Studying the Pilgrims as well as the 1st thanksgiving, looking for ideas....

[twoblessings]

I am looking for projects, books, videos. Anything to do with this topic. This is for a 2nd grader.

thanks!

[whitestavern]

I was just planning mine out as we are doing this in a few weeks. Here's some resources I have so far:

Books:
The Thanksgiving Story
Landing of the Pilgrims
Native Americans (Make It Work)-activities
More than Moccasins-activities
William Bradford, Pilgrim Boy
If You Sailed on the Mayflower
The Pilgrims of Plymouth (book and movie)
Story of the Mayflower Compact
Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce
On the Mayflower
The Plymouth Thanksgiving
Sarah Morton's Day
Thanksgiving on Thursday (and the Nonfiction companion book)
A Journey to the New World (book and movie)
Penny Merriment (CD of period music)
Settling the New World (movie)

I'm still working on activities so will be watching this thread!

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I also am looking for ideas from this period, but from the Native American perspective. We've had a lot of conversations about how the English settlers called themselves Christian, but acted in what could be considered a very un-Christianlike manner toward the native people.

[King Alfred Academy]

Last year, our book club did Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne. We read the book and the study guide. The kids also made lapbooks. It was a fun study.

[Dawn in OH]

We are planning to make homemade butter. They kids have been asking to try that for a long time. I haven't made any other plans just yet, it's on my To Do List for this weekend though!

[matroyshka]

I also am looking for ideas from this period, but from the Native American perspective. We've had a lot of conversations about how the English settlers called themselves Christian, but acted in what could be considered a very un-Christianlike manner toward the native people.

Actually, the Pilgrims themselves had a very good relationship with the local Indians, started off by their meeting with Squanto (who only lived for two years after their arrival!) and Massasoit. At the first "Thanksgiving" - really a harvest festival, the Pilgrims would have interpreted the word "thanksgiving" to mean something entirely different - more like abstaining from food and praying - the Indians outnumbered the Pilgrims almost 2-1, and they brought five deer to share - we should probably all be eating venison. ;) The Pilgrims were well-meaning but city folk, not farmers, and they ended up needing a lot of help from the Indians just to survive, and they had peaceful relations with them for 50 years.

The Pilgrims, who founded Plimoth Colony (and actually many of the original settlers of that colony weren't even Pilgrims - meaning the group of religious refugees who had previously been living in the Netherlands) should not be confused with the Puritans, a much larger group of settlers who came over in 1630 under the leadership of John Winthrop, landed in Salem and then went on to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the city of Boston (named after a town near where most of them came from). The Pilgrims were mostly working class and poor, the Puritans upper class, well off, and very well supplied. The Massachusetts Bay colony was a separate colony from Plimoth Colony (which also included the towns of Rehoboth and Duxbury) and had a separate government and separate charter with the King.

The Pilgrims wanted to be free to practice their own religous beliefs, but they didn't much care what the Indians believed. The Puritans thought it their job to save the Indians' souls and turn them away from their "heathen" lifestyle (they also did not tolerate even the smallest religious dissent from other English in their own colony, also in contrast to the Pilgrims). They went out and proseletyzed and created whole towns of "praying Indians" who were converted to Christianity and expected to live a lifestyle like the English, in English clothes and in houses. It was mostly they that led to the serious deterioration in the relationship between settlers and natives.

Anyhow, some of my favorite books on the subject that include some Native perspective, all appropriate for 2nd grade:

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving by Joyce Kessel (this has some really great materials for an early reader)

The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George (this sets the scene with the Indians and what had happened to them before the Pilgrims arrived before even getting to the Pilgrims' voyage and arrival)

Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness (great book, based on the true story of three Pilgrim children. Lots of background info on Pilgrims, who called themselves "Saints" and the "Strangers" who came with them, also has timelines of world events of the time).

Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters - a companion to Sarah Morton's Day, Samuel Eaton's Day and On the Mayflower about Pilgrim children

People of the Breaking Day by Marcia Sewall - about the Wampanoag, a companion to her books The Pilgrims of Plimoth and Thunder from the Clear Sky - the latter about King Philip's War, if you want to read how it all went downhill 50 years later.

If you want to read a bit more about the Puritans of that time and place, religious tolerance and/or lack thereof in relation to Indians and others, another great book (also readable for 2nd graders - level 2 or 3 reader) is Finding Providence by Avi about Roger Williams, a man I really came to admire.

I know Joseph Bruchac wrote a book about Squanto, that we haven't read because it's for older kids and my kids were in fact in 2nd grade when we studied this. His books about the Indians are usually very good, though, so if your kids are older you might want to give a look at that one.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

Actually, the Pilgrims themselves had a very good relationship with the local Indians, started off by their meeting with Squanto (who only lived for two years after their arrival!) and Massasoit. At the first "Thanksgiving" - really a harvest festival, the Pilgrims would have interpreted the word "thanksgiving" to mean something entirely different - more like abstaining from food and praying - the Indians outnumbered the Pilgrims almost 2-1, and they brought five deer to share - we should probably all be eating venison. ;) The Pilgrims were well-meaning but city folk, not farmers, and they ended up needing a lot of help from the Indians just to survive, and they had peaceful relations with them for 50 years.

The Pilgrims, who founded Plimoth Colony (and actually many of the original settlers of that colony weren't even Pilgrims - meaning the group of religious refugees who had previously been living in the Netherlands) should not be confused with the Puritans, a much larger group of settlers who came over in 1630 under the leadership of John Winthrop, landed in Salem and then went on to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the city of Boston (named after a town near where most of them came from). The Pilgrims were mostly working class and poor, the Puritans upper class, well off, and very well supplied. The Massachusetts Bay colony was a separate colony from Plimoth Colony (which also included the towns of Rehoboth and Duxbury) and had a separate government and separate charter with the King.

The Pilgrims wanted to be free to practice their own religous beliefs, but they didn't much care what the Indians believed. The Puritans thought it their job to save the Indians' souls and turn them away from their "heathen" lifestyle (they also did not tolerate even the smallest religious dissent from other English in their own colony, also in contrast to the Pilgrims). They went out and proseletyzed and created whole towns of "praying Indians" who were converted to Christianity and expected to live a lifestyle like the English, in English clothes and in houses. It was mostly they that led to the serious deterioration in the relationship between settlers and natives.

Anyhow, some of my favorite books on the subject that include some Native perspective, all appropriate for 2nd grade:

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving by Joyce Kessel (this has some really great materials for an early reader)

The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George (this sets the scene with the Indians and what had happened to them before the Pilgrims arrived before even getting to the Pilgrims' voyage and arrival)

Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness (great book, based on the true story of three Pilgrim children. Lots of background info on Pilgrims, who called themselves "Saints" and the "Strangers" who came with them, also has timelines of world events of the time).

Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters - a companion to Sarah Morton's Day, Samuel Eaton's Day and On the Mayflower about Pilgrim children

People of the Breaking Day by Marcia Sewall - about the Wampanoag, a companion to her books The Pilgrims of Plimoth and Thunder from the Clear Sky - the latter about King Philip's War, if you want to read how it all went downhill 50 years later.

If you want to read a bit more about the Puritans of that time and place, religious tolerance and/or lack thereof in relation to Indians and others, another great book (also readable for 2nd graders - level 2 or 3 reader) is Finding Providence by Avi about Roger Williams, a man I really came to admire.

I know Joseph Bruchac wrote a book about Squanto, that we haven't read because it's for older kids and my kids were in fact in 2nd grade when we studied this. His books about the Indians are usually very good, though, so if your kids are older you might want to give a look at that one.
Very good information, thank you. We're going to the library & I printed your list to take with. My son is very interested in the culture of the Native Americans and their spiritual practices and gets a bit miffed when we read the stories about how the English tried to change them.

[Chris in VA]

We read Story of the Pilgrims and really enjoyed it last year--so much so that dd wants to do it again for the month of Nov. I think it's by Christian Liberty.It gives a lot of details about their time in the Netherlands, which is kinda glossed over in a lot of history texts. It was very interesting to dd and to me! Plus, it's an inexpensive book but lovely.

[KarenNC]

Look at the website for Plimoth Plantation
http://www.plimoth.org/education/

[twoblessings]

j

[Alessandra]

You have got some excellent ideas. I would add
Squanto's journey, by Joseph Bruchac (an author of NA heritage who has written extensively on NA customs & traditions)

As a pp said visit the Plimouth Plantations site -- the Wampanoag Indigenous Program has been part of Plimouth for at least 25 years. The program is staffed and run by Native Peoples. Two fantastic PP resources are:
Wampanoag: People of the East
The Thanksgiving Primer
Both are teacher guides with lots of ideas and both show sensitivity to NA viewpoints. You will probably have to get these directly from PP. Tapenaum's Day is also published by PP, but is available from many sources.

[bethben]

How about a free lapbook? It's geared to a little older than 2nd grade, but easily adaptable. It included suggestions for books. It's a very easy and pain free way to learn about the 1st Thanksgiving and it's FREE. Go here: www.liveandlearnpress.com/freebies.php (http://www.liveandlearnpress.com/freebies.php)We did this last year and it was a hit.
Beth

[TaraTheLiberator]

I'm not into the Thanksgiving myth as it's perpetuated in popular American culture, so I'm always looking for alternative resources.

My favorite is 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (http://www.amazon.com/1621-New-Look-Thanksgiving-American/dp/0792261399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225470490&sr=1-1). I want to say it's published by National Geo, but I might be wrong. Anyway, it tells about the harvest feast that took place at Plimouth from a factual, historical perspective.

Tara

[twoblessings]

How about a free lapbook? It's geared to a little older than 2nd grade, but easily adaptable. It included suggestions for books. It's a very easy and pain free way to learn about the 1st Thanksgiving and it's FREE. Go here: www.liveandlearnpress.com/freebies.php (http://www.liveandlearnpress.com/freebies.php)We did this last year and it was a hit.
Beth

Beth,
I tried the link but I cannot find the free Thanksgiving lapbook. A lapbook is one of the things we will be doing. Can you help me find it. It sounds great.

Thanks,
Cindy

[bethben]

Follow the link for the yahoo group listed on the page. You will then have to join the yahoo group. The instructions for the free lapbook are listed in the files section. I'm including the information above in case I'm not supposed to tell it here and it gets deleted. Here are the instructions listed in the file:

1. Go to liveandlearnpress.com
2. Click Login on the navigation bar
3. Type YahooGroup in the username box and yahoo in the password box
4. Click MYBOOKS on the navigation bar
5. Click the download box on the lapbook you want and save it to your desktop
6. Click LOGOUT

I hope this helps!
Beth

[twoblessings]

Thanks Beth, I figured it out. Looks great!

Cindy