Thanksgiving in the Classroom

New York Times student opinion column with classroom discussion questions.

This inquiry resource provides evidence to help teachers and students dispel misconceptions and misunderstandings of the “First Thanksgiving.” For a more complete history, examine details, circumstances, choices, and events through sources that include Wampanoag perspectives, which have been largely absent from this national story.

Harvest ceremonies and festivals have been an integral part of Wampanoag lifeways for thousands of years. The Wampanoag practiced daily and seasonal traditions of giving thanks long before the encounter with English settlers in 1620 and the formation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Learn the significance of Cranberry Day for the Aquinnah Wampanoag and the importance of harvest traditions among Wampanoag communities today.