• Thanksgiving is a holiday that provides many learning opportunities in a variety of areas of the curriculum. For lesson plans and activities, check out the links on the right.

• 1. Thanksgiving originated in both Canada and the United StatesThanksgiving November: Thanksgiving Facts
  2. Celebrate in America on the fourth Thursday in NovemberThanksgiving November: Thanksgiving Facts
  3. Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of OctoberThanksgiving November: Thanksgiving Facts
  4. Thanksgiving 2008: November 27Calendar Date: Thanksgiving
  5. Great resources for public, private and home school classrooms

• Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Ideas

  Explore the origins of what is often noted as the First Thanksgiving between the Plimoth settlers and the neighboring Wampanoag Tribe.Scholastic: The First Thanksgiving

  Help establish Thanksgiving vocabulary words with word scrambles, word searches and fill-in-the-blank worksheets

  Involve students in the learning process hands on. Have younger children make arts and crafts centered around the pilgrims and Native Americans. Older children can explore early colonial lifestyles and history by building dioramas of settlements or encampments.Teacher Vision: Thanskgiving Activities and Lesson Plans

• History of the First Thanksgiving

  Students are often taught about one of the earliest recorded Thanksgiving celebrations, which took place at the Plimoth settlement in the year 1621. After suffering many hardships, the pilgrim settlers were blessed with a bountiful harvest. They gave thanks and celebrated with the neighboring Wampanoag Indian tribe. With the help of Squanto, the Wampanoag had taught the settlers how to cultivate the land. The dinner they enjoyed was slightly different from what we know today. Their feast consisted of dishes like venison, wild turkey, cheese pie, pumpkin custard and corn bread.National Parks Service: Historic Jamestowne: Jamestown and Plymouth: Compare and Contrast EnjoyMA: An Authentic Thanksgiving Dinner

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