Library of Congress
Loc: Primary Source Set: Thanksgiving
Teaching guide that uses primary sources to cover the history, traditions, and events of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Provides additional online resources.
![National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf] Website")
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf]
This study guide gives information about the Native Americans who were living in the area where the Pilgrims landed in 1620 and information about the new settlers too. The myth of the title concerns the friendly meal shared by the...
Other
Boston Women's Heritage Trail: Sarah Josepha Hale
Although few know her name today, Sarah Josepha Hale was one of the most influential women in nineteenth century America. She used her position as editor of Godey's Lady's Book to effect a wide range of social changes, including the...
Mayflower History
Mayflower history.com: Brief History of Thanksgiving
Describes what is known about the history of Thanksgiving and of the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims in 1621.
Other
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Everything you would want to know if you are planning a trip to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. There is a photo tour of the parade, a route map, parade history, and hotel and dining information.
Read Works
Read Works: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text telling the story of the first Thanksgiving. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: Give Thanks
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Thanksgiving Day, how it originated and how it is celebrated today. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: Thanksgiving Day
[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about a girl named Jenna who celebrates Thanksgiving with her family. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Other
Richards Free Library: Sarah Josepha Hale 1788 1879
Newport, New Hampshire pays homage to one of its own with this biography of Sarah Josepha Hale. Read about how Hale became a magazine editor, a novelist and poet, and one of the most determined and influential people in American society,...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Thanksgiving Crafts, Decorations, and Printouts
Enchanted Learning provides a wealth of Thanksgiving-related ideas for crafts, decorations, and activity worksheets. Make a turkey from handprints and footprints, create a thankful leaf wreath or a easy-to-make scarecrow, or follow the...
Other
Newport, New Hampshire: Sarah Josepha Hale (1799 1879)
Learn about Newport, New Hampshir's "most famous native," Sarah Josepha Hale. When you learn of her many accomplishments, it is easy to see why the town is so proud of her, and why she is important even today.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Crafts for Kids
Choose from dozens of simple crafts including activities for the holidays, animal crafts and much more.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story" by Chuck Larsen
A learning module that begins with "The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story" by Chuck Larsen, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
abcteach
Abcteach: Thanksgiving
[Free Registration/Login Required] At this site, you can find some useful and fun children's activities to use in developing a unit around Thanksgiving.
Library of Congress
Loc: For Teachers: Holidays: Themed Resources
A rich resource page with links to primary source information about a number of holidays and special days, such as presidential inaugurations.
Library of Congress
Loc: Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
In this activity, students discuss the reliability of a painting of the First Thanksgiving to introduce the idea that is crucial to consider a source's date.
Other
20/20 Technologies: Thanksgiving History
This site gives links that give the history and detail the first Thanksgiving in America. Links to primary source material.
US National Archives
Nara: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving
From the National Archives, an essay on the establishment of the American holiday of Thanksgiving as a legal holiday starting with the original proclamation in 1789 celebrating it on different days or months up to the 1941 resolution...
A&E Television
History.com: The First Thanksgiving Celebration
[Free Registration/Login Required] Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Become a Thanksgiving Historian
Students may be surprised to find out that some ideas they have about the history of Thanksgiving are actually myths. In this lesson students become a true "Thanksgiving historian" by completing a Venn diagram about the Wampanoag people...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: A History of Thanksgiving
This self-paced lesson provides historical context for Thanksgiving and presents students with writing-based activities.
Math Drills
Math Drills: Thanksgiving Math Worksheets
Download these free worksheets to sharpen your math skills. These Thanksgiving math worksheets focus on topics including comparing, patterning, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
A&E Television
History.com: Colonists at the First Thanksgiving Were Mostly Men Because Women Had Perished
According to this account (elements of which continue to be debated by historians, especially regarding the presence and role of Native Americans), the historic event didn't happen on the fourth Thursday in November, as it does today,...
A&E Television
History.com: How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition
How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition. In 1876, Yale beat Princeton before a sparse crowd, but by the mid-1880s, their annual contest was a major social event that attracted thousands of fans in...