Technology & Thanksgiving??

This is an awesome opportunity from Scholastic to participate in a more "interactive" study of the First Thanksgiving this year!

Register for virtual field trips to the Pilgrim village and the Wampanoag homesite.  Whether you actually are able to watch the live webcasts or not, you'll receive really neat email letters from a Pilgrim girl and a Wampanoag boy that your class can read OR listen to together! 

I registered for the virtual field trips (which was a quick and easy online form), and received this email:

Dear Jennifer Smith,

Thanks for registering for the email portion of your free Thanksgiving Teaching Kit!

Your class will receive a series of letters from Lizzy, a fictional character based on historical records of life in the 1620’s, who writes from aboard the Mayflower, from the Plimoth Plantation, and ends with her excited rendering of the first Thanksgiving. Along with learning about this young Pilgrim girl, your class will also get to know 12-year-old Pometacomet, a fictional member of the Wampanoag nation, who describes life in the autumn when the Mayflower was first sighted, his first impressions of the "coat-men," and, finally, the great feast with the Pilgrims!

All letters come with audio to give added life to Lizzy and Pometacomet and enhance the drama of their stories -- as well as offering pronunciation to new vocabulary introduced. Visually, the emails appear on a parchment like background and are accompanied by photographs. The roll out of the letters is meant to provide an historical backdrop to and build anticipation for the Virtual Field Trips to come – and to give you time for class discussion about each set of letters. As part of your registration, you will also receive email reminders for these video tours.

Letters Schedule:

November 3:
Autumn 1620
Letter From Lizzy — A Message from the Mayflower
Letter From Pometacomet — Harvesting and Preparing for Winter

November 10:

Autumn 1620
Letter From Lizzy — Arriving at Plimoth Plantation
Letter From Pometacomet — Will We Live in Peace?

November 16:

Harvest 1621
Letter From Lizzy — The Thanksgiving Feast
Letter From Pometacomet — The Feast of the Pilgrims

Hang this sign on your door or in your classroom to share how your class is using technology to study Thanksgiving!

Sign up NOW!  First letter comes November 3!



Other Scholastic Thanksgiving Resources:

First Person Pilgrim Interviews by Scholastic

Historical Fiction letters from a Pilgrim girl and Native American boy (with Audio, too!) by Scholastic