Lesson Plan
Teacher: P. Morgan
Subject: Social Studies
Unit Title: “The Truth About Thanksgiving”
Lesson Focus Questions & Objective(s):
 Students will analyze paintings and journal excerpts to evaluate the
interactions between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.
 Students will understand how the Pilgrims’ and Native Americans’
differences and attitudes resulted in the forming of stereotypes.
 Students will be able to recognize stereotypes and understand why
they are harmful.
Lesson Progression
Time
_2_
min.
_3__
min.
_15__
min.
_15__
min.
Class Starter:
 “We have now learned about the Pilgrims and Native
Americans in depth, and compared and contrasted
their cultures. Today we’re going to focus more on
their interactions with each other and their attitudes
towards each other.”
Review/ Connections to prior knowledge:
 What were some things the Native Americans and
Pilgrims had in common with each other?
 What were some of their main differences? These
differences contributed to the attitudes they held
about the other group.
Direct Instruction/Whole Group Learning Activity:
 When the Pilgrims first landed on American soil, how
do you think they felt about the Native Americans?
What do you think the Native Americans first thought
about the Pilgrims? Discuss their initial attitudes: the
Pilgrims thought the Native Americans were savages;
they only had their way of dress, speech, and initial
interactions to judge.
 Display an image of tbe painting “Pilgrims Going to
Church”
on the projector. Discuss the painting: what
do you notice? Why were the Pilgrims carrying guns to
church? Do you think the interactions between the
groups were all that peaceful?
Independent/Group Practice Activity:
 Split up the class into groups to further analyze their
interactions. Each group will read the attached
excerpts from a colonist’s journal and answer
questions about how the Pilgrims treated the Native
Students will engage in:
 Independent practice
 Small group work
 Project work
 Other:
What are students doing?/What are
teachers doing? (How will learning be
differentiated, scaffolded, etc.?)
Day(s) # 1
 Partner work
 Whole group
 Centers
Materials

The teacher will create a graphic
organizer of students’ responses on the
board to organize the information and
provide for visual learners.

Smart Board
or chart paper
to record
students’
responses

Students will occasionally be asked to
“turn and talk” to a partner to discuss
their thoughts before being asked to
share their thoughts with the whole
class.

Tbe painting
“Pilgrims
Going to
Church”
by
George Henry
Boughton

The class will be split up into mixedlevel groups to scaffold for students
requiring extra support.
Each student in the group will be
assigned a job: orator, discussion

Excerpts from
a colonist’s
journal in Lies
My Teacher
Told Me

_10__
min.
Americans. What were the Pilgrims’ attitudes towards
the Native Americans? Did they feel that they had a
right to rob them? Why did they feel that way?
Closure:
 Students share their observations and responses with
the class.
 Display a painting of a traditional Pilgrim-Native
American exchange on Thanksgiving. They will discuss
whether this is a fully accurate representation of the
interactions between the two groups.
leader, scribe, and timekeeper.

The image of
Thanksgiving
(can be found
at
www.kitchenpr
oject.com/hist
ory/thanksgivi
ng.htm
Homework assigned:
From Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen:
A colonist’s journal tells of sailors discovering two American Indian houses:
“Having their guns and hearing nobody, they entered the houses and found the people were gone. The sailors took some things
but didn’t dare stay…We had meant to have some beads and other things in the houses as a sign of peace and to show we meant
to trade with them. But we didn’t do it because we left in such haste. But as soon as we can meet with the Indians, we will pay
them well for what we took.
We marched into the place we called Cornhill, where we had found the corn before. At another place we had seen before, we dug
and found some more corn, two or three baskets full, and a bag of beans…In all we had about ten bushels, which will be enough
for seed. It was with God’s help that we found this corn, for how else could we have done it, without meeting some Indians who
might trouble us.
The next morning, we found a place like a grave. We decided to dig it up. We found first a mat, and under that a fine bow…We
also found bowls, trays, dishes, and things like that. We took several of the prettiest things to carry away with us, and covered the
body up again.”
Lesson Plan
Teacher: P. Morgan
Subject: Social Studies
Unit Title: “The Truth About Thanksgiving”
Lesson Focus Questions & Objective(s):
 Students will analyze paintings and journal excerpts to evaluate the
interactions between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.
 Students will understand how the Pilgrims’ and Native Americans’
differences and attitudes resulted in the forming of stereotypes.
 Students will be able to recognize stereotypes and understand why
they are harmful.
Lesson Progression
Time
_2_
min.
_3__
min.
_15__
min.
_15__
min.
_10__
min.
Class Starter:
 “Last time we looked at the interactions between the
Native Americans and the Pilgrims and saw that they
were not always as peaceful or understanding as we
had thought. Today we’re going to think more about
why this happened”.
Review/ Connections to prior knowledge:
 Because the Pilgrims didn’t know much about the
Native Americans and only saw their differences, they
made judgments about them and formed
“stereotypes”.
Direct Instruction/Whole Group Learning Activity:
 Explain and chart the word “stereotype” as a mistaken
idea about how a whole group of people think,
behave, or dress and discuss what’s wrong with
stereotypes. Why are they harmful?
 Give examples of stereotypes that relate to students’
own experiences and have them come up with
examples that they’ve seen or experienced.
Independent/Group Practice Activity:
 Have students search the classroom library for books
that might contain stereotypes and record them.
 Independent practice
 Small group work
 Project work
 Other:
What are students doing?/What are
teachers doing? (How will learning be
differentiated, scaffolded, etc.?)

Students will occasionally be asked to
“turn and talk” to a partner to discuss
their thoughts before being asked to
share their thoughts with the whole
class.

Students will work in pairs or mixedlevel groups to scaffold for students
requiring extra support.
Some students will have the option of
working on the classroom computers or
laptops to search for stereotypes.

Closure:
 Students share their findings with the class.
 Reiterate that stereotypes are hurtful because they
Students will engage in:
Day(s) # 2
 Partner work
 Whole group
 Centers
Materials

Chart paper


Class library
Computer
station or
laptops
distort people’s images of a group of people and their
rich culture.
Homework assigned:
Students will create posters about common stereotypes of various groups of people and explain why they are hurtful.

Construction
paper or
poster board