1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Pilgrim Activities With Me

Do you read ”The Littlest Pilgrim” by Brandi Dougherty? 

I think part of the reason my students enjoy this story so much, is that they truly identify with Mini, the main character, for they too are young and often feel left out.

Mini is too little to chop wood, bake bread, hunt, build a cabin, or fish. (A nice list of things that the Pilgrims did).

However, she’s not too little to pick berries and make a special Native American friend; which in truth is the very essence of why the Pilgrims survived.

Because of my students’ enthusiasm for the story and their empathetic identification with Mini, I designed 3 quick, easy and fun writing prompt activities that I think your students will enjoy.

* The first one: “When I was younger I was too little to . . .” features 4 different “toppers” for them to choose from then color. See the samples on the cover.

* The next one is a comparison-contrast activity, where students complete the prompts: “It’s great being a kid because…” then compare that with “I look forward to being an adult because…”
Students can choose a boy or girl Pilgrim worksheet.

* Finally, a Pilgrim girl bookmark, has children make a list of words (character traits) that describe Mini.

The activities are different enough so that you can do all three, or give children a choice of the top two, then build vocabulary and practice descriptive character traits, as a whole group.

Besides the black & white patterns for students, I’ve also included full color templates, so that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share. My finished examples are also included.

To practice "text to self" we discuss times in our lives that we felt just like Mini.

Completed projects make a sweet bulletin board. 

I’ve included 2 posters for the center of your display. 

Because my storytelling slider craftivities craftivities have been so popular, I decided to design one to go along with "The Littlest Pilgrim" as well. 

This craftivity is a quick, easy and fun way to reinforce the "sequencing and retelling a story" standards, while relaying factual information about the Pilgrims at the same time.

Children color the objects on the “slider strip” then cut and glue it together.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner or reading buddy, then take their Pilgrim home to share with their family, once again practicing these standards.

Storytelling sliders are also an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension.

I’ve included a “sequence the story” worksheet for this, where students color and trim the picture “windows” then glue them in the correct order on the blank worksheet.

So that you can quickly and easily make an example, I’ve included a full-color slider pattern.  There are patterns for both a boy and girl Pilgrim.

I’ve also included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension plus practice sequential writing, hopefully using a variety of ordinal numbers or other transitions.

The featured FREEBIE for today are some fun acorn-themed craftivities, which make a nice "sanity saver" for the last day before vacation. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for popping over.

The Sandhill Cranes are migrating and make a stop over in a marsh close by.

So time to bundle up to go see this truly awesome sight, as literally 1,000s swoop in honking away. Wishing you an inspiring day.

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes

1-2-3 Come Learn About Pilgrim Children With Me!

Happy TBT (Throw Back Thursday!) Here are a few "Oldies" but "Goodies" that I think you'll enjoy.

Having taught about the first Thanksgiving and Pilgrims for years, I thought I was pretty knowledgeable.  My husband and I also visited the outstanding Plimoth Plantation, in Plymouth Massachusettes, which made me appreciate the hardships these people endured even more.   If you've never been to this historical place, I highly recommend it!

I thought it would be fun to delve into the life of a child during 1620.  I felt students would find it very interesting to compare themselves with a Pilgrim child's life. 

After over 30 hours doing research, visiting countless websites and perusing 20+ books, I learned so many interesting facts, and truly enjoyed this journey of discovery.  I hope you will too.  Click on the link to view/download the Pilgrim Children Packet.

Start with the KWL to see where your kiddo's are at.  I've included one in color to do as a whole group, and another in black line for students to fill in on their own. 

Afterwards, introduce your study, by reading several non-fiction as well as fictional books.  I've included a bibliography of 25 of my all-time favorite Pilgrim books.  Later, ask your students if they think that the Pilgrim children who lived during that time period, were really different than the children of today.

I feel there is no better way to launch children into comparison and contrast, that's easy and understandable, than to use Venn diagrams.  I've included 12 different Venn diagrams in the packet, so that children can compare & contrast clothing, chores, homes, and education, as well as games and toys.

Students can work independently, with a partner, or you can do the Venn diagrams as a whole group activity. 

Personally, I'd start as a whole group and use the partially filled-in Venn diagrams, so that students can learn more interesting facts about the Pilgrim children.

Each Venn diagram has a blank template, as well as a partially filled in one. The circle for present day children can be filled in via a discussion.  Choose a different Venn diagram each day, so interest remains high and the amount of content is not overwhelming. 

After you have completed all of the Venn diagrams as a whole group, have children pick a partner, and choose a blank Venn diagram to fill in together.  This not only reinforces facts, but becomes a tool for you to assess comprehension as well.

Now that students have quite a bit of knowledge about Pilgrim children compared to the children of today, have a discussion where students process this information and come to some conclusions.  There's a writing extension for this.

I've also included 4 graphic organizers for even more writing practice + several interesting writing prompts that I think your students will enjoy. 

I made a list of the 31 children who were aboard the Mayflower and included their ages.  Your kiddo's will find some of the names rather odd, like Truelove, Humility, and Wrestling. 

Have students choose a Pilgrim child and write a letter to them.  Based on their new knowledge, they could also write a letter back written from the Pilgrim child's point of view! 

Besided writing, I wanted to toss in a bit of math.  Finding interesting measurement activities is not always easy, but the Mayflower as well as the Pilgrims' homes, provide great segways.  I've given the dimensions and converted square feet for you, so that you can chalk off the hold of the ship, where the Pilgrims were crammed for 65 long days, as well as the measurements of the Pilgrims' 1-room homes. 

When your students stand inside the chalk lines they will truly understand size and the cramped conditions these children experienced!

Finally, I know your kiddo's will enjoy learning about the games Pilgrim children played, as well as what toys they had.  You can start out by asking students if they think that the games they played were different than what some children of today play. 

They may be surprised to find out, that some of the games that the Pilgrims played are still around today, and that many common games, were derived from days of old. 

I've listed directions of how to play a dozen games, including the popular Nine Man's Morrice (pictured), which is available as an APP.  I hope your personal little Pilgrims will enjoy them. 

All of these activities can be found in the Pilgrim Children Packet click on the link to view/download it.  Now that your students are familiar with the life of a Pilgrim child, scroll down to the next article, and have your kiddos write letters to their classmates, as if they were really a youngster living during this tiime period.  

Thanks for visiting.  Now that some of my computer work is done for the day, it's time to make a big pot of vegetable beef barley soup.  The frost is indeed on the pumpkins, so it's the perfect day for a nice hot bowl of mmm mmm good!

"Be thankful for what you have and you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -Ophra Winfrey

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fall Writing With Me

Since the "Apple Sense" craftivity was downloaded quite a bit, I decided this format would also work well for Pumpkin Sense.   No matter what grade your students are in, they need to be reminded to use their senses to make their writing "come alive."  The use of adjectives is equally important, and such a simple thing to explain using examples.  I find that if students can add a bit of art to their creations, writing is more fun and completed projects make wonderful bulletin boards that build self-esteem.   

Run off the pumpkin template on orange construction paper.  Students add a bit of color to the the stem, with a green crayon.  You can make this even cuter, by having students trace their hand (with their fingers spread) onto a sheet of green construction paper, trim and glue their "leaf" next to the stem.  Adding a photograph gives things that finishing touch.

Run the "pumpkin guts" off on yellow construction paper.  Students trim and fill in their answers.  Before hand, discuss the 5 senses, as well as what an adjective is, explaining the importance of using both to write better.  

Brainstorm words that can be used to describe a pumpkin using the various senses and write them on the board.   Students can draw from this word bank when they write. 

So that they are practicing starting a sentence with a capital letter, have students write a complete sentence, rather than filling in their answer.  Review proper end punctuation.  To make sure that they use adjectives, encourage students to underline them.

You may want children to write a rough draft, checking to make sure that every noun has a descriptive word before it.  Can they think of a better word to describe what they are seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, etc?  When they are satisfied with their final draft, they can write it on the yellow insert.   Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Sense craftivity.

Continuing with adjective practice, I designed a Describing Fall packet. 

Students think of words that describe the various fall themes: school, apples, leaves, pumpkins, spiders, bats, scarecrows, sunflowers, turkeys and Pilgrims, and then fill in the appropriate boxes with adjectives.  Once they have done that, students incorporate several words into 1 or 2 sentences that they write on the back of their worksheet. 

Children can add a bit of color with crayons or markers.  When everyone is done, have them share their work.  I've also included a definition of an adjective anchor chart. Click on the link to view/download the Describing Fall Adjective Writing packet.

If you're looking for more activities involving the 5 Senses you may like Sam's Senses craftivity.  Children cut and glue the labels to Sam the pumpkin man.  What makes Sam special is that his hands are the traced hands of the student.  Click on the link to view/download Sam. 

My Fall Senses, is a quick and easy candy corn graphic organizer that again helps students practice their writing skills.  Click on the link to view download this fall writing activity.

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and write daily, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.   If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful-educational items that I PIN, click on the heart button to the right of the blog. 

"Strength: A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence." -Unknown