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This Discovery Education video explores Indigenous perspectives on the first Thanksgiving, providing a more inclusive look at the holiday's history. By centering on Indigenous experiences, it highlights the cultural practices and contributions of Native American tribes, particularly the Wampanoag people, who were instrumental in helping the Pilgrims survive their first years. It also addresses the challenges, misunderstandings, and significant contributions of Indigenous peoples, offering a more balanced view of Thanksgiving than traditional narratives. This resource can encourage students to consider multiple perspectives and develop a deeper, more respectful understanding of Indigenous cultures and histories surrounding this holiday. Teachers can use the video to prompt discussions on historical empathy, perspective-taking, and the importance of acknowledging all voices in history.

tag(s): empathy (36), holidays (193), native americans (117), perspective (18), thanksgiving (24)

The National Museum of the American Indian contains an expansive collection of Native American artifacts. In addition, the museum's online offerings share photographs, media, and additional resources for educators and students. Browse through the homepage to view current exhibits and events; online events are clearly labeled, and there is a different section with a link to all online resources. Be sure to visit this site section to find links to various topics, including poetry, Native American women, and much more. Select the link from the dropdown box at the top of the page to view materials provided for educators. Included in the resources for educators is Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative, reviewed here, which offers many teaching resources, including lessons, media, and professional development webinars. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

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Studying art to understand history provides a means for understanding the past through visual representations. The Digital History Group shares this list of lessons and assessments that use art to teach about a wide range of world and United States history topics. After creating a free account, select any of the provided links to access downloadable lesson materials and activities. The lessons include teacher and student materials; assessments include a printable assessment, rubric, and links to necessary primary documents.

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Find support for teaching about Native Americans with the many resources found at Native Knowledge 360. Access live and recorded professional development webinars that feature guidance on the proper use of primary sources, understanding problematic narratives about Native Americans, and much more. Browse through the lesson resources to view and use featured activities, handouts, digital posters, and more. The search feature includes tools to filter searches by grade level, subject, region, or format of resources. Several lesson options are available in Spanish. This website also offers free virtual field trips led by museum educators; advance registration is required. These events fill up quickly; sign up to receive newsletters and updates to receive notification in advance of event signups.

tag(s): native americans (117), thanksgiving (24), westward expansion (39)

Learn about the history and significance behind many holidays through this video collection from PBS Learning Media. Begin browsing by choosing from fall, winter, spring, or summer holidays. Each section includes short videos explaining the history of the holiday. Learn about holidays such as Yom Kippur, Oktoberfest, Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Kwanzaa, Juneteenth, Father's Day, and many others! Each selection also includes links to standards along with additional links to supporting materials such as lesson plans or printable items. Not seeing a holiday you want such as 100 days of school? Use the search bar at the top!

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Take a virtual field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian Americans exhibit that features the American Indian identity since before the birth of the United States. Click on gallery images to read and learn more about the artifacts shared including coins, dolls, posters, and much more. Additional links take viewers to videos and displays telling the story of Thanksgiving, Queen of America (Pocahontas), The Removal Act, and The Indians Win.

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Left Brain Craft Brain is a blog created by a former chemical engineer combining her interests in engineering with her love of crafts. Browsing through the blog, you'll find many crafty STEM (and STEAM) activities. The categories include Projects, 5 Minute Crafts and What? Why? How? all with extensive offerings of inexpensive and free activities to teach science and technology to young students. Find the most popular posts and pages by scrolling down the page as you browse through the site. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter with updates on new crafts featured on the blog.
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Kid World Citizen offers a large variety of resources to encourage kids to become global learners and thinkers. Explore categories such as books, food, and art to find international learning activities. Look for topics on specific countries using the map search. Be sure to check out the For Fun area with links to movies, music, games, and toys.
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This collection of primary sources from the Library of Congress is organized around key topics and themes in American History. View Primary Source Set titles in alphabetical order from Abraham Lincoln through Women's Suffrage. Choose any topic to view Teacher's Guides and analysis tools including graphic organizers for students. Sort information to find materials meeting Common Core Standards, State Standards, or national organization standards.

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Learn the story behind the year with two U.S. Thanksgivings from this simple, yet interesting site. The short article tells the tale of President Roosevelt's journey to declare the official date for all states to celebrate Thanksgiving. View several documents, including letters and telegrams to the president voicing opinions on setting an official date for Thanksgiving.

tag(s): primary sources (120), roosevelt (15), thanksgiving (24)

Beyond the Bubble offers a new generation of history assessments that work hand in hand with Common Core Standards to provide a window into student thinking and promote academic literacy. Refered to as "HATS" (History Assessment of Thinking), assessments go beyond recall to applying facts in context. Choose the assessment link to explore topics such as "Civil Rights Movement in Context" or "Edison and a Kansas Housewife." Lessons also include an interactive rubric and sample student responses. Don't miss the going deeper activities, such as videos. Click links to download materials available in PDF format.

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Welcome to your one stop holiday shop filled with a plethora of Thanksgiving ideas. Look to the menu on the left to find the information, stories, recipes, blogs, crafts and Ecards that fill the site. Fun facts and folklore give the extras you might not even know about. Presidential proclamations from the past five presidents give insight into our country's historical perspectives and first hand information. Videos of recipes from the appetizers to the desserts help give a detailed explanation to make the perfect dish. This is a great site for much needed Thanksgiving information and celebrations.
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tag(s): blogs (67), crafts (74), thanksgiving (24)

Plimoth Plantation (that's the original spelling) is a reconstruction of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. Take a field trip to the Plimoth Plantation just in time for Thanksgiving. From Learn at the top menu, find and slide down to Bring Plimoth Patuxet to Your School and take a virtual field trip to an English village and Wampanoag home site from 1627. Go inside a Wetu, or home, and look. Become a historian and uncover what really happened on the first Thanksgiving. Primary sources give accounts from the Wampanoag traditions to the English home of Pilgrim Mary Allerton. Each student will finish with a printed exhibition panel. Dig into your ancestry to find out if you are a pilgrim. Find actual genealogical profiles. Explore the museum collections of artifacts. Find these resources under the Learn tab at the top menu; slide down to Teachers Tools, and scroll down the page until your find the resources menu on the left. Besure to check out the Digital Resources!
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tag(s): colonial america (95), pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)

The Census Bureau offers lots of Thanksgiving statistics, from the total weight of all the turkeys raised in the US to the total amount of food consumed on Thanksgiving. You can plan a huge party with this one!

tag(s): holidays (193), thanksgiving (24)

This site contains a short text explanation of events leading up to the first Thanksgiving held in 1621 and how that has led to today's traditions and celebration of the holiday. Although it is fairly short, it contains many facts which would be useful in a classroom study of Thanksgiving. There is a short quiz at the end based on the information included that can be reproduced and used in the classroom. Note - there is a link to a YouTube video midway through the information on the page, students may need to be cautioned that it isn't part of the activity.

tag(s): holidays (193), pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Thanksgiving. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Thanksgiving vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun. MyVocabulary seems to work best with Microsoft's Edge Browser.

tag(s): thanksgiving (24), vocabulary (243)

This informative website presents the students with information on numerous "Pilgrim" topics. There are authentic pictures and a lot of information. Topics include "Who Were The Pilgrims," "Who Were The Wampanoag," "The Mayflower," "Building a Home," and more!

On the right side of the website, there is a list of other relevant topics (Thanksgiving, Growing Food, What to Wear, Playing and Learning, What's for Dinner, and several others).

tag(s): colonial america (95), pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)

The Mayflower comes alive as you explore the passenger list with accompanying personal history and genealogy. Click on the Pilgrim History link for a history of Thanksgiving and other Mayflower-era topics, including authentic recipes.

tag(s): genealogy (8), pilgrims (12), primary sources (120), thanksgiving (24)

Investigating the First Thanksgiving - What was it really like?? Plimoth Plantation museum offers a Flash-based Thanksgiving lesson that will introduce students to the cultures and customs of both the Pilgrim and Wampanoag peoples. This presentation blends information about lots of everyday activities and customs with a look at what the actual "first Thanksgiving" might have looked like. Requires Flash. A message on the site warns that traffic near Thanksgiving can make the site very sluggish and offers directions to download it to your local computer.

tag(s): pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)