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LZ Term III Ss Lesson Rev
LZ Term III Ss Lesson Rev
from a similar lesson conducted by Dr. Abby Reisman on the Battle of Lexington Green, in
which a series of paintings and written accounts provided multiple interpretations of these
events. I am also inspired by the worked of Jerome Bruner, who stated that one can introduce
any concept to a student at any age, provided that one presents it in a developmentally
appropriate way. My own experiences with young students have confirmed their ability to reason
and ask substantive questions. In this class in particular, students feel comfortable asking
questions, which is why I believe this activity has a good chance of being successful.
Secondly, many popular myths about Thanksgiving have been perpetuated through
images. I want students to begin to examine these images critically. I chose to focus on
Thanksgiving as a subject precisely because these misconceptions make it a topic ripe for
inquiry. In addition, it is something that all of the students will be familiar with in some way.
Finally, their teacher is conducting a series of lessons examining Thanksgiving from the
Pilgrims' perspective and the Wampanoag Indians'. I mean for this lesson to be a supplement to
her instruction as a more pointedly grounded in inquiry.
Goals/Objectives
This group will consist of six students, all second graders.
Students will begin to understand that history is an interpretation of the past.
Students will practice examining the credibility of sources.
Students will question what they know about the first Thanksgiving.
Standards: Common Core Standards for English &Language Arts
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8 Writing: Recall information from experiences or gather information
with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger
groups. a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways,
listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
b. Build on others talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. c.
Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under
discussion.
Materials and Preparation
Six copies each of Documents #1-3
Three copies of Document #4 (for partnered document analysis)
Document Analysis Worksheet (for partnered document analysis)
Pencils
Chart paper
Markers
Clipboards/oversized books to serve as writing surfaces (if students choose)
Six exit slips
Learning Environment and Management Issues
I will conduct this activity with six students in a small classroom down the hall. I chose this
location over the pod area outside the second-grade classrooms to minimize disruptions. There is
also a table that students may use for the two writing tasks, although they will have the option of
sitting on the floor or in chairs elsewhere in the room. The idea here is to give them a chance to
move around. During the group discussion, the students will be seated in a semicircle on the
floor in front of a wall on which I will post chart paper, in lieu of a whiteboard. This arrangement
approximates the environment for group discussion in the classroom, which takes place on a
carpeted area. The students are aware of the norms for this setup (raising hands to speak, giving
their classmates personal space), which will help the lesson to run smoothly, although I will
remind them of these norms at the beginning. Our close proximity will hopefully create a
conversational atmosphere and will also allow me to act quickly on distracted or disruptive
behavior.
Challenges I expect to encounter include distraction during the group discussion and
difficulty cooperating during the partnered activity. The students have participated in both of
these activities before, but they sometimes become distracted during whole-class discussions are
still learning to work cooperatively (which can be difficult at any age). I will attempt to hold
their interest by referring to their prior knowledge, gathered during the hook exercise, and using
talk moves that encourage students to respond to each other, asking them to agree, disagree, or
add on. During the partnered activity, I will give students the option of moving around so that
they will not have to sit in one place for more than twenty minutes.
Plan
Initial steps: reinforce norms: hand-raising, one person speaks at a time, listening to classmates
responses, asking yourself if you agree, disagree, have something to add (3 min.)
1) Hook: (5 min.)
I ask students, what do you do know about Thanksgiving? I will keep track on chart paper.
Most of us learn about the first Thanksgiving through books, other writing. Who has read such
a book?
Who has seen paintings or drawings of the first Thanksgiving?
When we learn about history, we call these things sources. They are ways of getting
information.
We are going to be looking at a few sources. I want you to ask yourself, "What is this
picture/writing telling me about the first Thanksgiving? How do I know?"
I also want you to think about where this source came from.
Most important, I want you to think about how these sources are different.
2) Body
A. Part I: Examining the Documents (15 min.)
1) Document #1: Image from Thanksgiving Picture Book (see end of lesson for
documents)
I will ask questions to direct students' attention to certain details.
Who is there? How many Pilgrims? How many Indians?
How do you think the Pilgrims and the Indians feel about each other?
Who created this source? Where do you think they got their information?
On chart paper, I will keep track on a pre-drawn chart of students' ideas about the
document. I will be clear that I am taking notes, so I will not be using complete
sentences and that this note-taking is an acceptable way of writing for this task.
2) Document #2: The First Thanksgiving, 1621
Who is there? How many Pilgrims? How many Indians?
How do you think the Pilgrims and the Indians feel about each other?
Who created this source? Where do you think they got their information?
Why do you think did the Indians came to the Pilgrims feast?
Do you think this is a better source than the others? Why or why not?
I will conclude by saying, we have three different stories of the first Thanksgiving from three
different sources. These different stories are sometimes called interpretations. In history, an
interpretation is one version or telling of an event.
B) Part II: Examining a source with a partner - Document #4 National Geographic
Kids (10 min.)
I will say, now you are going to have a chance to try this on your own. You will work with
a partner. One person will be the reader and the other person will be the writer. The
reader will read the document out loud, but quietly, to their partner. Together, you will
try to find the answers to the questions on the worksheet. The writer will write your
answers down. Because we dont have lots of time, complete sentences are not required
for this task (this is a special situation).
I will put the students in pairs myself: Dahlia and Maia, Ben and Nestor, Jamie
and Natalie. I will give the worksheet to each pair.
Students can sit at the table or on the floor, whichever they prefer.
Students will read the document in pairs. I will circulate to help pairs with reading
and writing as necessary.
I am expecting that the students will not be able to answer all of the questions in the time
allotted, and that I will have to stop them. If one group does finish early, I will provide a few
picture books on Thanksgiving with good historical information and interesting pictures for them
to look through to supplement their information.
3) Wrap Up
I will ask them to write one complete sentence for each question:
o What is one thing you learned today?
o What is one thing you still want to know?
To clean up, I will ask them to place their worksheets and exit slips in one pile, their pencils in
another, and to line up at the door to prepare to go back to class. Students who are done earlier
I will ask start helping me to clean up.
Total Time: 45 minutes
Assessment of Goals/Objectives
I plan to use a number of sources for assessment. First of all, I will pay close attention to
students responses during the group discussion of the first three documents, looking for
increasing attention to details in each source that depict the event (where the attendees sat, what
they ate) and differences between the sources. I am looking for verbal evidence that students are
starting to think critically about what the sources are telling them and that the sources offer
different interpretations of the same event. The partnered activity will give students a chance to
try this kind of analysis themselves. The worksheets and final discussion with provide both
verbal and written evidence of their learning. Finally, the exit slip will provide a brief snapshot
of what they learned, what they found interesting about the lesson, and whether or not I
succeeded in sparking their interest to learn more.
Anticipating Students' Responses and My Possible Responses
I am assuming that students will have typical background knowledge of Thanksgiving,
such as that Pilgrims and Indians came together in friendship for a feast, celebrated a good
harvest, and ate dishes such as turkey and sweet potatoes. All of the students have been at Penn
Alexander for over a year and have spent most, if not all of their lives, in the United States. Some
students might have learned about certain Thanksgiving myths already: if there is disagreement,
then I will acknowledge that, saying, This sometimes happens in history. In fact, I hope this
happens because it will help me make my point about the interpretive nature of history. In the
end, I want to complicate the mainstream story of Thanksgiving by building on what students
already know.
I believe that all of these students will be able to answer the more straightforward
questions that I pose, such as How many Indians and Pilgrims are there and What are they
eating? Questions that require more analysis or interpretation might be more difficult. My plan
is to use sufficient wait time to allow them to ponder these questions. I might have to use more
questions to scaffold their thinking. For instance, to answer the question, Why did the Indians
come to the Pilgrims feast based on the Edward Winslows letter, I might have to ask, What
have you learned in the past about why them came and Does Edward Winslow talk about these
things at all? I want students to continually compare the different interpretations of
Thanksgiving, and I expect that I will have to refer back to specific details from the previous
documents to guide their thinking. To the question of accuracy, I am hoping that at least one
student will note that as a primary source, Winslows account is likely to be the most accurate. I
will acknowledge this point, but then follow up by comparing it to the account from National
Geographic Kids, which contains additional information. If no one brings up the idea of a firsthand account, I will ask a question such as, Who do you think is the best kind of person to
describe an event, someone who is there or someone who was not there? and then go on to
complicate this idea.
Accommodations
I have purposefully chosen a group of students who I believe will work well in pairs and
support each other. Maia, Ben and Jamie are all strong writers, so I will give them the job of
writing during the partnered activity, and will support the other three students, Dahlia, Nestor,
and Ruben, who work more slowly on writing activities. Most of these students are fluent
readers, and some of them are even more advanced, so I do not expect them to have trouble with
the text; the only exception is Ruben, who I am not sure about, but I believe that partnering him
with someone like Jamie, a stronger reader, will enable him to participate. Most of these students
do not hesitate to participate during whole-class discussions. Dahlia, however, is often more
reserved, but I believe that my relationship with her (she was the subject of my Portrait of a
Learner) will make her feel comfortable. I expect to have to define certain terms in the Winslow
document during the discussion, and I plan to circulate during the partnered activity in order to
help students with reading or spelling certain words. For students who finish the activity early, I
will provide books to look through that talk about Thanksgiving in more depth and contain a lot
of interesting pictures.
Document #1:
Document #2: The First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899).
Document
#3:
Edward
Winslows
Letter
(modified)
"When
our
harvest
was
in,
our
governor
sent
four
men
to
hunt
fowl,
so
that
we
could
celebrate
together,
after
we
had
gathered
the
fruits
of
our
labors.
The
four
of
them
in
one
day
killed
enough
fowl
to,
along
with
a
few
other
things,
feed
all
of
us
for
almost
a
week,
at
which
time
among
other
Recreations,
we
shot
our
guns.
Many
of
the
Indians
came,
including
their
greatest
king
Massasoit,
with
about
ninety
men,
whom
for
three
days
we
entertained
and
feasted,
and
they
went
out
and
killed
five
Deer,
which
they
brought
to
the
Plantation
and
gave
to
our
Governor
and
Captain
and
others.
And
although
it
is
not
always
so
good,
as
it
was
at
this
time
with
us,
yet
by
the
goodness
of
God,
we
have
so
much,
that
we
often
wish
you
could
enjoy
what
we
have,
too."
NAMES:
The
First
Thanksgiving:
Whats
the
Story
Here?
DATE:
Examine
the
document
below,
a
description
of
the
first
Thanksgiving
from
another
source.
After
you
read
the
document,
think
about
and
try
to
answer
the
questions
below
based
on
what
you
have
read.
Document
#4:
From
National
Geographic
Kids
(a
website)
One
day
that
fall,
four
settlers
were
sent
to
hunt
for
food
for
a
harvest
celebration.
The
Wampanoag
heard
gunshots
and
alerted
their
leader,
Massasoit,
who
thought
the
English
might
be
preparing
for
war.
Massasoit
visited
the
English
settlement
with
90
of
his
men
to
see
if
the
war
rumor
was
true.
Soon
after
their
visit,
the
Native
Americans
realized
that
the
English
were
only
hunting
for
the
harvest
celebration.
Massasoit
sent
some
of
his
own
men
to
hunt
deer
for
the
feast
and
for
three
days,
the
English
and
native
men,
women,
and
children
ate
together.
The
meal
consisted
of
deer,
corn,
shellfish,
and
roasted
meat,
far
from
today's
traditional
Thanksgiving
feast.
They
played
ball
games,
sang,
and
danced.
Much
of
what
most
modern
Americans
eat
on
Thanksgiving
was
not
available
in
1621.
Questions:
Who
was
there?
How
many
Pilgrims?
How
many
Indians?
Why
did
they
have
this
meal?
What
did
they
eat?
How
long
did
it
last?
How
do
you
think
the
Indians
and
the
Pilgrims
felt
about
each
other?
How
is
this
source
different
from
the
others?
How
it
the
same?
Where
do
you
think
this
information
came
from?
NAME:
DATE:
Final
Questions
1) Based
on
what
you
learned
today,
WHY
do
you
think
the
Pilgrims
and
the
Indians
had
the
first
Thanksgiving?
What
do
you
think
their
reasons
were?
2) What
is
one
thing
you
are
still
wondering
about
the
first
Thanksgiving?
Where
do
you
think
you
could
find
this
information?
NAME:
Final
Questions
DATE:
3) Based
on
what
you
learned
today,
why
do
you
think
the
Pilgrims
and
the
Indians
sat
down
together
for
the
first
Thanksgiving?
4) What
is
one
thing
you
are
still
wondering
about
the
first
Thanksgiving?
Where
do
you
think
you
could
find
this
information?