Stanford University
Beyond the Bubble: The First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] This history assessment measures students' ability to source a document, in this case a painting of the first Thanksgiving celebration. When historians interpret a document, they look at who wrote it...
![Dr. Chase Young, Ph D: Reader's Theater Script: The Abc's of the First Thanksgiving [Pdf] Activity](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Dr. Chase Young, Ph D: Reader's Theater Script: The Abc's of the First Thanksgiving [Pdf] Activity")
Chase Young, PhD
Dr. Chase Young, Ph D: Reader's Theater Script: The Abc's of the First Thanksgiving [Pdf]
A reader's theater script for Marci McGowan's work, ABC's of the First Thanksgiving, is provided on these pages. Thirty character roles are needed in this activity.
Scholastic
Scholastic: The First Thanksgiving
This is a site covering every aspect of the first Thanksgiving ever celebrated. There is a picture timeline, an interactive trip on the Mayflower, and wonderful descriptions of what the lives of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Lesson Plan: The First Thanksgiving
Teachers deepen students' understanding of the first Thanksgiving as they discuss the Mayflower voyage, life in the colonies, the Wampanoag traditions, and an extensive look into this time period.
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: The First Thanksgiving Proclamation
Resource features the full text of the First Thanksgiving Proclamation June 20, 1676, which expressed thanks for the good fortune of the community of Charleston, Massachusetts.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Myth and Truth: "The First Thanksgiving" [Pdf]
Contains plans for three lessons that examine the myth and reality behind the first Thanksgiving and the Wampanoag Native Americans in colonial America. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to...
Read Works
Read Works: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the first Thanksgiving. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in understanding plot.
Read Works
Read Works: The First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] This informational text passage shares facts about the first Thanksgiving. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...
Read Works
Read Works: The First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] This informational text passage describes the first Thanksgiving. This passage reinforces essential reading comprehension skills. Opportunities for vocabulary acquisition are also included. Several...
Read Works
Read Works: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text telling the story of the first Thanksgiving. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
A&E Television
History.com: The First Thanksgiving Celebration
[Free Registration/Login Required] Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first...
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: Primary Source Set: Thanksgiving
A set of primary documents that reflect the Mayflower, Plymouth, Puritans, the first Thanksgiving, and legislation for the holiday.
A&E Television
History.com: How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition
How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition. In 1876, Yale beat Princeton before a sparse crowd, but by the mid-1880s, their annual contest was a major social event that attracted thousands of fans in...
EL Education
El Education: First Thanksgiving Cards
As part of a Learning Expedition about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians, 3rd graders in Springfield, Massachusetts created these note cards. They focused on the "real" story of the first Thanksgiving, using multiple perspectives...
Library of Congress
Loc: Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
In this activity, students discuss the reliability of a painting of the First Thanksgiving to introduce the idea that is crucial to consider a source's date.
A&E Television
History.com: Thanksgiving
A detailed overview of the first Thanksgiving and the menu that the Pilgrims served which was quite different than the modern Thanksgiving meal. Features videos, a photo gallery, and links to many related articles and topics.
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids: First Thanksgiving
National Geographic recounts the first Thanksgiving and offers related activities, games, and web links.
A&E Television
History.com: Colonists at the First Thanksgiving Were Mostly Men Because Women Had Perished
According to this account (elements of which continue to be debated by historians, especially regarding the presence and role of Native Americans), the historic event didn't happen on the fourth Thursday in November, as it does today,...
A&E Television
History.com: Thanksgiving History Facts and Trivia
What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving? Which president made Thanksgiving a federal holiday? Get Thanksgiving trivia to share around the table. Over the centuries, that briefly-mentioned feast week has taken on a life of its own,...
Mayflower History
Mayflower history.com: Brief History of Thanksgiving
Describes what is known about the history of Thanksgiving and of the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims in 1621.
Other
Plimoth Plantation: You Are the Historian
What really happened at the first Thanksgiving? Students will explore different aspects of the harvest celebration in 1621 through an interactive program provided by an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute.
Open Door Team
Open Door Web Site: The First Thanksgiving
This brief article tells of the help the Indians gave the Pilgrims in learning about the land, resulting in the first Thanksgiving.
Other
Plimouth Plantation: Thanksgiving Interactive: You Are the Historian
This site, developed by Plimoth Plantation, offers visitors the chance to use the skills of historians to peel away the layers of myth and misconception surrounding "The First Thanksgiving" and discover what might really have happened...
Other
20/20 Technologies: Thanksgiving History
This site gives links that give the history and detail the first Thanksgiving in America. Links to primary source material.