What it is: Investigating the First Thanksgiving is a fun interactive where kids are the historians. Students explore all the clues to learn about the first thanksgiving (really a harvest festival). This site provides great primary source material for kids to sort through. First they explore a section called Fact vs. Myth where they match pictures and descriptions. Each section includes an expert video that talks students through the section and explains a little about the first Thanksgiving. In the next section, students explore the Wampanoag people and learn about their different celebrations and traditions throughout the year. Then, students visit an English Colonist village and learn more about life for the pilgrims. Students can then learn about the events that happened prior to 1621 and what led up to the harvest celebration. The timeline in this section clearly shows what events were happening from the colonists point of view and what events were happening from the Wampanoag point of view. Finally, students can share what they have learned on a virtual informational poster where they can type the text of the poster. Students can print their completed poster at the end.
How to integrate Investigating the First Thanksgiving into the classroom: Investigating the first Thanksgiving is an outstanding activity that involves students and makes them the historian. Use this site to teach students the history of Thanksgiving but also how history changes. This site does a great job of teaching students the difference between “the past” and “history”. It makes the distinction that the past is always true but history (the way we interpret the past) can change based on additional information and resources. You can go through the Investigating the First Thanksgiving interactive as a class on the interactive whiteboard, inviting student “historians” to come up and help guide the class through the activities. Or as a center or individually on classroom or lab computers. Finish the posters together as a class, filling in information, or each students can complete the final project. If you do complete as a class, give a copy of the final to each student.
Tips: There is a great teacher guide that accompanies this site and offers great ideas for using the interactive in the classroom.
Leave a comment and share how you are using Investigating the First Thanksgiving in your classroom.
Love this site! I used it with a group of fourth graders as a computer center and they really enjoyed it!