Early American History: Squanto and Thanksgiving ~ Week 3 Lesson Plan For Kindergarten and First Grade

This post is part of the Early American History series. For a suggested class schedule, an overview of the entire course, and links to more lesson plans, please see the introductory post.

In this lesson you will be teaching your students about Squanto, the help he gave to the Pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving in America.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I am an affiliate of Amazon, and will receive a small commission if a link on this page is used to make a purchase.

Suggested General Resources

World Wall Map
Map of U.S.A. or 13 Colonies
13-Star U.S.A. Flag for wall
Posters of Early Americans
Small Dot Stickers
Washable Markers, Crayons, and/or Colored Pencils
Glue Sticks
Plates, Bowls, Napkins, Utensils, Small Cups
Computer, Black and White Printer (color printer optional), and Printer Paper
Costumes, Handmade or Purchased: Pilgrim and Native American
Assembled Timeline File Folder for each child and Timeline Poster (click here for instructions and free printables)
Assembled History Journal filled with Worksheets for each child (click here for instructions and free printables)

Additional Items Recommended For This Lesson

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
Great Colonial America Projects: You Can Build Yourself
Biography Mini-Books: Famous Americans
15” length of string per child
1 Unsharpened Pencil or Stick per child
Masking Tape
1 Plastic or Wooden Ring per child
Recipe Ingredients: Cooked pumpkin or squash, butter, cider vinegar, ground ginger, salt
OR Timesaver Snack Ingredients: Pumpkin pudding mix, milk

Week 3 Lesson Plan

For suggestions on how to conduct each activity below, please see the introductory post.

Year and Subject
1621: Squanto helps the Pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving.

Map Activity
Find Malaga, Spain and Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Story
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgivingby Eric Metaxas

Timeline Figure
Please click here for Timeline instructions and free printables.
Pilgrim & Native American

History Journal
Please click here for History Journal assembly instructions.
Page 5: Maze (The Light and the Glory : Children’s Activity Book – page 24)
Page 6: Squanto and Pilgrim Coloring Page (The Light and the Glory Children’s Activity Book – page 30)

Activity: Ring & Pin Game
Read from page 23 of Great Colonial America Projects: You Can Build Yourself. Follow the instructions to make the Ring and Pin Game. I recommend using unsharpened pencils or blunt sticks for younger children. I plan to use sticks instead of pencils and wooden rings (from a craft shop) instead of plastic rings to make the game slightly more authentic.

Food: Stewed Pompion (Pumpkin) or Pumpkin Pudding
The early Pilgrims ate stewed pumpkin regularly. Find the recipe on this page of the plimoth.org web site.

Timesaver snack idea: pumpkin pudding made from a mix.

Craft Ideas

In class the kids used beans and seeds to create a mosaic. Kids seem to always enjoy mosaics – not only is it sensory play, but they get to be creative too!