Telling the Thanksgiving story accurately and respectfully

Hello colleagues, Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday when we take time to express appreciation for all the blessings of life. Engaging learners in talking about the things they are grateful for can be a valuable classroom activity. Learners can even create a simple slide show to present to the class to integrate technology in personally meaningful ways. 

Some teachers may want to expand on the Thanksgiving theme for a history/civics lesson. The National Education Association site features some tips and resources for presenting an accurate and respectful aspect of Thanksgiving history.

Here are some of the "key takeaways:

  • Replace “Indians” and “Pilgrims” with more specific names: Wampanoag and English or Separatists. As responsible educators, we need to encourage our students to use more accurate terms.
  • Tell the story of the Wampanoag, who were instrumental in helping the English survive. It’s important for students to learn that Wampanoag still exist today.
  • Research Native tribes in your area and invite them to give a lesson at your school. There are over 500 tribes spread throughout the U.S. If you don’t have tribes close to you, build partnerships with Native American organizations and local museums and universities."

Feel free to share additional Thanksgiving related materials for the classroom. 

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition Group

Comments

This is quite belated, but maybe someone will search Thanksgiving next November and find this. I've found that students are interested in the story of the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (https://www.wlrp.org/). Both the history and reclamation of the language, plus some of the etymology of words well-integrated into English (https://www.wlrp.org/fun-with-words) are intriguing to English language learners.