History of Thanksgiving Lesson Slides

This slide show delves into the TRUE history of Thanksgiving. It reviews the celebration feast with ithe Pilgrims and Native Americans. It also reviews the violent history between the white settlers and the Natives. But, most importantly, it focuses on the real history of the Holiday in this country. The Holiday that many (including many different cultures) has celebrated for years as a day to thank God for all your blessings and to focus on having an attitude of gratitude as well as helping the poor. It reviews how George Washington enacted a day to Thank God for winning the War of Independence and ratifying a Constitution. And then it shows the Thanksgiving Day Proclamation written by Abraham Lincoln where he made it a national holiday as a way to thank God for all the blessings we have in the midst of a Civil War. And then it touches on how Roosevelt officially signed it into a national holiday. It also goes into some of the controversies involved in the Holiday.

It ends with a fun link to a video showing foreigners reacting to Thanksgiving Food.

I've done this lesson with kids of all ages, SpEd and GenEd. Both groups reacted well and came away learning at least 3 things.