Plimoth Plantation: Thanksgiving Interactive

Details

Activity Description

Students use this Thanksgiving activity to read and hear about the first Thanksgiving and have the chance to "be the historian." Students can learn about the English used at the time of colonization by the Pilgrims compared to Modern English, the Wampanoag people, and the English colonists. The section titled "The Path to 1621" [www] provides the native people's points of view vs. colonists' on topics related to Thanksgiving and colonization.

With the "Share What You Have Discovered" [www] section, students can write about picture prompts with the option to print. Additionally, students can read and learn about journey of the Mayflower with an interactive map and timeline that shows the course from England to New England during Mayflower II, the 1957 reenactment of the 17th Century colonists' journey.

Preparation

1. Go through the interactive yourself, first to decide which sections to include in your lesson and which to omit.
2. Make sure that the site is not blocked at your school before using it with students. If it is blocked, follow these directions to download the application and play it from your hard drive:
• At the site, scroll down the page to locate and save the file OLC_Install.zip [zip] to your hard drive and un-zip the contents.
• Once the "You are the Historian" folder is uncompressed, double-click the "Start_Here.html" file contained inside to begin using the application.
3. The computer(s) used for viewing the interactive will need:
• Adobe Flash Player
• Internet Explorer 8 or later
• Firefox 3 or later
• Speakers or headphones - make sure your volume is turned up
• For best viewing, set your screen resolution to 1024x768

How-To

1. Open your Web browser to the Web Site Example shown above.
2. Select "HERE" on the title "Your investigation begins HERE!" (Make sure the computer's speakers are turned on. Much of the site's text has audio support.)
3. Read through the activity's directions and questions, asking students to provide answers.
4. Continue through the end of the interactive activities, as desired.

Teacher Tips

• Some parts of the interactive may take a while to load.
• There is a Teacher's Guide [www] with sample lesson activities that use online resources of the site, printable maps, and a timeline of the colonization of Plimoth.
• You can assign students to do view the interactive individually in a lab setting rather than as a whole-class activity, with a checklist or questions to answer on a handout.
  

More Ways

• The site also has other historical resources for you, including an online Thanksgiving activity, a Thanksgiving Virtual Field Trip [www], information about Pilgrim ancestry [www], Collections and Archaeology [www] information, and historical essays.
• Possible follow-up activities:
  • Write a menu for Thanksgiving dinner or a recipe for a favorite Thanksgiving dish.
  • Make a timeline, poster, or PowerPoint presentation about the Mayflower voyage, what to be thankful for, the life of colonists, myths vs. facts.
  • Learn new vocabulary by drawing and labeling the parts of the Mayflower ship.
  • Create a travel itinerary for the Pilgrims as if they were to journey to America today, including a budget, a list of supplies and documentation needed, and tips for newcomers to this country.
  • The colonists may be considered the first immigrants in America. Trace immigration over the years in the United States with this New York Times interactive map (which goes back to 1880).
  • Send an online Thanksgiving greeting card using a site such as Holidays on the Net [www].
  • Write an opinion piece about the pros and cons of colonization in America.
  • Write a letter of appreciation or thanks.
  • Use a site such as Harvest Festivals from Around the World [www] to gather information about harvest festivals in other countries as the basis of writing or presentation assignments.

Program Areas

• ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

• Intermediate Low
• Intermediate High
• Advanced

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