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Teaching
Guide
A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim
produced by
Anne Gallagher
Web Institute for Teachers, Summer, 2004
Menu
Introduction
Aim
Rationale
Goals
and Objectives
Audience
Prerequisites
Subject-Matter
Instructional Plan
Materials
Assessment and Evaluation
Implementation Plan
I have designed a curriculum Web Quest that will provide teachers with activities that will help students learn more about the life of a Pilgrim and the First Thanksgiving.
The aim of this
Web
Quest is to help students in grades 4-5 better understand what the life
of a Pilgrim was like and the struggles they went through to find a better
life.
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Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated every year in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. In the past, I have noticed that many students do not know about the events that led up to the First Thanksgiving. In this educational module, the students will become Pilgrims and experience the same things that the Pilgrims did in the 1600's as they struggled to break free from English rule. The students will answer questions and keep a journal telling how they would feel if they were a Pilgrim child. The students will then use the information they collected to create paragraphs that contain correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Writing will help to prepare the students for the ISAT test. Students will also create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast a Pilgrim's life with their life. After all the information is collected, the students will work on creating a Power Point presentation.
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State goal
1B-Students
who meet the standard can apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency. |
| Objective: Students will be able to set a purpose for reading and use questioning strategies to improve knowledge. |
|
State
goal 3A-Students who meet the
standard can use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
structure. State goal 3C-Students who meet the standard can communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes.
|
|
Objective: Students will use correct
spelling, grammar, and punctuation to complete paragraphs. |
| State goal 5A-Students who meet the goal can locate, organize, and use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems, and communicate ideas. |
| Objective: Students will use the internet and previous knowledge to answer questions and communicate knowledge. |
| State goal 16A- Students who meet the standard can apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation. |
| Objective: Students will be able to identify the aspects of Pilgrim life. |
This project is
designed for students in grades 4-5.
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Students should have
prior computer skills and basic knowledge of the internet.
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Social Studies and
Language Arts will be the main focus of this activity.
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○Teachers should begin
the lesson by reading The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead
George
to their students. Teachers will then do a class KWL on chart paper detailing what the students know and then
what they want to know about the First Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.
○Students will then choose a partner that they would like to work with to
begin the Web Quest. Before students can begin the web quest they must
create a Pilgrim journal that they will use
to record the information that they find. Students will visit various web sites and answer
questions based on three topics: The Pilgrims and their journey on the
Mayflower, the First Thanksgiving, and life in Plymouth.
○As the students are collecting information, they will enter information into their journal that details personal feelings. After all the information is collected, students will use a graphic organizer to arrange their ideas. Teachers may use any graphic organizers they wish for this part.
○Students will then write paragraphs based on what they have learned. The finished paragraphs should be checked for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
○Students will also be asked to use a map of Massachusetts
and identify information about the Pilgrim's journey on the Mayflower.
○Students will also complete
a Venn Diagram that compares and contrasts the life a Pilgrim child to their
life.
○After the activities have
been completed, the students will work with their partners to complete a
simple Power Point presentation. Before the students begin working on
Power Point, print out the directions
for Activity seven so each group has a set of directions in
front of them. To view a sample Power Point presentation, click on the
link.
**IMPORTANT** Power Point must be installed on your computer for this link
to work. If the sample presentation does not open, click save and save
it to your desk top or my documents.
Students
will have to browse through various web sites looking at pictures that
detail Pilgrim life (e.g. clothing, houses, etc.) that can be put into their
projects.
○Once the Power Point projects are
completed, have the partners present their projects to the class with a
brief explanation of what they did.
○After all the presentations are completed, the teacher should work with the students to complete the KWL chart by filling in what the students learned.
Computer with internet access and Power Point
Social Studies book
Paper/pencil
chart paper
9" x 12" construction paper
graphic organizers/Venn Diagrams
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George (or any book listed in the Reference section of the guide.)
Assessment and Evaluation
Students assessments will take place throughout the duration of the project. They will include the following points:
° completed journals
° completed quiz
° completed paragraphs (content, grammar, spelling, punctuation)
° completed Power Point projects
° oral presentations
My classroom has one internet linked computer that runs very slow. In order for everyone to complete my Web Quest on the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving, I will need to reserve the computer lab. The computer lab in my school has at least 25 computers along with a teacher computer that is connected to a projector. I will have about 28-30 students in my classroom. Since this project requires the students to work in pairs, there should not be a problem with computer availability. Lap tops are also available to be checked out if needed.
Before entering the computer lab or using the lap tops, students will be given a briefing on the correct usage of computers. The students have had previous experience in the computer lab and have used the internet before. When we begin the Web Quest, we will begin as a group and go one task at a time so that no one is on a page that they should not be on.
Because my Web Quest deals with Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving, it will be most relevant for me to being the quest the last week of October and work up until Thanksgiving. If additional days are needed, I will arrange for the lap tops to be signed out.
The Power Point presentations are what I believe the students will need the most help with. I will arrange for the students to have one 30-45 minute session in the computer lab to go over the aspects of Power Point. I will use the teacher computer with the projector to show the students step by step what needs to be done. The computer teachers are in the computer lab at this time and I will use them for additional help. They have always been very helpful in the past.☺
I hope that once the projects are completed, I can link them to my web site so the students will be able to share their completed projects with family and friends.
Books:
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George
The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
The Story of Thanksgiving by Nancy J. Skarmeas
Web sites:
DLTK's Holiday Activities for Kids
Aristotle's Thanksgiving on the Web
Discovery School's Puzzlemaker
Click image to return to
Ms. Gallagher's page
The information in this
instructional guide was developed
by Anne Gallagher. Based on a previous version by Janet Gray-McKennis
which is based on previous versions created by Craig Cunningham,
Mecca Murphy, Nenette Luarca, Nicole Zumpano, and Linda Dernbach. Last updated on July 30, 2004. |
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