The History of Thanksgiving by Maxim M

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Story
Presentation

Assessment

Theme of the project:

-The theme of this project focuses on American History and more specifically, Thanksgiving Day. Historically, Thanksgiving began as a tradition of celebrating the harvest of the year.

This project is aligned with the following standard:

-Standard 1: History of the United States.

Learning goals:
-Students will learn the history of Thanksgiving and use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and some parts of Europe. -Students will learn about values, ideas, customs, and traditions through folktales, legends, music, and oral histories, as well as family and community values.

Art Content and Skills:

-What is a culture? What is a civilization?

How and why do cultures change? Where do people settle and live? Why? People in world communities exchange elements of their cultures. People in world communities use legends, folktales, oral histories, biographies, autobiographies, and historical narratives to transmit values, ideas, beliefs, and traditions. People in world communities celebrate their accomplishments, achievements, and contributions. Historic events can be viewed through the eyes of those who were there, as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts.

Target group:
This project is created for 5th grade students in Inclusion Classroom.

Flow Chart
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast - including 91 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year

A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration

Thanksgiving can be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789

Story
In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers to where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World.

After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflowers original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English.

Native Indians taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colonys Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit.

Now remembered as Americans first Thanksgiving the festival lasted for three days.

However, the third year was real bad when the corns got damaged. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and rain happened to follow soon. To celebrate November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real beginning of the present Thanksgiving Day.

Though the Thanksgiving Day is presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. This date was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941). Earlier it was the last Thursday in November as was designated by the former President Abraham Lincoln.

Though there is no real evidence that turkey was served at the Pilgrim's first thanksgiving, but through ages it became an indispensable part of the Thanksgiving tradition. The tradition of turkey is rooted in the 'History Of Plymouth Plantation', written by William Bradford some 22 years after the actual celebration.

The End Of The Story

Project continues

Learning Product
Students will create various historical costumes, buildings, ship "Mayflower", draw pictures of turkey, create tools and weapons of that time. The students will be indulged in a dramatic play. Each student will be given his verbal part. The class will be divided into Pilgrims and Native Americans.

Activities and Performance

Building Mayflower Creating Pilgrims and Indians Costumes

Drawing pictures of Thanksgiving and Festival

Dividing students into groups and learning their roles

Performing Thanksgiving theme in the classroom

Assessment:
1.Self and Peer Evaluations

Students will be asked to reflect on, make a judgment about, and then report on their own or a peer's behavior and performance. The responses will be used to evaluate both performance and attitude. Typical evaluation tools will include sentence completion and checklists.

Would you like to do this activity again?

2.Reflective Feedback: How did you feel about this activity? 3.Portfolio Reflection Items:

Students will choose two sentences to complete for each item in their portfolio: I chose this piece to be in my portfolio because: . If I could continue working on this piece, I would: While working on this piece I learned:

Technology used:
-PowerPoint Presentation -Music Player and CDs -Photo Camera -Microphone -Internet and YouTube Presentations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMVDWBdrhWw&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYxyTJXhEPg&feature=related I spend Thanksgiving with you. Thanksgiving music.

Vocabulary:
A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English People and collectively known today as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony), in 1620. Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the south coast of Devon, England, about 190 miles (310 km) south-west of London. It is situated between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound. Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans.

Treaty: Treaty an agreement. Unfairly: Unfairly unjust, not right Worship: Worship: prayer in honor of God

Resources:
Green, Marianna Y., and Sande Keil. Everything for Thanksgiving. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Instructional Fair/TS Dension, 2000. Karges-Bone, Dr. Linda. Poems with a Purpose. Torrance, CA.: Grace Publications, a division of Frank Schaffer Publications, Inc., 2000. www.wikipedia.com
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/thanksgiving/ http://www.theholidayspot.com/thanksgiving/history.htm http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/users/title3/future%20grant%20projects/Project s/Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving_files/frame.html http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/1896/Thanksbackgrounds.htm l http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/1167/thanksgiving_set1.htm http://www.annieshomepage.com/thanksgiving2.html http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9402/bg0.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/7101/thanksgiving.html

Credits:
EDSE 604 OP

Touro College 04/09/2012

Professor Mark Gura Maxim Moroz Jr.

Authors contact email: cherkasy2007@yahoo.com