| Pilgrims and Indians Unit |
Sneak Peek at the Week
*Participate in Mock Elections
*Make tomtoms
*Sew "animal skins" to cover the teepee
*Thanksgiving Musical Extravaganza
*Thanksgiving Feast
*Participate in Mock Elections
*Make tomtoms
*Sew "animal skins" to cover the teepee
*Thanksgiving Musical Extravaganza
*Thanksgiving Feast
Shared Reading
Rat-a-Tat-Tat
by Jill Eggleton
Five Little Ducks
by Pamela
Paparone
Rat-a-Tat-Tat
by Jill Eggleton
Five Little Ducks
by Pamela
Paparone
Focus Poetry
"Turkey"
"Indian Boy"
"Pilgrim Girl"
"Turkey"
"Indian Boy"
"Pilgrim Girl"
Journal Topics
*Draw the Mayflower.
*What would you have taken with you on the Mayflower, if you had
been a Pilgrim.
*Draw the clothes a Pilgrim might have worn.
*If I had been a Pilgrim, I ...
*How did Squanto help the Pilgrims?
*Use Indian symbols to create a story.
*Draw the Pilgrims and Indians at the first Thanksgiving.
*If turkeys could talk, what might they say about Thanksgiving dinner.
*My favorite food is....
*On Thanksgiving, I like to _______ with my family.
*For Thanksgiving, my family will......
*Write the recipe for your favorite Thanksgiving food.
*I'm thankful for....
*I can share _____ with _______ .
*Draw the Mayflower.
*What would you have taken with you on the Mayflower, if you had
been a Pilgrim.
*Draw the clothes a Pilgrim might have worn.
*If I had been a Pilgrim, I ...
*How did Squanto help the Pilgrims?
*Use Indian symbols to create a story.
*Draw the Pilgrims and Indians at the first Thanksgiving.
*If turkeys could talk, what might they say about Thanksgiving dinner.
*My favorite food is....
*On Thanksgiving, I like to _______ with my family.
*For Thanksgiving, my family will......
*Write the recipe for your favorite Thanksgiving food.
*I'm thankful for....
*I can share _____ with _______ .
Centers Ideas
*art center: watercolor designs on teepee cut-out, paint Pilgrim face
*sewing: sew canoe cut-out
*fine motor: perforate Mayflower outline, scribble art turkey
*writing: "I like to eat...." "I am thankful for......"
*drama center: record Indian symbols in the teepee
*ABC center: Discuss how colonial children used a horn book to
learn/practice reading letters. Students will use their version of a horn
book to practice writing the alphabet.
*construction center: add "logs" to the log cab
*art center: watercolor designs on teepee cut-out, paint Pilgrim face
*sewing: sew canoe cut-out
*fine motor: perforate Mayflower outline, scribble art turkey
*writing: "I like to eat...." "I am thankful for......"
*drama center: record Indian symbols in the teepee
*ABC center: Discuss how colonial children used a horn book to
learn/practice reading letters. Students will use their version of a horn
book to practice writing the alphabet.
*construction center: add "logs" to the log cab
Literature
'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
*After discussing the turkey's point of view, students brainstorm
alternatives to eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Each student is given
a turkey outline and a paper sign reading: "Eat more ______." Students
then write/illustrate the alternative food.
My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola
*Students trace their hands and add details to create a "turkey". On
each "feather" (finger), students will list things they are thankful for.
North American Indians by Marie & Douglas Gorsline
*Read and list all new vocabulary related to the Native American way
of life: buffalo, gourd, Indian corn, etc. Students complete a booklet
by matching words to the appropriate pictures.
Mayflower: Book of Photographs by Ted Curtin (Plimouth Plantation)
*Read and discuss the photographs. Point out the different sections
(and their uses/purposes) on the ship. Students will create their own
model of the Mayflower sailing on the ocean. Students will depict the
purposes of the 3 main sections (upper deck- sailors' duties, 'tween
deck- Pilgrims' living quarters, the hold- storage for cargo/barrels of
water) on the back of the Mayflower model.
Squanto by Joan Wade
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving by Teresa Celsi
*Discuss how Squanto taught the Pilgrims to fertilize their crops by
planting fish with corn. Students will make a booklet to remember
the process. Booklets are made by binding: front cover, laminated
brown tissue paper (dirt layer), back cover. Student will glue fish
cut-outs and corn kernals to inside of back cover. The tissue paper
"dirt" layer covers the fish/corn. The students will write "Squanto
planted (fish) with (corn)."
Oh, What a Thanksgiving by Steven Kroll
*Have students share things/people they're thankful for. Students
complete a layered booklet, titled "I Am Thankful For...." . Students
illustrate each layer: my food, my family, my friends, my home.
Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters
*Read and discuss the life of Pilgrim children. Students will illustrate
what their lives might have been like in America in the 1620's. They
will complete the story starter: "If I had been a Pilgrim, I ....."
Thanksgiving Day by Gail Gibbons
*Read and discuss family traditions at Thanksgiving. Students will
depict their family traditions on paper (to be laminated into a
placemat).
"Turkey by the..." reproducible booklets by Jean Warren
*Read booklets together as a class. Discuss rhyming words,
vocabulary related to Thanksgiving, and high frequency words.
Students complete their own "flip strip," using a sentence strip to
order the words: "Turkeys," "by," "the". Then they add 3 small paper
squares (stapled at the top into a flip book) at the end. Student
write/illustrate on the squares objects to complete the sentence:
"Turkeys by the ____."
"Turkey, Turkey" teacher-made booklet by Sherry Hopkins
*Read booklets together as a class, discussing Thanksgiving related
vocabulary (Pilgrim, cornucopia, Plymouth Rock, Indian, turkey,
Mayflower, etc.). The booklet uses clip art illustrations and follows
the pattern: "Turkey, turkey, what do you see? I see a Pilgrim looking
at me. Pilgrim, pilgrim, what do you see? I see the Mayflower looking
at me." etc.)
On the Mayflower by Kate Waters
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
*After discussing the turkey's point of view, students brainstorm
alternatives to eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Each student is given
a turkey outline and a paper sign reading: "Eat more ______." Students
then write/illustrate the alternative food.
My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola
*Students trace their hands and add details to create a "turkey". On
each "feather" (finger), students will list things they are thankful for.
North American Indians by Marie & Douglas Gorsline
*Read and list all new vocabulary related to the Native American way
of life: buffalo, gourd, Indian corn, etc. Students complete a booklet
by matching words to the appropriate pictures.
Mayflower: Book of Photographs by Ted Curtin (Plimouth Plantation)
*Read and discuss the photographs. Point out the different sections
(and their uses/purposes) on the ship. Students will create their own
model of the Mayflower sailing on the ocean. Students will depict the
purposes of the 3 main sections (upper deck- sailors' duties, 'tween
deck- Pilgrims' living quarters, the hold- storage for cargo/barrels of
water) on the back of the Mayflower model.
Squanto by Joan Wade
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving by Teresa Celsi
*Discuss how Squanto taught the Pilgrims to fertilize their crops by
planting fish with corn. Students will make a booklet to remember
the process. Booklets are made by binding: front cover, laminated
brown tissue paper (dirt layer), back cover. Student will glue fish
cut-outs and corn kernals to inside of back cover. The tissue paper
"dirt" layer covers the fish/corn. The students will write "Squanto
planted (fish) with (corn)."
Oh, What a Thanksgiving by Steven Kroll
*Have students share things/people they're thankful for. Students
complete a layered booklet, titled "I Am Thankful For...." . Students
illustrate each layer: my food, my family, my friends, my home.
Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters
*Read and discuss the life of Pilgrim children. Students will illustrate
what their lives might have been like in America in the 1620's. They
will complete the story starter: "If I had been a Pilgrim, I ....."
Thanksgiving Day by Gail Gibbons
*Read and discuss family traditions at Thanksgiving. Students will
depict their family traditions on paper (to be laminated into a
placemat).
"Turkey by the..." reproducible booklets by Jean Warren
*Read booklets together as a class. Discuss rhyming words,
vocabulary related to Thanksgiving, and high frequency words.
Students complete their own "flip strip," using a sentence strip to
order the words: "Turkeys," "by," "the". Then they add 3 small paper
squares (stapled at the top into a flip book) at the end. Student
write/illustrate on the squares objects to complete the sentence:
"Turkeys by the ____."
"Turkey, Turkey" teacher-made booklet by Sherry Hopkins
*Read booklets together as a class, discussing Thanksgiving related
vocabulary (Pilgrim, cornucopia, Plymouth Rock, Indian, turkey,
Mayflower, etc.). The booklet uses clip art illustrations and follows
the pattern: "Turkey, turkey, what do you see? I see a Pilgrim looking
at me. Pilgrim, pilgrim, what do you see? I see the Mayflower looking
at me." etc.)
On the Mayflower by Kate Waters
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
Click on the book covers to get summaries, reviews,
and purchase info from Amazon.com.
and purchase info from Amazon.com.
Math/Graphs
*Students use knowledge of sight words ("I," "can," "see," "one," "four,"
"six," "three," "two," and "five") to create sets and complete Indian
Feathers booklet. Each page follows the pattern: "I can see (number
word) feathers." Students then illustrate that number of feathers on
the Indian's headband.
*We graph where we will be for Thanksgiving (home or away).
*We graph our favorite foods.
*We estimate how many corn kernals are in the guessing jar.
*We use die-cut shapes to create patterns around the perimeter of our
paper sack mats. Later, we decorate these with Indian symbols.
*Students use knowledge of sight words ("I," "can," "see," "one," "four,"
"six," "three," "two," and "five") to create sets and complete Indian
Feathers booklet. Each page follows the pattern: "I can see (number
word) feathers." Students then illustrate that number of feathers on
the Indian's headband.
*We graph where we will be for Thanksgiving (home or away).
*We graph our favorite foods.
*We estimate how many corn kernals are in the guessing jar.
*We use die-cut shapes to create patterns around the perimeter of our
paper sack mats. Later, we decorate these with Indian symbols.
Science/Social Studies
*We plant Indian corn on wet sponges.... they sprout quickly!
*Read Samuel Eaton's Day by Kate Waters and poem "Then and Now" to
illustrate the differences in life then and now. Students brainstorm
chores the Pilgrim children might have been required to do. The class
compares/contrasts these to chores they have to do at home. Teacher
records these on Venn diagram to graphically organize the information.
*Use an Indian scroll to introduce symbols used by the Native
Americans. Discuss their means of written language.
Compare/contrast it to our modern written language. Play Indian sign
Bingo to become familiar with the symbols.
Then use the symbols to read a rebus chart "An Indian Story."
Students transfer the symbols they've learned to their Indian mats
(made from paper sacks, crumpled until soft).
*We plant Indian corn on wet sponges.... they sprout quickly!
*Read Samuel Eaton's Day by Kate Waters and poem "Then and Now" to
illustrate the differences in life then and now. Students brainstorm
chores the Pilgrim children might have been required to do. The class
compares/contrasts these to chores they have to do at home. Teacher
records these on Venn diagram to graphically organize the information.
*Use an Indian scroll to introduce symbols used by the Native
Americans. Discuss their means of written language.
Compare/contrast it to our modern written language. Play Indian sign
Bingo to become familiar with the symbols.
Then use the symbols to read a rebus chart "An Indian Story."
Students transfer the symbols they've learned to their Indian mats
(made from paper sacks, crumpled until soft).
Links
America's Home Page
Thanksgiving Unit
The Mayflower Web Page
Thanksgiving Fun
Thanksgiving Links
Native Americans
Thanksgiving
Pilgrims/Colonial Times
November
Plimoth Plantation- A Virtual Tour
America's Home Page
Thanksgiving Unit
The Mayflower Web Page
Thanksgiving Fun
Thanksgiving Links
Native Americans
Thanksgiving
Pilgrims/Colonial Times
November
Plimoth Plantation- A Virtual Tour
