Thanksgiving Means More Than Giving Thanks

1. Thanksgiving Means More Than Giving Thanks October 19, 2009 Trish Baker

2. Education World Lesson plans and Webquests already created http://www.education-world.com/ And INFOhio Safe and reliable resources www.infohio.org

5. Introduction- The U.S Congress has decided to change the name of the holiday celebrated on the last Thursday in November. The name “Thanksgiving,” the lawmakers say, doesn’t capture the entire spirit of the day. The holiday should be a day for more than just giving thanks. Now, Congress has asked your class to help choose a better name.

6. TASK Working in teams, your class will *Brainstorm what the day called Thanksgiving is all about. *Research Thanksgiving customs and experiences. *Identify character traits that might be demonstrated in our Thanksgiving practices. *Choose a new name for the holiday. *Present your research and rationale for your new holiday name.

7. PROCESS Working in groups of four, complete the following steps: Step 1: As a group brainstorm everything that comes into your minds when you think of the holiday called Thanksgiving. Ask yourself the following questions- Who do you spend the day with? What do you do on that day? How do you feel on that day? What’s your favorite part of the day? What do other people do on Thanksgiving? What special events happen in your community? What special events happen in other parts of the country? Record your thoughts.

8. Step 2: Each team member will have a different role- #1 – The Historian #2 – The Newspaper Reporter #3 – The Social Worker #4 – The Team Leader

9. #1-The Historian: researches past Thanksgivings, beginning with the first Thanksgiving, and gathers at least 10 facts about the history of the day. The Historian will use INFOhio’s World Book Student and EBSCOhost, Student Research Center Grades 6-8 to take notes and create their bibliography. World Book Student gives citation information at the bottom of each article. While searching with EBSCOhost, filter your search by clicking “Primary Source Documents.”

15. Step 2 continued- #2- The Newspaper Reporter:researches the Thanksgiving events that happen in their own community along with events around the country. The newspaper reporter will use Newsbank and EBSCOhost’s Student Research Center Grades 6-8 from INFOhio’s Core Collection. The reporter will gather at least 10 facts about the events that happen during the Thanksgiving holidays and create a bibliography. #3- The Social Worker:researches character traits and makes a list of at least 5 traits other than gratitude. List the 5 traits and what they mean. The social worker will use EBSCO Images and the Student Research Center Grades 6-8. Use the Photo Analysis worksheet to record the character traits in the images you see. Look for your 5 words in World Book Student’s dictionary and record their definitions.

19. Step 2 continued- #4- The Team Leader:organizes the information grouping similar thoughts under such headings as ‘Our Thanksgiving Traditions” or “Past Thanksgivings.” The team leader also makes sure each group member is on time and on task. The team leader will take all bibliographies and create one bibliography for all the team’s research. Step 3: Each team member uses INFOhio’s electronic resources to find the information needed. Each researcher also takes notes and creates a bibliography.

20. Step 4: Team members will share their research, beginning with the Social Worker, who lists 5 character traits other than gratitude that might be considered when choosing the holiday’s new name. The Team leader records the 5 character traits. The Newspaper Reporter and the Historian share the facts they have gathered and the Team Leader records them. The team matches each character trait to a fact . Step 5: The team chooses one character trait it thinks bests fits the spirit of the November holiday, and creates a new name around that character trait.

21. Step 6: The team works together to create a PowerPoint presentation: The Historian creates one slide with 3 to 5 bullets listing the most important facts about the past Thanksgivings. The Reporter creates one slide with 3 to 5 bullets containing the most interesting events that happen in your community or around the country. The Social Worker creates one slide listing 3 to 5 character traits and what they mean.

22. The Team Leader creates a title slide and two concluding slides. The first concluding slide presents the character trait the team decided should be emphasized on the November holiday and explains why that character trait was chosen. The final slide shows what your team thinks the new name for Thanksgiving should be.

23. The class votes on the best name to recommend to Congress!

24. More lesson plans, webquests and fun activities from Education World! Pumpkins! http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson323.shtml

31. Another Education World WebQuest -- Women of the Century Propose to students the following scenario: You have just accepted a job as one of the editors of a new encyclopedia that will highlight the greatest women in history. You need to research potential candidates For recognition in your field of specialty – the arts, medicine, politics, science, or sports – and select the women who are most deserving of inclusion in the Encyclopedia of Notable Women.

37. Another site with ideas and activities! www.abcteach.com

42. Another idea using Worksheets from www.abcteach.com

49. Online Citation makers www.easybib.com www.bibme.org (free but have to register) www.citationmachine.net World Book Student Citation Maker

50. Any other ideas or suggestions to share? Thanks for your time.