Thanksgiving WebQuests and Thematic Maps!

Week Thirteen

In celebration of US Thanksgiving, students enjoyed some online activities and games on the library website. Check each tab from Early Childhood up through grade 5 on the library website.

PreK 3, 4, and Kindergarten - Guiding Question: What are rhyming words?

This is the Turkey, bu Abby Levine

This is a fun rhyming story about one family's Thanksgiving celebration.  It mentions all of the usual foods and traditions, but there's a twist toward the end, when the turkey goes flying across the room into the fish tank! We had fun identifying the rhyming words at the end of each line: "This is a turkey to shout about / and Max is the one to pick it out!"

Grades 1 & 2 - Guiding Question:  How can we still be thankful even when things go wrong?

The Tappleton family tries to prepare a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, but each family member runs into a little problem. The turkey flies out of Mom's hands and skitters across the icy yard into the pond. Dad refuses to wait in line at the bakery for pies and ends up coming home with two empty boxes. And so on! How can the family recover from the disappointment of a completely empty dinner table on Thanksgiving night?

Grade 3 - Guiding Question: What is Thanksgiving?

We learned about WebQuests (online activities that teach us about a new topic) Students only had time to begin this WebQuest about Thanksgiving. With more time at home, they could watch a 30 minute movie showing Plimoth Plantation and hear about the differences between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who came together to give thanks for their harvest in 1621. Click here to begin.

Grade 4 - Guiding Question: What are thematic maps and how do we read them?

Grade 4 practiced using thematic maps by reading several different types of map to find information about one location. We used World Book atlas to find population density, average temperature in July and January, yearly rainfall, and economic activity. In our next session, we will compare our information to get a sense of what places are most populated, hottest, and so forth. World Book is a licensed resource, a service our school buys to help students with research projects. Find it on the research tab of the library website. (From home, you'll need the password, so see library bookmark sent home at the beginning of the year or ask Mrs. Ducharme.)

Grade 5 - Guiding Question: What is a primary document? How can primary documents help us find out about historical events?

We learned that primary documents are pieces of information gathered by people who were actually present at historical events. This sophisticated WebQuest about Thanksgiving uses primary documents and interactive activities to lead students toward an understanding of the daily life of Native Americans and Pilgrims during their early years together. Click here to begin.