Thanksgiving

Have you wondered how the tradition of Thanksgiving began? As we are about to celebrate this year's Thanksgiving, I want you to reflect on the events which led to the celebration of this holiday. You will go back in time to recreate the events to share with students who may not be aware of why Thanksgiving is so significant to American history. When you and your family partake of your Thanksgiving meal this year, you too will share in the history.

You will use the links provided to gather information on the history of Thanksgiving. You will then use the information gathered after answering the questions as a guide to write a letter to a student in a country which does not celebrate this tradition telling them how and why the tradition started and how it has transformed from then to now. the tradition started The letter should be word processed then sent to a student of your choice via email. Be sure to retell the story of Thanksgiving as it occur. 

You will first form groups of four, then will click on the links provided to retrieve the information needed to answer the following questions in order to get an idea of what you are to include in your letter. 

Questions:

     1. Who are the Pilgrims and why did they come to America? Click on the link to find out.

https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/pilgrims

 2. Why and when did the first Thanksgiving take place?

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/

3. Who took part in the first celebration?

https://www.history.com/news/first-thanksgiving-colonists-native-americans-men

   4. What were they celebrating?

     5. What was included in the first Thanksgiving meal?

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal

  6. What is included in the Thanksgiving meal of today?

     7. When was Thanksgiving declared a national holiday and by whom?

https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving#:~:text=The%20House%20agreed%20to%20the,the%20Federal%20Thanksgiving%20Day%20holiday

8. How has Thanksgiving changed from then to now?

http://www.campustimes.org/2014/11/19/thanksgiving-how-times-have-changed/

 9. For this Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

You will now piece together the events as they happened then write a letter to another student who may not know the history of Thanksgiving to include the information you collected. For this part, it should be word processed and sent as an email to the student  you have selected to receive your correspondence.

As you celebrate Thanksgiving, you will now understand where and why the tradition all started and will realize that there is a lot to be thankful for. 

                                                                             References

First Thanksgiving Meal; History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal.

Thanksgiving 2020; History. Retrieved November 15, 2020 from https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving#.

The First Thanksgiving; National Geographic kids. Retrieved November 14, 2020 from https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/.

Thanksgiving, how times have changed; Campus Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020 from http://www.campustimes.org/2014/11/19/thanksgiving-how-times-have-changed/.

The Pilgrims; History. Retrieved November 15, 2020 from https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/pilgrims.

This WebQuest was created to give students an opportunity to use online resources to research the history of Thanksgiving, one of our country’s most celebrated holidays. At the end of this activity, students will know when, where and why the tradition of Thanksgiving began and how much it is celebrated today. When they celebrate this Thanksgiving, they will be more aware of the significance of the tradition to American history.