Name

of Teacher Candidate: Hunterpaige Date: November 8, 2018

Central Focus: Thanksgiving Grade Level: Kindergarten

Lesson Title:
Lesson 6: The First Thanksgiving
Curriculum Areas Addressed: Social Studies; ELA

Time Required: 35 minutes Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small
group, partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous?
• Introduction & read aloud: whole group
(heterogeneous: different abilities and
comprehension levels)
• Activities & class discussions:(heterogeneous:
different abilities and comprehension levels)
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each
of the GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant.
• SSKH1 Identify the national holidays and describe the people and/or events celebrated.
i. Thanksgiving Day

• ELAGSEKRL6 With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the
role of each in telling the story.

As a result of this lesson/unit students will…
Be: (State the BE Bridge for the unit.)
• Be thankful for the people, things, and experiences in life.
• Be aware of other people’s feelings, cultures, and traditions.
• Be caring towards others.
• Be accepting of differences.

Relevant Goal(s): (The relevant goal states the overall purpose of the lesson. The purpose of the lesson is to …..)
• The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the events of the First Thanksgiving.
Essential Question(s): (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.)
• What happened at the First Thanksgiving?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the
discipline. These represent the skills that will be assessed.)

1. Students will be able to identify the length of the first Thanksgiving.

2. Students will be able to describe the events of the first Thanksgiving based on senses.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content
area. These may be derived from the standards.)

• Thanksgiving
• Gathered
• Sharing
• Contests
• Serving
• thanks

Elementary/Middle Childhood edTPA Lesson Plan Template John H. Lounsbury College of Education, Georgia College

• Plymouth

Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse,
syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their
disciplinary understanding. Identify the following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary
understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)

1.Students will use this academic language through listening to a read a loud of The Pilgrims’ First
Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern.

2. Students will use this language through discussion while participating in think-pair-share.

3.Students will use this language for a whole class discussion for lesson wrap up.
Language Function: (The language function is represented by the active verbs within the learning objectives. Common language
functions in the include identifying main ideas and details; analyzing and interpreting characters and plots; arguing a position or point of
view; predicting; evaluating or interpreting an author’s purpose, message, and use of setting, mood, or tone; comparing ideas within and
between texts; and so on.
• Identify details of the first Thanksgiving
• Discuss the groups that celebrated the First Thanksgiving
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences,
tables, or graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must
relate to the Language Function.)
Discourse: (Describe how the students will demonstrate/express their understanding of the Academic Language.)
• Students will express their understanding of the Academic Language when answering discussion questions during a read aloud of
The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern.
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Academic Language when completing a Thanksgiving senses worksheet.
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. Questions to consider: How will the KNOW, DO, and BE be evaluated? How will
students demonstrate their understanding or the lesson’s objectives? How will you provide feedback for the students? What type of
assessment will be used? Is the assessment formal or informal? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’
understanding/mastery of the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above.
Each learning objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.)
• 1. Students will hold up three fingers if the first Thanksgiving was three days or hold up 5 fingers if the first Thanksgiving was five
days
• 2. Students will accurately illustrate each of the five words in each senses box
Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about the
learner’s degree of success on an assessment.)
• 1. 15-21 students holding up three fingers= mastering; 8-14 holding up three fingers= progressing; 1-7
students holding up three fingers= lacking (mastering= ready to move on; progressing =will need to
review again; lacking=will need to completely teach again)

• 2. 15-21 students accurately illustrating each word= mastering; 8-14 accurately illustrating each word =
progressing; 1-7 students accurately illustrating each word= lacking (mastering= ready to move on;
progressing =will need to review again; lacking=will need to completely teach again)
Differentiation for IEP and Focus Students:
• IEP: if noticing that speech student says something incorrectly, repeat it back to him in the correct way
• JH: no differentiation needed
• DD: allow to verbally tell the number of days of the First Thanksgiving Feast
• LW: allow to verbally tell the number of days of the First Thanksgiving Feast

Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including
strategies/planned supports for whole-class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.)
• Little Pilgrim song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vannwwn2U&t=3s

Elementary/Middle Childhood edTPA Lesson Plan Template John H. Lounsbury College of Education, Georgia College

Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the
goals and objectives of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.)
• Tap into prior knowledge by asking students what holiday we have been talking about
• Tell students we will learn more about the first Thanksgiving while also revisiting information we have
already learned about the Pilgrims
Instructional Strategies and Planned Supports: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the
lesson. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and
physical development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.)
• Show students the book: The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
• Say that the author is Ann McGovern; ask, what did she do?
• Say the illustrator is Elroy Freem; ask, what did he do?
• Begin reading The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving
• Before reading page 8: pause to ask what season comes first? (winter)
• Before reading page 12: pause to ask what season comes next? (spring)
• Page 16: Pause to talk about Squanto
• Before reading page 24: pause to ask what season comes next? (summer)
• Before reading page 26: ask, what national holiday are we learning about?
• Page 26: ask students how long we celebrate Thanksgiving for now (one day)
• Page 26: ask students if they eat lobsters, clams, oysters, deer, etc. on Thanksgiving
• Page 28: who celebrated the First Thanksgiving? (Pilgrims and Indians)
• Page 30: review what it means to be thankful
• Activate prior knowledge by reviewing the 5 senses with students
• Tell students that we are going to pretend we are at the first Thanksgiving Feast
• We will add details from the Feast by using our senses
• Show students the senses worksheet
• Choose a table manager from each seating area
• Instruct the table manager to distribute their area’s crayons and pencils
• Call students by color row to get their worksheet, go to their seat, and wait for further instructions
• When all students are seated, explain that we are going to work through the worksheet together. (have
worksheet projected on the board)
• Before asking them to begin writing anything on the sheet, ask students to raise their hands to give
examples of what they may have seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled at the First Thanksgiving.
Write these examples in the appropriate boxes on the worksheet projected. (Instruct students to still not
write)
• Read off the options listed for each box; allow students to choose one option to write in each of the box
(have it modeled on the board so that they can copy it)
• After students have written their option in each of the five boxes, ask them to draw a picture that
illustrates their words.
• Give students 15 minutes to do so.
• Instruct table managers to return their area’s materials back to their storage.
• Call students by color rows to sit back on the carpet.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the content of the lesson will be summarized. There may be a review of the core concepts, relevant
goals, or essential questions.)
• Ask students to raise their hand to share interesting things they learned about the First Thanksgiving.
• Ask, is it different from how your family celebrates Thanksgiving?
Modifications/Differentiation to Support Student Learning
What will be differentiated? Choose one: Content/Process/Product
Process
How will differentiation be accomplished?
• Write words in multiple places on the board so that students can see them from all areas of the
room; repeat words multiple times to help students remember what they say.
What strategies will be used to differentiate for focus student 1?
• Product: J.H.: allow him to write complete sentences
What strategies will be used to differentiate for focus student 2?
Elementary/Middle Childhood edTPA Lesson Plan Template John H. Lounsbury College of Education, Georgia College

• D.D.: give more direct, explicit instructions one-on-one while completing the worksheet
What strategies will be used to differentiate for focus student 3?
• L.W.: give more direct, explicit instructions one-on-one while completing the worksheet
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create.
Attach key instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments,
slides, and interactive white board images.)
• Thanksgiving senses worksheet: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any
websites and sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4izq-rrow

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

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-first-thanksgiving/

http://time.com/4577425/thanksgiving-2016-true-story/

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

https://holidappy.com/holidays/Thanksgiving-Traditions-in-America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0bofuWCngY

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/american-celebrate-thanksgiving/2529775.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-was-on-the-menu-at-the-first-thanksgiving-511554/

Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development:
• Piaget: Children organize what they learn from their experiences. Children will talk about their
Thanksgiving experiences.
• Vygotsky: Scaffolding. I will build upon prior knowledge of Thanksgiving.
• Utilizing developmentally appropriate assessments and tasks based on typical development for
kindergarten students
• Developmentally appropriate to sit still through tasks that are around 15 minutes: breaking up
instruction time and tasks to allow students to have a break from sitting still

Elementary/Middle Childhood edTPA Lesson Plan Template John H. Lounsbury College of Education, Georgia College

• “Compared with younger children, kindergartners show more flexibility in their thinking, greater ability
to conceptualize categories, advances in reasoning and problem solving, and gains in knowledge of the
world, ability to pay attention, and use of memory.” -DAP, p. 200

Connections to Technology and/or the Arts:
• Little Pilgrim song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vannwwn2U&t=3s

Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker,
grade level coordinator, community experts, families, etc.)
• Collaboration with partner teacher over required standards, and IEP differentiation strategies
• Feedback from cohort members during class discussions

Elementary/Middle Childhood edTPA Lesson Plan Template John H. Lounsbury College of Education, Georgia College