slideshow from The Los Angeles Times.

Black Friday shoppers hit the stores is another LA Times slideshow.

10 Things You Didn't (Need to) Know About Turkeys comes from TIME Magazine.

Top 10 Feasts is a slideshow from TIME.

Why I'm Not Thankful For Thanksgiving is the title of a Rethinking Schools article written by a Native American.

"Rethinking Thanksgiving: Myths & Misgivings" is also from Rethinking Schools.
Thanksgiving and Immigrant Cultures
Tracing The History Of The Pilgrims is a New York Times slideshow.

Macy's shows off new balloons for parade is a CNN video.

Thanksgiving In Space is another CNN video.

Waiting hours for free Thanksgiving turkeys is a CBS News video and article.

5 myths about Thanksgiving is from The Washington Post.

Free bird: Thanksgiving turkey pardons is a slideshow from The Mother Nature Network.

A Visual History of The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is a TIME slideshow.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: A Look Back is a slideshow from ABC News.

In Pictures: Thanksgiving in America is from The BBC.

Top 10 Thanksgiving Movie Scenes is a great slideshow, with video clips, from TIME.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a NY Times slideshow.

This new viral hit "It's Thanksgiving" by Nicole Westbrook could be a fun song to play and sing with English Language Learners. It's pretty fast, but students could just focus on certain lines. The song highlights other holidays, too, which is a nice bonus. It's not like there are that many pop songs about Turkey Day.

I couldn't find a closed-captioned version, but the lyrics are here. You can read about specific music-related instructional strategies at The Best Music Websites For Learning English.

Thinking Critically About Food in a Season of Plenty is from The New York Times Learning Network.

What Was on the Menu at the First Thanksgiving? is from Smithsonian Magazine.

Eat Like a Pilgrim infographic

A hispanic Thanksgiving infographic

Demystifying Thankgiving infographic
Black and white photos show Thanksgiving feasts through the years
Here are videos of President Obama pardoning turkeys.

A Visual History of Presidents Petting Turkeys is from The Atlantic.

The Perfect Thanksgiving Music, Sung by One Human ... and 300 Turkeys is also from The Atlantic.
Lincoln's historic Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863
The 8 most awkward Thanksgiving dinner scenes in movie history is from The Week.

A Thanksgiving Feast For The Ears And Eyes is from NPR.

6 Thanksgiving celebrations around the world is from The Week.

The Number On Thanksgiving is an interactive infographic from The Wall Street Journal.

Here's a Thanksgiving vocabulary quiz from Rene Maufroid.

Five myths about the Pilgrims is from The Washington Post.

Thanksgiving By The Numbers is an infographic from The History Channel. I've embedded below, but I don't think it will come on an RSS Reader:

Provided by Nationwide Bank

Here are all the Thanksgiving resources from The New York Times Learning Network in one place.

Thanksgiving created by 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' author - not the Pilgrims is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post.

Thanksgiving, or how to eat American politics:The democratic ideals behind turkey, pie, and the rest of our holiday feast is a great interactive at The Boston Globe. It shows how each traditional food got its start on Thanksgiving.

Popular Thanksgiving Traditions infographic

Here's an impressive Thanksgiving chart that's based on an even more impressive interactive:

This Google Doodle would be a great video to show English Language Learners and have them describe what happens in it:
The Mother Of All Thanksgivings
Abraham Lincoln, father of the Thanksgiving holiday is from USA Today.

The New York Times has published a great interactive called "The United States Of Thanksgiving."

It shows a recipe (and an image) representative of the culture of each state for a dish prepared there for the holiday.

Food is the topic of my New York Times Learning Network post for English Language Learners, and it's chock full of some pretty unique lessons. In addition, it discusses how to apply Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow" to those lessons and, in fact, to just about any other lesson, too.

What was actually in the first Thanksgiving dinner? is a video from The Guardian.
A side of Picasso? Thanksgiving meals as art
When Thanksgiving Was Weird is from NPR.

Thanksgiving: A Very Brief Political History is from NPR.

This tone-deaf cartoonist forgets that Thanksgiving is about immigration is from Vox.

American Indian Perspectives On Thanksgiving is from the National Museum of the American Indian.

Thanksgiving Mourning is a lesson from Teaching Tolerance.

The first Thanksgiving: A cold-blooded political alliance born of necessity is from Vox.

The Thanksgiving Recipes Googled in Every State is a great interactive from The New York Times.

Why do Turkey the country and turkey the bird have the same name? is from Vox.

Thanksgiving, or how to eat American politics: The democratic ideals behind turkey, pie, and the rest of our holiday feast is from The Boston Globe.

Look How Much Bigger Thanksgiving Turkeys Are Today Than in the 1930s is from Mother Jones.

6 Science Experiments You Can Do With Thanksgiving Foods is from We Are Teachers.

26 charts and maps to be thankful for is from Vox.

Why we celebrate Thanksgiving every year. It isn't what you think. is from The Washington Post.

Map: Where your Thanksgiving dinner comes from is also from The Washington Post.

Seven global trends to be really, really thankful for is from The Wash. Post.

Thanksgiving Used to Look a Lot Like Halloween, Except More Racist is from The Atlantic.

Where Did You Thanksgiving Dinner come from? is a nice interactive.

Songs For Stuffing: A Thanksgiving Mix is from NPR.
Ten Of The Greatest Thanksgiving Sitcom Episodes Of All Time
Why Thanksgiving Is A 'National Day Of Mourning' For Some Americans is from The Huffington Post.

Rethinking the Way We Teach Thanksgiving is the headline of a New York Times "Room For Debate" feature.

It shares five different perspectives, primarily from educators.

Here's an excerpt from the piece written by Yatibaey Evans of the National Indian Education Association:

5 countries besides America where people celebrate Thanksgiving is from Vox.

Essay: My Muslim-American Thanksgiving is from NBC News.

How To Talk To Kids About Thanksgiving is from NPR.

Extraterrestrial Turkey: Here's How Astronauts Spend Thanksgiving is from NBC News.

When FDR moved Thanksgiving: the presidential power grab that tore a nation apart is from Vox.

Thanksgiving, With or Without Turkey is from The New York Times.

Here's What Your Part Of America Eats On Thanksgiving is from Five Thirty Eight.

Here's What Thanksgiving Dinner Would Look Like If Plated by Picasso, Pollock, and Other Famous Artists is from Slate.

Why Americans Call Turkey 'Turkey' is from The Atlantic.

How To Talk To Kids About Thanksgiving is from NPR.
What Really Happened at the First Thanksgiving? The Wampanoag Side of the Tale
Thanksgiving, a Celebration of Inequality is from The Atlantic.

Thanksgiving Photos From the Past Century is from The Atlantic.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner Menu is from Five Thirty-Eight.

What they didn't teach you about the first Thanksgiving in school is from Vox.
Multicultural Thanksgiving Books for Kids
Why Thanksgiving Is A 'National Day Of Mourning' For Some Americans is from The Huffington Post.

Do American Indians Celebrate #Thanksgiving? Readers share why their families do or, in some cases, don't. https://t.co/PzMBLeoTy0 pic.twitter.com/PPqcWeNARP

- AmericanIndianMuseum (@SmithsonianNMAI) November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving Day parade in New York - in pictures is from The Guardian.

Celebrating Thanksgiving across the country and overseas is a photo gallery from The Washington Post.

Home, Food, Family, Giving: Nonboring #Thanksgiving Reading Chosen by Teenagers https://t.co/33uM01Xb0k #engchat #sschat pic.twitter.com/LLHQwrRYqM

- NYT Learning Network (@NYTimesLearning) November 22, 2016

ELL Teacher Carol Salva has some good lesson ideas.

We Know Less About the First Thanksgiving Than You Probably Think is from TIME.
A CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE APPROACH TO DISCUSSING THANKSGIVING IN THE CLASSROOM
Most Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong is from The New York Times.

What America Celebrates on Thanksgiving is from The New York Times.

Lesson plan: Thanksgiving through the lens of Native Americans today is from The PBS News Hour.

Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way is from Teaching Tolerance.

A Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Booklet from a Native American Perspective is from Oklahoma City Public Schools.

What will be on your Thanksgiving plate? It depends on where you'll be is an interactive from The L.A. Times.

Where does your Thanksgiving dinner come from? is a neat interactive map.

Everyone's history matters: The Wampanoag Indian Thanksgiving story deserves to be known is from The Smithsonian.

From the StoryCorps App: three immigrants share their stories about their first Thanksgivings in the United States, and the traditions they've created with their families. https://t.co/Rl57GhdiGq pic.twitter.com/TMGf1oZ7CL

- StoryCorps (@StoryCorps) November 23, 2017

What is a Native American perspective on the significance of the Thanksgiving holiday? https://t.co/vf71vgEvxe pic.twitter.com/VZaxVOOyie

- NatGeo Education (@NatGeoEducation) November 23, 2017

The crew of @Space_Station will enjoy a Thanksgiving meal, too. But the meal prep is a little different than on Earth! Take a look: pic.twitter.com/3aywys0j6p

- NASA (@NASA) November 23, 2017

Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools is by Lindsey Passenger Wieck.

We Can Do Better: Rethinking Native Stories in Classrooms is from NCTE.

Thanksgiving 2018 is from Teaching Tolerance.

Dinosaurs, gods and marshmallows: A Thanksgiving science quiz is from The Washington Post.

Teaching and Learning About Thanksgiving: Things to Read, Write, Analyze, Cook and Consider is from The NY Times Learning Network.

Turkey And Tamales: People Of Color Share Their Multicultural Thanksgivings is from NPR.

Making Indian headdresses in school is a terrible way to teach kids about Thanksgiving is from The Washington Post.

The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I've Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday is from TIME.

Pass The Pie, Cherish The Day: A Thanksgiving Playlist is from NPR.

What Educators Need To Know About Teaching Thanksgiving is from NPR.

Hot Pot, Curry And Sushi: How America Celebrated Thanksgiving is from NPR.

3 ways to expand Native American curriculum beyond Thanksgiving myths is from Education Dive.

Thanksgiving 2019 is from Teaching Tolerance.

A Racial Justice Guide to Thanksgiving for Educators and Families is from The Center For Racial Justice in Education.

Teachers and librarians: are you looking for a lesson plan that asks students to think critically about Thanksgiving?

Dr. Natalie Martinez (Laguna Pueblo) created one. Take a look! https://t.co/vFBLND1Chv

- Dr. Debbie Reese (tribally enrolled, Nambé Pueblo) (@debreese) November 6, 2019

'I Was Teaching a Lot of Misconceptions.' The Way American Kids Are Learning About the 'First Thanksgiving' Is Changing is from TIME.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Dos and Don'ts is from Teen Vogue.

For many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning is from CNN.

Teaching Thanksgiving is from NPR.

The Year Abraham Lincoln Declared Thanksgiving is from Slate.

Lesson plan: After helping Pilgrims, today's Wampanoags fight for their ancestral lands is from The PBS NewsHour.

The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue is from Smithsonian Magazine.

A family learns to tell a new kind of Thanksgiving story is from The L.A. Times.

Thanksgiving Belongs To The Wampanoag Tribe is from The Atlantic.

How NOT to teach Thanksgiving is from The Washington Post.

How 7 immigrant families transform the Thanksgiving turkey with the flavors of their homelands is from The Washington Post.

The Invention of Thanksgiving is from The New Yorker.

How the fourth Thursday in November officially became Thanksgiving is from The Washington Post.

The Horrible History of Thanksgiving is from The NY Times.

Feeling Conflicted on Thanksgiving is from The NY Times.

Today my family is gathering on Choctaw land.

This website ( https://t.co/oBkhof5dRu) is a great & important resource. Consider making time today to acknowledge those who were here before any of us. https://t.co/QZ7rjXaEaL

- Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) November 28, 2019

Some Native Americans are taking on the Thanksgiving myth - by pushing for a more inclusive understanding of the past is from The Washington Post.

The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I've Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday is from TIME.

What Does Thanksgiving Mean to You? is from The NY Times Learning Network.

Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving On The 4th Thursday Of November is from NPR.

How People Across The U.S. Are Celebrating Their First Thanksgiving is from NPR.

Curriculum and resources for Indigenous People's Day and beyond is from Metro Family.

Five Ideas to Change Teaching about Thanksgiving, in Classrooms and at Home is from The Smithsonian Magazine.

The Thanksgiving Myth Gets a Deeper Look This Year is from The NY Times.

Native educators say Thanksgiving lessons can be accurate, respectful, and still fun-here's how is from The NEA.

Thanksgiving Is a Celebration of Freedom is from The NY Times.

400 Years After the 'First Thanksgiving,' the Tribe That Fed the Pilgrims Continues to Fight for Its Land Amid Another Epidemic is from TIME.

Feel free to offer additional suggestions.

If you found this post useful, you might want to check out my other "The Best..." lists.

In addition, you can also subscribe to this blog for free.

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The Best Sites To Learn & Teach About Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is coming-up in a few weeks, so I thought another "The Best..." list was in order (you might also be interested in The Best Resources On "Gratitude"). As with The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus, many of the online resources accessible to English Language Learners tell the usual and uncritical story of Europeans and Native Americans.

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A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools

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A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools

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Thanksgiving lesson ideas

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Find new ways to teach your students about the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. Share My Lesson's vetted collection includes free K-12 lesson plans, activities and resources that explore this traditional event from multiple perspectives, including a focus on indigenous peoples and studying endangered cultures.

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Science and Social Studies K-5

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In this mini-lesson, students learn why in some bird species the male looks so different from the female.

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A few years ago, Oyate had a list of books about Thanksgiving that they did not recommend. The list was on their website.

Given the number of books that are published every year about that holiday and the ways that Native peoples continue to be misrepresented in children's books, you would be right to guess that their list is long.

That list is not at their website any longer. In a redesign a few years ago they decided to remove it and their Books to Avoid section. They decided that, although a list might seem efficient, it didn't give people the critical thinking skills they need to develop in order to make decisions on their own. I agree--I'd prefer people develop those skills and apply them their selection/deselection activities.

On the other hand, teachers use lists of good books all the time. Generally speaking, they assume that the person who put that list together has the expertise necessary such that their evaluations can be trusted.

I personally have not read all of these books, but I definitely learned a great deal from Oyate's work. I strongly encourage teachers and librarians to get materials published by Oyate.

My guess is that I'd concur with their decision about each of these books, and I'd also guess that any given book on the list got there because it put forth one or more of what Judy Dow and Beverly Slapin called myths in their Deconstructing the Myths of the First Thanksgiving. If one of these books is on your shelf and you're considering weeding it, I recommend you read it and Dow and Slapin's essay and then make a decision.

I've also shared Oyate's list of recommended books here. And, for more books that accurately portray Native people, see my page of Best Books. (Note: the first sentence of his paragraph was not visible enough. Two people submitted comments asking for recommended books. To help it be more visible, I made it a separate paragraph in bold and added the sentence/link to best books to supplement Oyate's list.)

Dow and Slapin's piece on Thanksgiving myths is also in the outstanding resource A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (published in 2005), as are many (all?) of the in-depth critical reviews that were on Oyate's page of Books to Avoid. Get A Broken Flute, and Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children (published in 1987 and again in 2006), too. Both are vitally important for all that they contain. (Note: I added this paragraph soon after hitting the upload button on this post, and I added Slapin's name as a co-author. My apologies to her for the initial omission.)

Own your knowledge. Own your decisions.

Oyate's list of NOT RECOMMENDED books about Thanksgiving

Accorsi, William. Friendship's First Thanksgiving. Holiday House, 1992.

Aliki. Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians. Harper & Row, 1976.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving. Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Ansary, Mir Tamim. Thanksgiving Day. Heinemann, 2002.

Apel, Melanie Ann. The Pilgrims. Kidhaven Press, 2003.

Bartlett, Robert Merrill, The Story of Thanksgiving. HarperCollins, 2001.

Barth, Edna. Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn: The Story of Thanksgiving Symbols. Clarion, 1975.

Borden, Louise. Thanksgiving Is... Scholastic, 1997.

Brown, Marc. Arthur's Thanksgiving. Little, Brown. 1983.

Bruchac, Joseph. Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving. Harcourt, 2000.

Buckley, Susan Washburn. Famous Americans: 15 Easy to Read Biography Mini-Books. Scholastic, 2000.

Bulla, Clyde Robert. Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims. Scholastic, 1990.

Celsi, Teresa. Squanto and the First Thanksgiving. Steck-Vaughn, 1989.

Clements, Andrew. Look Who's in the Thanksgiving Play! Simon & Shuster, 1999.

Cohen, Barbara. Molly's Pilgrim. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1983.

Conaway, Judith. Happy Thanksgiving! Things to Make and Do. Troll Communications, 1986.

Crane, Carol and Helle Urban. P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet. Sleeping Bear Press, 2003.

Dalgliesh, Alice. The Thanksgiving Story. Scholastic, 1954/1982.

Daugherty, James. The Landing of the Pilgrims. Random House, 1987.

Davis, Kenneth C. Don't Know Much About the Pilgrims. HarperCollins, 2002.

DePaola, Tomie. My First Thanksgiving. Putnam, 1992.

Donnelly, Judy. The Pilgrims and Me. Grosset & Dunlap, 2002.

Dubowski, Cathy East. The Story of Squanto, First Friend to the Pilgrims. Dell, 1990.

Fink, Deborah. It's a Family Thanksgiving! A Celebration of an American Tradition for Children and their Families. Harmony Hearth, 2000.

Flindt, Myron. Pilgrims: A Simulation of the First Year at Plymouth Colony. Interact, 1994.

Fritz, Jean. Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? Putnam & Grossett, 1975.

George, Jean Craighead. The First Thanksgiving. Puffin. 1993.

Gibbons, Gail. Thanksgiving Day. Holiday House, 1985.

Gibbons, Gail. Thanksgiving Is... Holiday House, 2004.

Greene, Rhonda Gowler. The Very First Thanksgiving Day. Atheneum, 2002.

Hale, Anna W. The Mayflower People: Triumphs and Tragedies. Harbinger House, 1995.

Hallinan, P. K. Today is Thanksgiving! Ideals Children's Books, 1993.

Harness, Cheryl. Three Young Pilgrims. Aladdin, 1995.

Hayward, Linda. The First Thanksgiving. Random House, 1990.

Hennessy, B. G. One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims. Viking, 1999.

Jackson, Garnet. The First Thanksgiving. Scholastic, 2000.

Jassem, Kate. Squanto: The Pilgrim Adventure. Troll Communications. 1979.

Kamma, Anne. If You Were At... The First Thanksgiving. Scholastic, 2001.

Kessel, Joyce K. Squanto and the First Thanksgiving. Carolrhoda, 1983.

Kinnealy, Janice. Let's Celebratae Thanksgiving, A Book of Drawing Fun. Watermill, 1988.

Koller, Jackie French. Nickommoh! A Thanksgiving Celebration. Atheneum, 1999.

Marx, David F. Thanksgiving. Children's Press, 2000.

McGovern, Ann. The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving. Scholastic, 1973.

McMullan, Kate. Fluffy's Thanksgiving. Scholastic, 1997.

Melmed, Laura Krauss. The First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story. HarperCollins, 2001.

Metaxas, Eric. Squanto and the First Thanksgiving. Rabbit Ears Books, 1996.

Moncure, Jane Belk. Word Bird's Thanksgiving Words. Child's World, 2002.

Ochoa, Anna. Sticker Stories: The Thanksgiving Play. Grosset & Dunlap, 2002.

Osborne, Mary Pope. Thanksgiving on Thursday. Random House, 2002.

Parker, Margot. What is Thanksgiving Day? Children's Press, 1988.

Peacock, Carol Antoinette. Pilgrim Cat. Whitman, 2004.

Prelutsky, Jack. It's Thanksgiving. Morrow, 1982.

Rader, Laura J. A Child's Story of Thanksgiving. Ideals Children's Books, 1998

Randall, Ronnie. Thanksgiving Fun: Great Things to Make and Do. Kingfisher, 1994.

Raphael, Elaine and Don Bolognese. The Story of the First Thanksgiving. Scholastic, 1991.

Rau, Dana Meachen. Thanksgiving. Children's Press, 2000.

Roberts, Bethany. Thanksgiving Mice! Clarion, 2001.

Rockwell, Anne. Thanksgiving Day. HarperCollins, 1999.

Rogers, Lou. The First Thanksgiving. Modern Curriculum Press. 1962.

Roloff, Nan. The First American Thanksgiving. Current. 1980.

Roop, Connie and Peter. Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving. Millbrook, 1999.

Roop, Connie and Peter. Pilgrim Voices: Our First Year in the New World. Walker, 1995.

Ross, Katherine. Crafts for Thanksgiving. Millbrook, 1995.

Ross, Katherine. The Story of the Pilgrims. Random House, 1995.

Ruelle, Karen Gray. The Thanksgiving Beast Feast. Holiday House, 1999.

San Souci, Robert. N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims. Chronicle, 1991.

Scarry, Richard. Richard Scarry's The First Thanksgiving of Low Leaf Worm. Little Simon, 2003.

Schultz, Charles M. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Sewall, Marcia. People of the Breaking Day. Atheneum, 1990.

Sewall, Marica. The People of Plimoth. Aladdin, 1986.

Sewall, Marcia. Thunder from the Clear Sky. Atheneum, 1995.

Siegel, Beatrice. Fur Traders and Traders: The Indians, the Pilgrims, and the Beaver. Walker, 1981.

Siegel, Beatrice, Indians of the Northeast Woodlands. Walker, 1992.

Silver, Donald M. and Patricia J. Wynne. Easy Make and Learn Projects: The Pilgrims, the Mayflower & More. Scholastic, 2001.

Skarmeas, Nancy J. The Story of Thanksgiving. Ideals Publications, 1999.

Sorenson, Lynda. Holidays: Thanksgiving. R ourke, 1994.

Stamper, Judith Bauer. New Friends in a New Land: A Thanksgiving Story. Steck-Vaughn, 1993.

Stamper, Judith Bauer. Thanksgiving Fun Activity Book. Troll, 1993.

Stanley, Diane. Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation. HarperCollins, 2004.

Steigemeyer, Julie. Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration. Concordia, 2003.

Tryon, Leslie. Albert's Thanksgiving. Aladdin, 19983.

Umnik, Sharon Dunn (Ed.). 175 Easy-to-Do Thanksgiving Crafts. Boyds Mills Press, 1996.

Waters, Kate. Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast. Scholastic, 2001.

Waters, Kate. Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy. Scholastic, 1993.

Waters, Kate. Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl. Scholastic, 1989.

Waters, Kate. Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Boy in Pilgrim Times. 1996.

Weisgard, Leonard. The Plymouth Thanksgiving. Doubleday, 1967.

Whitehead, Pat. Best Thanksgiving Book, ABC Adventures. Troll Communications, 1985.

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Oyate's List of Thanksgiving Books to Avoid

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A few years ago, Oyate had a list of books about Thanksgiving that they did not recommend. The list was on their website. Given the number of books that are published every year about that holiday and the ways that Native peoples continue to be misrepresented in children's books, you would be right to guess that their list is long.

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Thanks a lot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLphADfy4tw

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Lesson plan: critically thinking about the US origin story

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Lesson plan: critically thinking about the US origin story

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Origin Narrative: Thanksgiving
Social Studies, Grades 6-8
Duration: 1-2 hours
Download a PDF

Summary:

This lesson plan supports chapter 3, "Cult of the Covenant," in An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese, as well as drawing upon key concepts from the introduction chapter. It deconstructs the philosophical foundation of the Thanksgiving narrative and interrogates the function of origin narratives.

Learning Targets:

Students will examine the role of origin narratives in developing a (national) shared identity.

Students will analyze the US Thanksgiving celebration from a nontraditional perspective.

Students will write a short story.

Essential Question:

How does the transmission of history become ingrained in collective memory?

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.

Vocabulary:

Terminal narrative

Origin narrative

Ingrained

Prior Knowledge:

Students should be familiar with commonly retold variations of the "first Thanksgiving" story.

Students will be asked to share knowledge of the origin of their own name.

Resources and Materials:

Sticky notes and/or butcher paper

Poster paper

Markers

Projector

OPTIONAL: Word cloud software, such as a Poll Everywhere account; prepared to accept student submissions via computer and/or cell phone.

Learning Plan:

Introduction - Origins (10 minutes)

1. Building background knowledge:

Ask students to indicate (stand/raise hand) if they know the meaning and story of their first and/or last name.

Invite volunteers to share their name origins. If no student is able to retell his/her story, be prepared with a name origin story to share with the class.

Ask the class: "How would someone come to know the origin story of a name?" Encourage students to talk about family histories, storytelling, conversation, books, etc.

Ask students to consider "Why would it be important to know the origin story of your first or last name?," then share their answers with elbow partners. Encourage students to discuss issues such as knowing relations, belonging to a community, land/property ownership, family legacy, etc.

Invite students to create a wordsplash using sticky notes on butcher paper (or a word cloud using software such as Poll Everywhere) to complete this sentence: "It would be important to know the origination of a person/place/event because . . . "

2. Invite students to share other items or events that might have an origin story attached. Encourage students to list documents, holidays, historical figures, etc.

Learning Activities - Why Origin Stories? (30 minutes)

Project this paragraph for students to read: "Origin narratives or 'stories about how this all began' help a group of people feel that they belong to a community with a common past and have shared ideas about what is important to that community. Origin stories are central to a people's sense of a unifying identity. However, origin stories may leave out key aspects of what actually happened and overemphasize others. That is the case with the most familiar origin story of the United States." (Page 4)

Ask students to comment on what story they believe the paragraph might be describing. Encourage students to focus on early history of the continent. (See pages 4-5)

Ask students to theorize why a new nation might want to establish its origin stories. Encourage students to refer back to their elbow-partner discussion and the paragraph above.

Ask students to comment on how or why the holiday of Thanksgiving might be an example of an origin story for the United States.

Ask students to read the following excerpt from An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People: "But the Doctrine of Discovery, which was ingrained in the mind-set of European colonizers, assured Christians that whatever land they saw was theirs to occupy and use. Their god, they believed, had given them dominion over the land and all its resources. In their eyes the land was an unoccupied, pristine wilderness. This idea is the basis of the origin story of the United States, a story that, like a myth, has been retold for hundreds of years." (Page 49)

Ask students to write on a sheet of paper why this origin story is unrealistic. Encourage students to think about who might have helped the colonizers settle the lands, locate resources, survive the climate, plant their foods, and hunt and fish unfamiliar species.

Invite students to create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts the origin story of the European Pilgrims and Puritans. (Pages 50-52)

Guide students in a brief discussion to relate "a" and "b" above to demonstrate how origin stories can misrepresent reality.

Invite students to provide examples that they are familiar with about the first Thanksgiving.

Read or view a more accurate perspective of Thanksgiving (see suggestions in ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Student Resources, below)

As a whole class, use a similar protocol as in step 3 above to critique the commonly retold first Thanksgiving story. Explain why it is unrealistic and/or inaccurate.

Assist the students to create a class Venn diagram on the board that compares and contrasts the first Thanksgiving story with the updated, more accurate version of the story.

Invite students to

Refer back to the wordsplash from the lesson introduction and to the paragraph from number 1 above to consider the following and then discuss with an elbow partner:

In what ways is the story of the first Thanksgiving an origin narrative for the United States?

What was the purpose of the origin narrative of the first Thanksgiving for the United States when it was a newly formed nation? How has that purpose changed or remained the same?

How does the idea of "terminal narrative" (chapter 2) help to support the US origin story of Thanksgiving?

Share a summary of their discussion with the class.

Lesson Summary/Formative Assessment (10 minutes)

Invite students to comment on the following:

Why does it matter who tells the story about the origin of something?

Relate this quote to the commonly retold first Thanksgiving story: "Most people's understanding of what it means to be an American is founded upon such tales, which together form a myth-like origin story." (Pages 3-4)

Describe the purpose of an origin narrative and explain how Thanksgiving could be considered an origin narrative.

Assessment (20 - 30 minutes)

1. Organize students in groups of 3-4 and invite them to create an anchor chart poster for the key concept "ORIGIN NARRATIVE" that depicts in text and graphics the components of origin stories, including purpose, methods of transmission, and outcomes.

2. Individually, ask students to make a relational diagram or graphic organizer that explains how the commonly retold US Thanksgiving story fits the description of the origin narrative.

3. Ask students, in pairs or individually, to write and graphically illustrate a more accurate origin story of harvest and the relationships related to the settlement of the land along the Atlantic Ocean that includes both Indigenous and European settler roles.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Student Resources
Thanksgiving History from Plimoth Plantation Bruchac, Margaret M. (Abenaki), and Catherine Grace O'Neill. 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2001. Grades 4 and up.

Teacher Resources

From Bigelow, Bill, and Bob Peterson, editors. Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years. (1998).

Dorris, Michael. "Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving."

Loewen, James. "Plagues & Pilgrims: The Truth about the First Thanksgiving."

PBS American Experience video series We Shall Remain - Episode 1: After the Mayflower (2009).

Lesson Plan by Natalie Martinez, PhD

Natalie Martinez, PhD (Laguna Pueblo), is a professional educator in New Mexico and a former administrator and teacher at the tribally controlled middle school located in her Pueblo Nation. She has teamed with Indigenous curriculum writers in New Mexico to publish the Indigenous Wisdom Pueblo-based education curriculum and is working with a team to publish an Indigenous-centered public school curriculum for the Indian Education Division of the NM Public Education Department. She's a curriculum coordinator for the NEH-Teaching Native American Histories Summer Institute in Wampanoag Territory, Massachusetts, and teaches at the University of New Mexico in the College of Education.

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Beacon Press: Origin Narrative: Thanksgiving

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Summary: This lesson plan supports chapter 3, "Cult of the Covenant," in An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese, as well as drawing upon key concepts from the introduction chapter.

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Deconstructing the myths of Thanksgiving

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Deconstructing the myths of Thanksgiving

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Deconstructing the Myths of “The First Thanksgiving”

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Click on the photo and play the vocabulary game, then click on "Start now" and play the audio game . _uacct = "UA-350779-1"; urchinTracker(); Home

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Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Thanksgiving. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article:

Your browser does not support this audio player.

READ

Thanksgiving is a very American holiday. It is also called Thanksgiving Day. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year. It used to be a religious holiday to give thanks to God. There are two versions of the origins of this holiday. One is thanks for the early settlers arriving in America safely. On December the 4th, 1619, a group of English pioneers arrived at a place called Berkeley Hundred, in Virginia. The group made a promise that the day of their arrival should be a "day of thanksgiving" to God. The second version is the thanks given to Native Americans for teaching the pilgrims how to catch eels and grow corn in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1941, President Roosevelt made Thanksgiving a federal holiday.

The main event of any Thanksgiving is the Thanksgiving dinner. It is traditional to have baked or roasted turkey. This is usually accompanied with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fall vegetables, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Pumpkin pie is the most commonly eaten dessert. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for traveling. It is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for most schools and colleges, and many businesses and government workers get three or four days off. Thanksgiving is also the unofficial signal for Christmas preparations to begin. Once Thanksgiving finishes, stores fill their shelves with Christmas goods. It is also a bad time to be a turkey.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

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A FREE 14-page ESL Lesson plan on Thanksgiving. A graded article, an online quiz, a printable worksheet and an mp3 listening on this holiday.

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Giving Thanks  A Native American Good Morning Message

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ESL Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving lesson for ESL students. History, facts, and photos about Thanksgiving. Free downloadable worksheet and Thanksgiving crossword puzzle.

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Ask Ms. Gamble for login

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Check Answers button. If you are stuck, press the Hint button to get a letter.

Across
1. a popular dessert for the Thanksgiving meal
3. a big meal
5. what many people like to do after the Thanksgiving dinner
8. the month in which Thanksgiving falls
9. the season after summer
Down
1. a large orange vegetable
2. the first inhabitants of the North American continent
4. a large bird which is often eaten during holiday meals
6. relatives
7. where you can find a football game

Copyright (C) 1997 by Aviva Furman
Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students is at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/cw/

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esl efl esol english study english practice

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Crossword Puzzle - Thanksgiving (Aviva Furman) I-TESL-J

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This is a crossword puzzle for students of English as a second language. It requires JavaScript.

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School Thanksgiving activities often mean dressing children in "Indian" headdresses and paper feathers as they sing " My Country 'Tis of Thee" or " Mr. Turkey." Some teachers might even ask their students to draw themselves as Native Americans from the past, complete with feather-adorned headbands and buckskin clothing. These activities might seem friendly and fun, unless you are aware of how damaging this imagery is to perceptions of contemporary Native peoples. This imagery contributes to the indoctrination of American youth into a false narrative that relegates Indigenous peoples to the past and turns real human beings into costumes for a few days a year. It's not just bad pedagogy; it's socially irresponsible.

Native Americans have been speaking out and writing back against the colonialist narrative of Thanksgiving for as long as the American narrative has existed. More recently, comedian Jim Ruel (Ojibwe) includes Thanksgiving in his act ( starting at 1:40 in this clip), Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo) writes about children's books that "set the record straight," and Native American students speak out about what Thanksgiving means to them.

Doris Seale (Santee/Cree) and Beverly Slapin (Dakota/Cree/Abenaki) edited A Broken Flute in 2005, which includes a chapter that deconstructs the myths perpetuated about the first Thanksgiving. This chapter also includes critical reviews of many books on the market or readily available in libraries and classrooms. Providing ample evidence that many non-Native publishers, illustrators and writers are missing the mark in several critical ways, these books exemplify the ineffectiveness of good intentions, the perpetuation of misinformation and the exclusion of Native American voices and experiences.

Teaching about Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way means that educators accept the ethical obligation to provide students with accurate information and to reject traditions that sustain harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. Thankfully, there are excellent online resources that can help educators interested in disrupting the hegemonic Thanksgiving story.

Challenging the dominant and inaccurate narrative about Thanksgiving, providing students with a more balanced perspective of this oft-romanticized holiday, and refusing to dress students in feathered headbands are socially responsible actions. They're actions that every teacher should undertake to benefit their students and the society their students will inherit.
Morris teaches writing and Native American/Indigenous Rhetorics at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

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Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way

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Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.