A Ninth Grade Integrated Technology Unit
By
Lisa Wagner
From Theory to Practice
Behind every myth are many possible truths allowing us to discover
who we were as peoples and who we are today.
Although few young people realize it, understanding the myths that are
part of our life (past and present) is an important activity because
their values and beliefs have been shaped by the stories they have
grown up knowing, by the education they have received, and by the
landscape within which they have lived.
All these contexts have contributed to their world views as individuals,
as members of families, and as members of communities.
These activities explore myths regarding the Wampanoag, the Native
Americans who interacted with the pilgrims in Massachusetts,
traditionally thought of as the participants in the "First
Thanksgiving."
Problem Statement
Today we are going to investigate the
following questions:
Did the Wampanoag bring the pilgrims
popcorn on the first Thanksgiving, as
some versions of the story would suggest?
Or is that just a myth?
Computer Integration
The students will be using the internet to
investigate problems.
Word processing will be used for
journaling and essay writing.
PowerPoint will be used for the final
presentation.
Performance Objectives
 Given instruction, students will use technology tools to enhance
learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity as
determined by portfolio submission.
 Given instruction, students will practice responsible use of
technology systems, information, and software as determined by
portfolio submission.
 Given instruction, students will develop strategies for critically
examining the origin and characteristics of myth as determined by
portfolio submission.
 Given instruction, students will develop discussions of the
diversities, similarities, and values in various Native American
cultural and story traditions as determined by portfolio submission.
 Given instruction, students will develop discussions of racist and
biased language and its impact on readers over centuries as
determined by portfolio submission.
 Given instruction, students will develop strategies for examining
messages for racial and cultural bias as determined by portfolio
submission.
Preparation
 Provide websites and books for each group if resources
allow. Groups may have slightly different reference
resources (for instance, encyclopedias from different
publishers), but all groups should have relatively the
same collection of materials on hand. Naturally, you can
encourage sharing among groups in the case of scarcer
resources.
 Make copies of the Common Myths about the “First
Thanksgiving” and the presentation rubric for all
students or prepare overheads or chart paper with the
information.
Common Myths about the
"First Thanksgiving"
 The Wampanoag brought popcorn to the first
Thanksgiving feast.
 The First Official Thanksgiving took place near
Plymouth Rock in 1621.
 The Native Americans the Pilgrims encountered lived
in tipis and traveled on horseback..
 The Native Americans wore elaborate head dresses
with many feathers.
 The Pilgrims shared pumpkin pie, corn on the cob, and
sweet potatoes (or yams) with the Wampanoag.
 The harvest feast celebrated by Pilgrims and
Wampanoags in the fall of 1621 was the first of its
kind in the Americas.
Group Assignment
Explain the myth that your group has been assigned by
answering these three questions:
1. What is a truth in this myth?
2. What are other truths behind this myth that might
contradict it?
3. What does the myth reveal about those who believe
it?
As a group, you may use any of the materials available to
help you understand and explain the myth. Use the
discussion rubric to assess.
Prepare a five-minute PowerPoint presentation to the class
that explains your understanding of the myth, using
graphics and music.
Procedures

Using word processing, complete the pre-reading
questions as homework, as an in-class free write
before the reading, or in oral class discussion.




What difference does it make who writes a story as long as
they tell the "truth"?
How can you tell when a story is true? What would indicate a
story wasn't true?
Have you ever read something that was presented as
nonfiction but that you knew was fiction?
Spend ten to fifteen minutes going over students' responses to
the pre-reading prompt. Write their answers on chart paper or
an overhead. (You'll return to these answers later in this
lesson, so save their responses.)
Procedures Continued


Read "Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford. As
students read, ask them to pay particular attention to
the way that Bradford talks about the Native Americans
that the colonists encounter. Identify the tribe of Native
Americans that Bradford and the colonists interacted
with as the Wampanoag (pronounced wham-pan-og,
syllables rhyming with Pam, Can, and Log).
For more information on the Wampanoag, see the
Boston Children's Museum's Teacher Resources on
Native American History and Culture found at:
http://www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag.html
Procedures Continued
 After reading, write two questions of your own
for the class to consider: one question that is
answered in the text and an "I wonder why"
question. Use word processing as a response
journal for this writing.
 In small groups, share your questions and
discuss answers.
Procedures Continued
 If students have not raised the issue
themselves, ask them to consider the
implications of vocabulary such as savage,
skulking, and aloof in relationship to the
following questions:
 What might readers conclude about the
Wampanoag or about William Bradford, the writer?
 What are the implications for a European audience,
for an audience that had never met the
Wampanoag or other Native American people, and
for a Native American audience?
Procedures Continued
 Think about Bradford's discussion of the "First
Harvest," which we would think of as the "First
Thanksgiving.”
 What do you notice about Bradford's report
that fits with your ideas about the first
Thanksgiving, and what seems unusual or
seems to have been left out? Respond to the
questions in your journals using word
processing.
Session Two
 In full-class discussion, have students share
their thoughts on the "First Thanksgiving" in
light of Bradford's report. Write their ideas on
the board or on chart paper. The idea is simply
to brainstorm a list for now.
 Pass out the Common Myths about the "First
Thanksgiving" Handout and Presentation
Rubric, or show the list on an overhead
projector. As you read through the list,
encourage students to connect items from
their brainstorming list with the myths on the
sheet.
Session Two Cont.
 Demonstrate the "myth-breaking" process
(outlined on the handout and below) by
answering the three myth/truth questions
about the first myth on the handout: "The
Wampanoag brought popcorn to the first
Thanksgiving feast."
 See the Plimoth Plantation Web page No
Popcorn found at:
http://www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampan
oag.html for background on the myth.
Session Two Cont.



Divide students into four to five groups, assigning each
group a myth from the sheet. Give groups a variety of
resources in which they might uncover truths about
common myths about the Wampanoag and the pilgrim
settlers.
Each group completes the think sheet, preparing to
share their findings with the entire class:
Explain your myth answering these two questions from
the think sheet:


What is a truth in this myth?
What are other truths behind this myth that might contradict
it?
Assignments
 As a Group:
 use any of the materials available to help
you understand and explain the myth.
 Individually:
 Using word processing, write a one page
essay that explains your understanding of
the myth.
Student Presentation
Using your journals and essay, summarize
what you have learned from the myths
into a PowerPoint Presentation. The
presentation must have at least five slides
with clip art at least one of the slides.
Find clip art on the internet or use one
from the word processor files.
Assess your presentation using the Myth
and Truth rubric.
Presentation Assessment
Overall visual Appeal
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
Readability of the Slides
Flow of Presentation
Effects and Transitions
Presentation Skills
Teacher as Facilitator
 As students work in their groups, circulate and
monitor student progress. Let them know a
few minutes before the work period will
conclude so that they have time to wrap up
their thoughts.
 Have groups present their myth to the entire
class, sticking closely to a five-minutes-pergroup guideline that you've established.
 Monitor student interaction and progress
during group work to assess social skills and
assist any students having problems with the
project.
Wrap-Up Activities
 Once all of the groups have presented,
return to the original pre-reading
questions:
 What difference does it make who writes a
story as long as they tell the "truth"?
 How can you tell when a story is true? What
would indicate a story wasn't true?
Category
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Needs Improvement
Understanding of
Topic
The team clearly understood
the topic. They
convincingly
demonstrated an
awareness of the biases in
the material that they
examined and the
relationship between bias
and culture.
The team clearly
understood the topic.
They demonstrated
an awareness of the
biases in the material
that they examined
and the relationship
between bias and
culture.
The team seemed to
understand the
topic. They were
aware of the biases
in the material that
they examined.
The team did not seem to
understand the topic
and/or were not
aware of the biases
in the material they
examined.
Presentation Style
The team consistently used
gestures, eye contact,
voice and enthusiasm in a
way that kept the
audience interested.
Creative
Easy to Follow
No unnecessary graphics
The team usually used
gestures, eye
contact, voice and
enthusiasm to try
and keep their
audience's attention.
The team sometimes
used gestures, eye
contact, and
appropriate voice to
keep their
audience's
attention.
One or more of the
members did not use
body language or
style to keep the
audience's attention.
Someone may have
been a distraction.
Information
The team presented
information that fully and
accurately explained the
origin and characteristics
of the myth. The
information was clear and
logical.
The team presented
information that
accurately explained
the origin and
characteristics of the
myth. The
information was
generally clear and
logical.
Most of the information
accurately
explained the origin
and characteristics
of the myth. There
may have been
some mistakes or
some things that
were not clear.
The information did not
accurately explained
the origin and
characteristics of the
myth and/or the
information did not
make sense.
Evaluation Rubric for PowerPoint Presentation
Poor Presentation
Good Presentation
Excellent Presentation
Score
Overall Aesthetics (This refers to the look of the slides, not the information presented.)
Overall visual
Appeal
0 points
Background makes the pres. hard to read. Graphics are
confusing and not related to words. Too much
movement in the slides. Many slides hard to read.
1 point
There are too few graphic elements. Appropriate
background. Some slides hard to read.
2 points
Appealing graphic elements are included appropriately.
Slides are easy to read and movement and sounds are
used effectively.
0 points
There are many errors in spelling, grammar and
punctuation. Bullet format is not consistent or clear.
Too much information on many slides.
1 point
There are some errors in spelling, grammar and
punctuation. Bullet format is not consistent on a few
slides. Too much information on two or more slides.
2 points
Score
There are no errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Bullets are consistent and clear. Information is clear and
concise on each slide.
0 points
Images move in front of text on many slides. Sounds are
irritating and confusing in most slides. Timing and order
of appearance is not consistent on many slides.
2 point
A few images move in front of text. Sounds are
irritating and confusing in a few slides. Timing and
order of appearance is poor in a few slides.
3 points
All images move properly in relationship to the text.
Sounds are used properly and add to the meaning of the
text. Timing and order of appearance flows smoothly in
each slide. All transistions are alike.
Score
0 points
Two or more of the presenters didn't know the
information and got lost often. Diction and voice level
made listening difficult. Role playing distracted
audience attention from the presentation
2 points
One presenter didn't know the information and they
got lost often. Diction and voice level made listening
difficult from for the audience. Role playing distracted
audience attention from presentation.
3 points
All presenters knew the information and progressed
smoothly through the presentation. Diction and voice
level engaged the audience in the presentation. Role
playing enhanced the information and held the audience
attention.
Score
Score
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
Readability of the
Slides
Flow of Presentation
Effects and
Transistions
Presentation
Skills
References
Barth, E., 1975. Turkeys, pilgrims, and indian corn: The story of thanksgiving symbols. New York: Clarion Books.
Battat, J. (2007). The Wampanoag. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from
http://www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag.html
Children's Museum's Teacher Resources on Native American History and Culture. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from
http://www.bostonkids.org/educators/wampanoag.html
Education World. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.edcuation-world.com/a_curr/curr040.shtml
Grace, O'Neill, C., & Bruchac, M. with Plimoth Plantation. (2001). 1621: A new look at thanksgiving. Washington, DC:
National Geographic.
McGovern, Ann. 1993. If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. New York: Scholastic.
Halsall, P., (1998, July). Modern History Sourcebook. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1650bradford.html
Johnson, Caleb. (2007). Mayflowerhistroy.com. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/
Kamma, A., (2001). If you were at the first thanksgiving. New York: Scholastic.
No Popcorn. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.plimoth.org/learn/history/myth/nopopcorn.asp
Sultzam, Lee. (2007). Wampanaog History. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.tolatsga.org/wampa.html
The First Thanksgiving: Facts and Fancies. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.plimoth.org/OLC/index.html
Utah State Department of Education. Retrieved February 3, 2007, from http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/