Activity Title - Pilgrim Fathers

Goal/Objective

To identify what kind of people came to America as Pilgrims and why they came.

Lesson Outline/Introduction

Discuss the coming of the Pilgrims to America. Explain what was happening in their country and describe what their journey was like.

Activity

Give the students a copy of The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. Have the students read the poem and underline any words they don't know the meaning of. Make a list of all unknown words. Divide the class into small groups. Give each group one section of words to look up in the dictionary and define. Have each group list all descriptive phrases about the Pilgrims they can find in the poem. Have them list any reasons they can find in the poem for the Pilgrims leaving their home country.

Debriefing/Evaluation Activity

Discuss the meanings of the words that were looked up and defined. Have the students present the descriptive phrases they found and also the reasons why the Pilgrims left their home and came to America.

Materials, Texts, Realia, Handouts

Extension Activity

Discuss the final stanza of the poem. Why is it important that the Pilgrims "left unstained what there they found"?

ESE/ESOL Accommodations

Real-Life Connection

Ask the students if we have any modern day pilgrims. Discuss groups that have had to leave their homelands and why.

Activity Title - Pilgrim Fathers

Introduction

Ask: How many of you know who the Pilgrims were? What was happening in their country? What was their journey to America like?

Say: The Pilgrims did come to America. They left their homes in England and made the long difficult trip across the Atlantic Ocean. They landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. It is important that we understand what kind of people they were and why they came.

Main Activity

Give the students a copy of The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers.

Say: Please read this poem about the Pilgrims. As you read, underline any words that you don't know the meaning of.

Compile a list of all underlined words and divide the class into groups.

Say: Each group will now be given a section of words from our list. Please look your section up in the dictionary and define each word. Your group should also list all descriptive phrases about the Pilgrims and identify the reasons they came to America.

Closure/Conclusion

Ask: What have you learned about the Pilgrims from reading this poem. What kind of people were the Pilgrims. Why did they leave their native land?

Discuss their ideas about the Pilgrims. Have them share their feelings about someone who would leave their home country and move to a new one to find freedom.

Follow-up lessons/Activities

Have students research what life was like for the Pilgrims when they arrived in America. Have students explain the reason for celebrating Thanksgiving. How is our Thanksgiving the same as the Pilgrims'? How are they different?