The History of Thanksgiving

A sample digital storytelling project for my students

The year was 1620. It was December and the pilgrims had just arrived on the shores of North America. There voyage had been long and difficult.

The pilgrims settled in Plymouth. The location is now marked by a rock. It’s called Plymouth Rock.

The Wampanoag Indians taught the settlers how to cultivate their land. This helped them survive.

After the long first long, hard winter, the settlers were feeling grateful that they survived. They decided to have a feast to show their appreciation. Their feast was mainly deer meat, shell fish, and a few vegetables.

A lot later, in 1789, George Washington decided that Thanksgiving should be an official day of giving thanks. Americans started celebrating Thanksgiving.

It became a legal holiday in 1941.

In the 1920’s, Americans started having the Macy’s Day Parade to celebrate the day. We still have this parade every year.