Learning about Thanksgiving!

During the couple weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, we took some time to learn more about the significance of the holiday. 

Native Americans

We began by reading non-fiction books and watching a great video that gave us a glimpse into the homes and lives of the Wampanoag (Native American) people. We kept track of our new learning:

In the video and in our books, we learned that the Wampanoag couldn't just go to the store to buy clothes and food. The men hunted for food using bow and arrows and traps and they planted and gathered food from the fields. In addition, cooking wasn't done in an oven--they used a fire to cook food. The women made clothes out of deer skin and they used animal fur as coats and blankets to keep warm since they didn't have heaters back then. 

Each student got to create his or her own Wampanoag. Unlike the originals, though, these were make from brown paper bags rather than animal skin ;)

The students chose to reference books from our classroom to help them create the most accurate Wampanoag possible. 

On the video, we noticed the different designs on the clothes and discovered that the Native Americans drew symbols for things that were important to them. Students were given a reference page of symbols but were also encouraged to come up with their own.

This student decided to make Hashem's bed as a symbol on his Native American! 

This student commented that corn was important to the Wampanoag for food so she created a symbol for it!

We also learned a fun Native American stone game. Each player has a bag with 10 stones, 3 popsicle sticks with a design on one side, the direction page below, and a 10-frame (to help with keeping score). 

This was a class favorite! And it was the perfect time to practice saying, "Good game" to the other person no matter if you win or lose! I was very proud!

Pilgrims

We learned about how rough things were for the 102 passengers onboard the cargo ship called the Mayflower. 

We learned that the Pilgrim kids could only choose one toy to bring with them for the long journey (66 days!) since there was so little space on the ship. The students thought about what one thing they  would pack:

"I would take (a hair) bow."

"I would take my cat."

"I would take a yo-yo."

"I would take all my Pokemon cards."

"I would take Transformers."

We learned that the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth during the winter and many of them ended up dying from the cold and sickness. We learned that they would create quilts to keep them warm so we created some as well!

They loved having me try to 'guess my pattern!'

And, of course, we talked about the things for which we are grateful: 

Notice the bottom right corner where one student asked if he could add just one more thing.

He sounded out my name and used correct capital letters and everything (it was too long so it loops down).

They are just so sweet :)

"I am thankful for cookies."

"I am thankful for G-d protecting us."

"I am thankful for going to Pittsburgh."

"I am thankful for my family."

"I am thankful for firemen."

"I am thankful for daddy."

"I am thankful for the Pilgrims."

"I am thankful for family."

And, last but not least, our wall of NOT turkeys ;)

So well-disguised!