Marquette University

Lesson Plan Template (REVISED 8/15/13)

Social Studies Toolkit Lesson 3
Thanksgiving

28 October 2015
Social Studies/4th Grade/50 minutes

Section A. Lesson Preparation

Rationale The content of this lesson allows students to step into the lives of a few people who
lived in Plymouth and survived the voyage and first winter. The students will be provided the
interview and then asked to act it out in small groups. It is an opportunity for them to learn from
the scripts and from each other.
Description of Learners 91% of students are economically disadvantaged. 26% of students
have disabilities. Students prior knowledge can be used as a personal asset during this lesson
where they can apply what they already know about the Pilgrims and build onto that prior
knowledge as they explore the content area. Students will recognize some of their misconceptions
after they place what they already know to be true about thanksgiving on the board. After we
finish reading the text they will learn how much of what is practiced today was actually at the
first Thanksgiving.
Objectives/Learner Outcomes and Assessments (formal and informal)
1. Students will be able to identify what actually happened at the first Thanksgiving versus
what they thought happened because of what is practiced today. I will use an informal
assessment in the beginning to see how much students know about Thanksgiving right
now by comparing and contrasting the two as a class. Then students will be making a
paper quilt and illustrating what theyve learned on that quote about the first
Thanksgiving.
Standards Addressed

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or
technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific
information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6
Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same
event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information
provided.

Materials/Resources/Technology
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness

Whiteboard and markers

Markers
Paper
KWL chart (from first lesson)

Section B: Introduction to Lesson

Purpose The purpose of this lesson is to identify misconceptions about the first
Thanksgiving and compare and contrast them with how Thanksgiving is celebrated today.
Prior learning Students have learned over the past two lessons all about the Pilgrims
journey to New England and what their time was like during the first winter at Plymouth.
They will use what they learned over the past two lessons and connect it to how
Thanksgiving came to be. They will use their prior knowledge from celebrating
Thanksgiving in their own homes or from what they know from friends or neighbors to
compare and contrast the two.
Connections to personal/cultural/community assets Many students have celebrated
Thanksgiving with their own families or friends. This lesson will directly correlate to
their own lives as they bring personal experiences to the classroom and share their own
traditions involving the holiday.
Section C: Content/Procedures/Sequence (Include estimated time for each activity)

Content outline

Instructional strategies/learning tasks/sequence of

activities (include what you and the students will be doing
that supports diverse student needs)

1. KWL chart review

1. As an introduction to the class we will review

what we previously knew, add questions to what
more we want to know and add anything that we
have learned over the past day. I will discuss how
we will be adding to the learned section today
about the actual Thanksgiving feast.

2. Brainstorming

2. During this time students will take out a piece of

paper and write everything that comes to their
mind when they hear the world Thanksgiving.
After they take a few minutes to do this we will
come back together as a large group and generate
a class list of meanings, ideas and stories.

3. Finish reading Three

3. Students will finish reading the book with

assigned partners. Students who really struggle
with reading will finish following along in the
story in the back of the classroom as I read it with
them.

Young Pilgrims with their

partners.

4. Compare/Contrast

4. After reading the story, students will have started

making comparisons to how Thanksgiving was
first celebrated compared to how it is now
traditionally celebrated. On the whiteboard next to
the list we created about things that come to our
mind when we think Thanksgiving, we will
generate a new list of what we think of when we
think of the first Thanksgiving.

5. Wall quilt

5. Each student will receive two pieces of paper for

pieces of their quilt. Each student will be paired up
with one other student and the four of them will
create four quilt pieces that illustrate the first
Thanksgiving. On the other side of the quilt piece
they will write an explanation for why their
illustration accurately depicts what went on at the
first Thanksgiving. They can make up new ideas
or pick ideas from the class-generated list on the
whiteboard.

6. Assemble quilt on wall

space

6. Pairs will present their quilt pieces to the class and

explain what they draw and why they drew it.
After each pair shares their four quilt squares, I
will assemble them on the wall to form our class
Thanksgiving quilt.

7. KWL Chart

7. To wrap up this lesson students will add anything

else they learned about the first Thanksgiving to
their learned section and add anything else that

they want to know.

Section D: Closure
Summary of lesson Over the past few days we have learned a basic understanding of
how Thanksgiving came to be and the role of the Pilgrims since their original journey.
Now, we will begin exploring relationships that the Pilgrims had with certain natives and
continue to build on the knowledge that we have gained.
Assignment Students will finish any quilt squares that they did not have time to finish
before and bring them to the next class so I can add them to the wall.

Section E: Self-Assessment and Reflection (To be completed only if and after you teach the
lesson)
1. Was the lesson successful? What DATA or EVIDENCE support your conclusions?

2. Based on your conclusion above about what your students know and are able to do
(individually and collectively), what next steps in instruction are you planning?
a. For the class as a whole:
b. For individuals with specific learning needs within the class