National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

1. 
   The students will describe the events of the first Plymouth Colony harvest celebration (Thanksgiving) in 1621.
   
2. 
   The students will identify several myths surrounding the first Thanksgiving celebration.
   
3. 
   The students will identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. (FS)
   
4. 
   The students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. (FS)
   

1. 
   Ask students to orally share some things that they and their family do on Thanksgiving Day (e.g., gather as a family, share a large meal, celebrate religious customs and traditions, share things for which they are grateful, eat a large family meal with traditional foods such a turkey, watch football).
   

2. 
   Ask students why they think we celebrate Thanksgiving (e.g., to give thanks for our family and the many things we enjoy as Americans)
   

3. 
   Explain to students that Thanksgiving has been celebrated for many years in our country and that we are going to be reading and learning about the very first Thanksgiving or harvest feast. We are also going to learn some surprising facts about what really happened, as related to the Pilgrims and American Indians.
   

4. 
   Ask students to orally share what think they already know about the original Thanksgiving celebrated over 400 years ago (1621).
   

Write the students' questions on a large piece of chart paper (e.g., “How did the Pilgrims and American Indians get along?” "What food did they eat at the first Thanksgiving?").  Explain to students that they will be trying to find the answers to their questions.

5. 
   Read and discuss the reading entitled “The First Thanksgiving” (provided) and answer the “Questions – The First Thanksgiving” (provided)
   

6. 
   To help students visualize life at the time in Plymouth for the Pilgrims and American Indians, share the “Images of Pilgrim and Wampanoag Life from Plimouth Plantation” (provided).
   

7. 
   As closure, explain that over time, stories have developed about the first Thanksgiving that are not totally accurate. As age and student maturity dictate, discuss and help dispel the following Thanksgiving myths or stories:
   

• 
  The First Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth in 1621 - The first celebration in Plymouth was really a harvest celebration and was not even called Thanksgiving by the settlers. Other settlers claimed to have held the first Thanksgiving. For example, in Texas, Spanish explorer Juan de Onate is said to have held a big Thanksgiving festival near what is now El Paso after leading hundreds of settlers on a 350-mile long trek across the Mexican desert. In Virginia, settlers at the Berkeley Plantation on the James River are said to have held first Thanksgiving in America on December 4th, 1619.
  

• 
  The Pilgrims shared a big meal of turkey and cranberries with the Wampanoag. The three-day harvest meal likely consisted of deer and roasted meat. They may or may not have eaten turkey, but the Pilgrims did have turkey in their diet. The feasters likely supplemented their venison and birds with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, and wheat flour, as well as vegetables, such as corn, pumpkins, squash, carrots, and peas. Much of what we consider traditional Thanksgiving fare was unknown at the harvest festival. Potatoes and sweet potatoes hadn't yet become staples of the English diet, for example. And cranberry sauce requires sugar - an expensive delicacy in the 1600s. Likewise, pumpkin pie went missing due to a lack of crust ingredients.
  

• 
  The Pilgrims were somber and serious people all the time. The Pilgrims were not somber people who only wore black clothes, tall hats, and shoes with large silver buckles. In fact, the Pilgrims generally wore bright and cheerful clothing and had no buckles on their shoes! They also enjoyed singing, dancing, and playing games.
  

• 
  American Indians in the area dressed like most other tribes. American Indians in the area, including the Wampanoag, did not wear woven blankets on their shoulders and large, feathered headdresses. Wampanoag women wore knee-length skirts. Wampanoag men wore breechcloths with leggings. Neither women nor men had to wear shirts in the Wampanoag culture, but they would dress in deerskin mantles during cool weather. The Wampanoag also wore moccasins on their feet.
  

• 
  The English settlers called themselves Pilgrims, not Englishmen. The English settlers did not call themselves Pilgrims, which means “wanderers.” The name Pilgrim was given to them because they traveled from England to Holland and then to North America to find religious freedom. If you had asked a Pilgrim to describe him or herself, they most likely would have replied that they were Englishmen or women.
  

1. 
   Plimoth (Plymouth) Plantation at www.Plimoth.org
   
2. 
   National Geographic for Kids at http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/#first-thanksgiving-corn.jpg
   

When we think of Thanksgiving today, we think of a big feast with our family. We also think about the first Thanksgiving celebrated many years ago by Pilgrims from England and American Indians. What is the true Thanksgiving story? Let’s read and find out what really happened so long ago.

Over 400 years ago, the Pilgrims traveled from England across the Atlantic Ocean to America on a boat called the Mayflower. The Pilgrims left England because they wanted to be free to practice their religion in America.

The trip took over two months. Many people were sick during the trip. The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 and began to build a better life in a new land.

The Pilgrims were not ready for life in the new land. They had little food and did not know how to grow crops in America. The first winter was very cold. Over one-half of the Pilgrims died. The Pilgrims were going to need help to live in America.

American Indian tribes had been living in America for thousands of years before the Pilgrims arrived. The American Indians living near the Pilgrims were called the Wampanoag. They knew the land and waters near their home very well. They hunted, fished, and grew crops.

One day, a Wampanoag American Indian known as Samoset visited the settlers. He knew how to speak English. He helped the Pilgrims learn about their new homeland. He also introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto. Squanto helped the settlers grow corn, hunt and fish. Squanto also introduced the Pilgrims to the Wampanoag chief.

The First Thanksgiving

One day in the fall of 1621, four Pilgrim settlers were sent to hunt for food for a harvest celebration. The Wampanoag Indians thought the Pilgrims might be getting ready for war. Chief Massasoit visited the English settlement with 90 of his men.

The Wampanoag Indians saw that the Pilgrims were only hunting for their harvest celebration. The Wampanoag joined the celebration. For three days, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag men, women, and children ate together. The meal consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. They also played ball games, sang, and danced.

This harvest feast was the first thanksgiving in Plymouth Colony.

Sources: Adapted from National Geographic for Kids, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/#first-thanksgiving-corn.jpg; and http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0sDAEIlXlU/UorvzDzvXdI/AAAAAAAADJg/i0KWZwoY-Us/s1600/Slide02.png

The First Thanksgiving – Primary Questions

1. 
   What boat did the Pilgrims come to America aboard? What ocean did they cross?
   

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2. 
   Why did the Pilgrims leave England and come to America?
   

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3. 
   What problems did the Pilgrims have when they arrived in America?
   

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4. 
   How did the Wampanoag American Indians help the Pilgrims?
   

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5. 
   What happened on the First Thanksgiving?
   

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6. 
   On the back of this paper, draw a picture of you and your family celebrating Thanksgiving.
   

Every November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday honoring the harvest feast of the early settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts held in 1621. When we think of the first Thanksgiving, we imagine a huge feast attended by American Indians in headdresses and Pilgrims in black clothes with big shiny buckles on their shoes. Let’s read and see what really happened on that first Thanksgiving over 400 years ago.

The first American Indian to greet the Pilgrims was Samoset, an Abenaki chief. He spoke English and helped the Pilgrims understand many things about their new homeland. He also later introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto, a messenger of

the Wampanoag chief named Massasoit. Squanto helped the settlers grow corn and use fish to fertilize their fields. After several meetings, a formal agreement was made between the settlers and the Wampanoag and they joined together to protect each other from other tribes in March of 1621.

Soon after their visit, the Native Americans realized that the Pilgrims were only hunting for their harvest celebration. Massasoit sent some of his own men to hunt deer for the feast. For three days, the English and Wampanoag men, women, and children visited and ate together. The meal consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat, far from today's traditional Thanksgiving feast. Much of what most modern Americans eat on Thanksgiving was not available in 1621. They also played ball games, sang, and danced.

Although prayers and thanks were probably offered at the 1621 harvest gathering, the first recorded religious Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth happened two years later in 1623. On this occasion, the colonists gave thanks to God for rain after a two-month drought.

The Myths About the First Thanksgiving - Believe it or not, the Pilgrims didn't have silver buckles on their shoes. Nor did they wear dull, black clothing. Their clothing was actually bright and cheerful. Many portrayals of this harvest celebration also show the Native Americans wearing woven blankets on their shoulders and large, feathered headdresses, which is not true. The English settlers didn’t even call themselves Pilgrims.

Modern Thanksgiving - In the 19th century (1800s), the modern Thanksgiving holiday started to take shape. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of a magazine called Godley’s Lady’s Book, campaigned for an annual national thanksgiving holiday.
The First Thanksgiving (Intermediate) continued

It wasn't until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation which invited Americans to "observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving...” In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt designated Thanksgiving be held each year on the fourth Thursday in November.

Source: Adapted from National Geographic for Kids, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/#first-thanksgiving-corn.jpg

1. 
   Who lived in the area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island before the Pilgrims arrived? How long had they lived there?
   

2. 
   Who were the Pilgrims and what did they think about the Church of England?
   

3. 
   Why do we call the Pilgrims “wanderers?”
   

4. 
   Describe the Pilgrim’s trip to America and the problems they faced when they arrived.
   

5. 
   How did Samoset and Squanto help the Pilgrims?
   

6. 
   Who was the Wampanoag chief?
   

7. 
   Describe the first Thanksgiving or harvest celebration, including the food and other activities shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag American Indians.
   

8. 
   List two inaccurate myths or stories about the Pilgrims and Wampanoag American Indians.
   

9. 
   Explain the Wampanoag American Indians current feelings about Thanksgiving. Do you agree with the feelings the Wampanoag have today?
   

10. 
    Draw a Venn diagram on your paper like the one below. Complete the diagram by finding things that are similar and different between the first Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving you now share with your family.
    

1. 
   In the left circle, write down things that happened during the first Thanksgiving in 1621. For example: The Wampanoag Indians came to celebrate with the Pilgrims.
   
2. 
   In the right circle, write down things you do with your family during Thanksgiving. For example: We watch the parades on TV.
   
3. 
   In the center, write down things that were done during the first Thanksgiving that are still done by you and your family today. For example: Just like the Pilgrims, we eat together.
   

All images are historical interpretations based on research.

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/mayflower-ii

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/who-were-pilgrims

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/plan-your-visit-0

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/playing-learning

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/building-home

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/17th-century-english-village

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/what-wear

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/wampanoag-homesite

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/whats-dinner

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/building-home

Source: http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/who-were-pilgrims

Library of Congress

First People of America and Canada

Indians.org