Lesson Plan Info: #4

1. Introduction
This lesson is about Thanksgiving and how Pilgrims celebrated this feast in the past and how we
now celebrate this tradition. Students will make connections of what is the same and what is
different through a Venn diagram. Students will view the Scholastic website for a narration and
reenactment of this feast for further investigation.
Title: Thanksgiving Then and Now
Created By: Cobi Solana Maya
Date Created: 11/20/09
Grade: 1st grade
Subject: Social Studies
Topic of Lesson: Learning about Traditions
Class Submitted For: ED 520
Instructor: Prof. Massey
Time Allotment: 1 hour
Nature and Scope: Students have just completed a lesson on the Pilgrims journey. Students are
now ready to learn more about the Pilgrims way of life and how they celebrated their first
harvest.

2. Standards and Learner Outcomes

CO Content Standards:
Reading and Writing
STANDARD 1:
Students read and understand a variety of materials.
• make connections between their reading and what they already know, and
identify what they need to know about a topic before reading about it
use information from their reading to increase vocabulary and enhance
language usage.
Students have learned about the Pilgrims voyage and are now learning about their way of life.
Students will accomplish this through the Scholastic website which gives a reenactment and
narrative of these events.
STANDARD 2:
Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and
audiences.
• organize written and oral presentations using strategies such as lists, outlining,
cause/effect relationships, comparison/contrast, problem/solution, and
narration; and
• use handwriting and at the most appropriate time, word processing to produce
a product that is legible.
Students will create a Venn Diagram to organize and compare and contrast Thanksgiving then
and now.

History
6.1 Students know the historical development of religions and
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philosophies.
recognizing that people develop traditions that transmit their beliefs and ideas (for example,
marriage ceremonies, feasts, naming of infants).
Through this lesson students begin to see how the first Thanksgiving was a time to be thankful
for food and for their lives. Today we give thanks and we feast to give thanks for the things that
are important to us, just the way the Pilgrims did. Tradition is formed from what we believe is
important.

NETS-T (Standards)
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students,
colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual
environments
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to
promote student learning and creativity

Overview
Objective:
1. Students (with teacher assistance) will discuss and list on a Venn Diagram Thanksgiving feast
then(first Pilgrim feast) and now(modern food traditions).
2. Students will discuss how people develop traditions that pass on their beliefs.
3. Students will write out the word Thanksgiving on their own.

3. Instructional Aids and/or Resources

Teacher Materials:
Paper
Blackboard
Access to Internet
Sentence Strips
Venn Diagram (copies for all children)

Student Materials:
Pencils

4. Curriculum Outline and Instructional Strategies

Opening (10 minutes)
1. Gaining Attention: Did the Pilgrims eat the same thing we eat for Thanksgiving?
2. Prior Knowledge: Review the journey the Pilgrims had to take to get to America.
3. Purpose (Objective) of Lesson: Tell the students that they will discuss Thanksgiving then
and now and create a Venn Diagram. Explain how to use a Venn Diagram. Students will
also be learning how to write the word Thanksgiving. We will also read a book that tells
us more about how Pilgrims lived.
Body (30 minutes)
4. Start by reading the book Pilgrims by Susan E. Goodman. Discuss similarities and
differences of how children Pilgrims lived compared to children today.
5. Go to the Scholastic website and watch the slideshow titled The First Thanksgiving
Feast.
6. After the slideshow write down on a whiteboard all the foods the Pilgrims ate on the first
feast.
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 7. Using a Venn Diagram together as a group use the list from the whiteboard and find out
which category the food item would go into (then, now, both)
8. Have students write the words down on their Venn Diagrams (paper copies)
9. Next Talk to the students about the word Thanksgiving.
10. Chunk the compound word and then break down the word further by each chunk (ie:
thanks is plural, root word is thank, "th" is a diphthong, etc.)
11. At the end of this review of the word, students will be able to write the word
Thanksgiving and be introduced to compound words.
Closure (20 minutes)
Discuss with students how traditions are made. Give a personal experience. (i.e. my family by
accident booked a camping trip two years in a row on Easter. Many people don't do camping on
Easter, but my family said that by Spring they are dying to go camping and both Easters were a
blast and a time to enjoy family and celebrate our religious beliefs in a private setting.
Therefore, we made a tradition to go camping every Easter. That is how some traditions are
made. Ask students if they have a family tradition that is a little different or unique to their
family. Recap on objectives and what was learned today.

5. Integration of Educational Technology

5.11 CSU-P Standards
c. Make purposeful use of assistive technologies to enable all students, regardless of special
needs, to participate in learning; know when and where to find assistance in helping students
with special needs learn.
d. Uses technology resources that affirm diversity.
The slideshow I choose for this lesson has a visional and audio reenactment of the first
Thanksgiving. I feel that this allows all students to engage and participate in learning
regardless of their reading level. However, this website does have text and audio that would
further help students gain practice see words and hearing them pronounced. 1. Specific
hardware and software: Computer, Promethium board, Internet connection, access to Scholastic
website.
2. Technology will take plan in the classroom with one computer in a group viewing. Student
computer table (only 1-2 computers needed) can be used as a station for students to individually
go to the Scholastic website and navigate the entire topic of Thanksgiving.
3. The technology used (website of Scholastic) enhances learning. The resources Scholastic has
put into recreating the Pilgrims journey and way of life is realistic and something a teacher
cannot lecture and have the same effect on students, especially for those visual learners. This
technology facilitates higher learning.
4. Students that have special needs can also participate in the learning due to the various
methods of teaching it offers (ie. visual, audio, and text).

6. Evaluation
Assessment Plan: Have students turn in their Venn Diagram. Ask students to list 1 thing they
learned today from the slideshow and the book we read. All students should participate (unless
they are ELL students or special needs students). The Diagram along with the participation will
be part the two components to their assessment.
Did the lesson measure up?
How did the students respond? Did the students meet the objectives?

7. Alternate Plans
Reteaching Activities

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Students that are having a hard time making basic shapes may need additional instruction with
shapes. Below is a website that has printable worksheets for every shape.
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/early_childhood/shapes/
Students that are having a hard time will muscle control may need a weighted pencil or shorter
pencil to develop muscle control. Another option would be to have these children practice more
small muscle skills such as beading or practice doodling.

Extension Activities
Extent this activity with a homework assignment. The assignment is to talk to their parents
about recipes they use in their traditional Thanksgiving meal and create a recipe card. The
teacher can then gather all the recipe cards and make a Thanksgiving recipe book for each
student.

Differentiation of Instruction: Student centers will be set up for students to further explore their
topic. 4 tables will be set up with 1 group activity on the computer that compares and contrasts
the facts of turkeys and chickens (through the virtual field trip website). 1 table will have a 1"
binder that has pictures and words that are in the theme of Thanksgiving. Students can look
through this binder to recognize words and pictures associated with Thanksgiving. 1 table will
have drawing paper for students to create an interpretation of Thanksgiving (either modern
tradition or the first Thanksgiving). The last center will be a 2 person group station where
students can review the scholastic The First Thanksgiving approved website that will further
their investigation of the topic.

Teacher References:
http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving/the-first-thanksgiving/the-pilgrims-menu
Thanksgiving Food - Pilgrim's Menu - History.com

8. References:

Works Cited
Goodman, S. E. (1999). Pilgrims of Plymouth. In S. E. Goodman, Pilgrims of Plymouth (pp. 1-
16). Washionton D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Scholastic. (n.d.). Scholastic, Inc. Retrieved November 19, 2009, from Scholastic Web site:
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/feast/index.htm