A Close Reading Investigation with Annotation Guide
& Common Core Analysis
Common Core!
Thanksgiving
Exposed!
Copyright © 2016 Instructomania
"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe
The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
1. Now that you know
about the true roots of
Thanksgiving, what’s
inaccurate in these
famous paintings?
2. How would the true
story be painted
differently?
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
thanksgiving Exposed!
Copyright © 2016 Instructomania
The FIRST THANKSGIVING
I n the typical story book version of the first
Thanksgiving, we remember how the
Pilgrims settled New England, befriended
the Indians, and enjoyed a huge friendly
feast, eventually paving the way for the creation
of a new nation, the United States of America.
This watered-down storybook version of this
important period of time in American history
leaves out so many important facts, and raises
many questions: With the pre-Columbian
American Indian population numbering in the 10
million range, where were all of these Indians
when the Pilgrims arrived? How did the Pilgrims
know how to cook and eat pumpkins, squash,
and turkey, when none of these foods were
known to them in the Old World? Who was
Squanto, and why did he help the Pilgrims?
These important questions can help us crack
open the truth about Thanksgiving, exposing the
true story.
WHERE DID ALL THE INDIANS GO?
When the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts,
they found the Indian village of Patuxet, with
recently planted fields of corn and beans, nicely
cleared fields, a good harbor, and a bustling
creek of fresh water. It was a lovely Indian
village…with no Indians. What the history books
won’t tell you is that these Indians had been
decimated by disease just a few years earlier. If
the Pilgrims had arrived in 1618, perhaps, they
would have encountered the same village,
bustling with Indian families, farming and going
on about their daily lives. Instead, plagues of
smallpox, influenza, and other Old World
diseases had rampaged through the native
populations in North America, killing off,
according to some estimates, 90 to 96 percent of
all people in the Americas. In comparison, the
Black Plague in Europe killed off about 30
percent of the European population.
So what did the Pilgrims do when they arrived in
the village of Patuxet? Well, they ransacked the
houses, stole bushels of corn and beans from the
fields, and robbed graves. They then renamed
the settlement Plymouth, and settled in the for
the long haul. Squanto’s village had been
decimated by disease, to which the Pilgrims
attributed as their divine right to the New World.
John Winthrop, the first Governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony said: “For the natives,
The Pilgrims ransacked the houses,
stole bushels of corn and beans,
and robbed graves.
"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
Thanksgiving Exposed!
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
Copyright © 2016 Instructomania
they are neere all dead of small Poxe, so as the
Lord hathe cleared our title to what we possess.”
SQUANTO THE SLAVE
According to legend, Squanto learned how to
speak English from fisherman who ventured near
his village each year. The legend continues that
Squanto taught the Indians how to plant crops
and helped the Pilgrims celebrate the first
Thanksgiving. But who was Squanto really? Well,
his story is a little more interesting.
Squanto didn’t really learn how to speak English
from fishermen; instead he was seized by a slave
raider in 1614, and sold into slavery in Malaga,
Spain. He then escaped from slavery, escaped
from Spain, and boarded passage back to his
home continent, North America. He returned
home in 1619 to find his village, Patuxet,
devastated by disease. Squanto was the sole
survivor.
Squanto did help the Pilgrims survive for their
first two years in Plymouth, but why did he? He
helped the Pilgrims plant their crops and sell
their goods. The Pilgrims saw Squanto, as well as
other helpful Indians, as instruments of God, and
another sign that they were destined to settle in
the New World. For Squanto, having returned
from his life in slavery to find his village empty
and every one he knew gone, it is likely that he
really didn’t have any other choice but to help
the Pilgrims.
The real thanksgiving
Unlike popular belief, there never really was a
“First Thanksgiving,” where the Indians and the
Pilgrims all sat down together to eat some
delicious Turkey Day stuffing. The tradition of
giving thanks goes back to the Eastern tradition of
celebrating an autumnal harvest each year. The
actual holiday tradition of Thanksgiving wasn’t
made official until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the
last Thursday of each November as Thanksgiving, in
1863. The story of the Pilgrims and the Indians
were not even incorporated into the tradition until
1890, more than 30 years later!
Original map of Plymouth drawn by Samuel de Champlain in 1605. The star
is the approximate site of the original settlement
Did You Know? In 1941, as a way to boost the economy after the
Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
changed the date for Thanksgiving from the last
Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday in
November. This was because traditionally, people did
not begin shopping for Christmas presents until after
Thanksgiving. Moving the day up by a week would
give people an extra day to shop, and pave the way
for our current Black Friday sales across the United
States.
Squanto teaching the Pilgrims how to plant their crops.
Sources Cited: 1. Alfred W. Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of
Europe, 900-1900 (Austin, TX: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 195-
216.
2. Edward Eggleston, A History of the United States and Its People (Lake
Wales, Florida: Lost Classics Book Company Publisher, 1998), 34-40
3. James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me;: Everything Your American
History Textbook Got Wrong (New York: The New Press, 1995), 67-89
Copyright © 2016 Instructomania
Directions: Fill in the graphic organizer after reading Thanksgiving Exposed!
Commonly held beliefs:
What’s the common held tradition
or belief about this holiday?
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Sketch! Draw a quick picture
of two items, symbols or icons
that represent this holiday.
Summarize the first section:
heading:______________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Select a portion of text that you find interesting. Write it
below.
Summarize the second sec-tion:
heading:______________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Vocabulary building: Select
two words that you were not famil-
iar with and write what you can infer
the meaning of the word is below:
1._______________________
_________________________
_________________________
2._______________________
_________________________
_________________________
Summarize the third section:
heading:______________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Main Idea: Select a portion of text that best summarizes the main idea
of the reading. Write it in quotes below:
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
The Holidays Exposed!
Copyright © 2016 Instructomania
Directions: Fill in the graphic organizer after reading Thanksgiving Exposed!
Commonly held beliefs:
What’s the common held tradition
or belief about this holiday?
Sketch! Draw a quick picture
of two items, symbols or icons
that represent this holiday.
Summarize the first section:
Heading: Where did the Indians Go?
Select a portion of text that you find
interesting.
Summarize the second sec- Vocabulary building: Select
two words that you were not famil-
iar with and write what you can infer
the meaning of the word is below:
Summarize the third section:
Main Idea: Select a portion of text that best summarizes the main idea
of the reading. Write it in quotes
That the Pilgrims arrived
and the Indians helped
them to plant crops,
eventually leading to a
great feast that they
shared together.
This watered-down story-
book version of this im-
portant period of time in
American history leaves
out so many important
facts...
The Indians died of dis-
ease, leaving their
plowed field ready and
their homes available to
rob. The Pilgrims though
t this was an act of God.
Where did all the Indians
Go? Squanto was
captured as a slave and
brought to Spain. He
returned to find his
people were decimated by
disease. With little choice
he helped the Pilgrims.
The real Thanksgiving
was created from the
autumn harvest
celebration, then
Lincoln made an official
holiday. Later the
storybook version was
added.
Answer will vary.
Answer will vary. Answer will vary.
Answer Key!
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
The Holidays Exposed!
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania Pavlovich
Common Core 6-8.4
Annotations are used to help the reader interact with the text in order make the text meaningful. Annotations
that are done correctly should enable the reader to look back and remember important information from the
text without having to re-read the entire text. Here are a few annotations that you will be using this year.
Name Annotation Explanation
1. Mystery Words
I:
or
D:
Put a box around any words that you
are uncertain of the definition
I: Write what you can infer (guess)
about the meaning from cues in the
surrounding text.
D: If you can’t infer anything, look up
the definition and write it down.
2. Key Terms circle Place a circle around key people,
dates, vocabulary and ideas.
3. Strike Gold! (or underline ) highlight Highlight small chunks of “golden text”
that you think has the most important
information.
Caution: Make sure not to abuse this idea.
Try to discern which text represents the
most important information only. Usually
only a few parts of sentences will be
highlighted per paragraph.
4. Star Key Points Put a star and write notes in the margin a
of text that represent the most important
thought or idea in the whole reading. Star
points are given to content that is related
to class discussions, classwork or any
course learning.
5. Short summary for each reading
subheading.
Hashtag (#) OR
Billboard Advertisement OR
Web Address
Hashtag: Just like in the digital world
hashtags are used to summarize the main
idea. The hashtag is followed by text that
summarizes key points of each paragraph.
Ex: #shortenedkeysummary
Billboard: A quick ad or ad re-phrase that
summarizes the main point. Ex: Got Milk?
Web Address: Create a .com web address
summary of the main idea.
For example: summarizethisarticle.com
Word