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 teaching thanksgiving 
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Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:10 pm
Posts: 34
ok.... so the plays about pilgrims and indians are nice, but untrue... how can i approach thanksgiving with my kindergarteners... i dont really want to get into smallpox and syphillus, but i want to teach the truth...

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Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:29 pm
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Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 5:32 pm
Posts: 22
I completely understand your delimma, it would be hard to teach kindergarteners about how the white man came in and got all the Indians (Native Americans) sick and then stole their land. I remember being really angry at my heritage for a while in elementary school when I found out the true history behind everything. I would just make sure to do a whole lesson about the heritage of the Native Americans. This is a history that is often neglected. I'd be sure to teach about their amazing culture and not simply the common misconceptions of feathers etc. Obviously you cant go into a great deal of detail, but provide actual facts about the culture, maybe games that were played and songs sung. That would be a great way to incorporate culture and heritage.


Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:52 am
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Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2002 4:05 am
Posts: 404
Location: Appalachian State University
Hi:

I wanted to give you a few selections here that might help you in the process of learning how you might teach about Thanksgiving.

Here is a book I would definitely buy if I was going to be teaching K-12 again:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/public ... toc2.shtml

More good ideas here, with some links you might like:
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/adult/thanksgi.html

You can find more resources by doing a web search using various terms such as "re-thinking Thanksgiving".

Here, too, is the link to the NC Standard Course of Study for each subject and grade level. I would argue that anyone who is teaching the standard "Thanksgiving Myth", is not, in fact, addressing the requirements of the standard course of study. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/

This section quoted below comes from the first grade objectives and competencies regarding what the children are to learn regarding holidays. It is wonderfully broad, and requires that you teach about "special days" from many different perspectives.

COMPETENCY GOAL 4: The learner will explain different celebrated holidays and special days in communities.
Objectives
4.01 Recognize and describe religious and secular symbols/celebrations associated with special days of diverse cultures.
4.02 Explore and cite reasons for observing special days that recognize celebrated individuals of diverse cultures.
4.03 Recognize and describe the historical events associated with national holidays.
4.04 Trace the historical foundations of traditions of various neighborhoods and communities.

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Tue Dec 02, 2003 1:21 pm
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