This+First+Thanksgiving+Day+Reinforcing+Activity

= = =__//**The First Thanksgiving**//__ Day by Laura Krauss Melmed (2001). Harper Collins Publisher. Illustrated by Mark Buehner = Source of Reinforcing Activity: Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis, "Strategies That Work", Chapter 9 (page 146), "Inferring and Questioning to Understand Historical Concepts." =**Reinforcing Activity: **= Begin the activity by having students create a T-chart that is labeled background knowledge at the top, on the left hand side have them put "I wonder (questions)", and on the right hand side have them put "I think (inferences)". You should model how this is to be filled out before you read aloud to your students or after you read the first page.

Also before doing the read aloud to your students, take a moment and fill out the top section of the background knowledge section of the T-chart with your students. You can simply use the information in an encyclopedia to give your students a little prior knowledge of __//The First Thanksgiving//__.

After you have selected information to tell the student and model for them on the chart, you can go ahead and begin your read-aloud session for your students. As you read the book aloud for the students, pause periodically, maybe every page or two, so you and your class can have time to fill out their charts.

After you have finished reading aloud to the class take a few minutes to ask your students what they put in both columns. Ask probing questions such as “why did the natives dry their food?” “Why did the children in the book have so many chores to do?” By reading the book aloud, sharing your thoughts with the class, and having students discuss their questions and inferences, you can really give students a great idea of what early colonial culture was like for the pilgrims, and the Wampanoag tribe as well.


 * Activity Sheet: **


 * Background Knowledge:** It is thought that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to god for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive their first brutal winter in New England. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted 3 days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The pilgrims and Native Americans ate fruit, berries, deer, lobster, fish, pumpkins, squash, and turkey. One Native American in particular, named Squanto, was a Patuxet Native American, but lived with the Wampanoag Tribe. He could speak English and acted as an interpreter between the natives and the pilgrims. Squanto also helped the pilgrims learn how to grow corn and to fish for eels.

Why did Squanto want to help the pilgrims? || **__I Think: __** I think that both the natives and the pilgrims worked very hard to collect their food for the feast. ||
 * **__I Wonder: __**