Today's Classroom Activities :

Who were the Pilgrims?

Counting Pilgrims
Art/Math Read aloud this counting rhyme. Then choose children to act out the poem while the others count the "pilgrims." On the second reading, have the children change roles. Finally, ask the children to choose art materials to illustrate each stanza of the poem, writing the number problem and the total that matches each action.

Plymouth Pilgrims

by Jacqueline Schiff

One Plymouth Pilgrim
Planting corn and wheat.
Three more came with bean seeds
Making four on their feet.

Four Plymouth Pilgrims
Fishing for a meal.
Two came to meet them
And all six caught an eel.

Six Plymouth Pilgrims
Eating geese and deer.
Three more dined on duck meat
And all nine smiled with cheer.

Nine Plymouth Pilgrims
Running in a race.
Three joined the others
And all twelve loved the chase!

Twelve Plymouth Pilgrims,
Sleeping on the ground.
Eight others napped beside them;
Twenty neighbors – safe and sound.

You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving
In this lesson, students use a resource produced by the historians at Plimoth Plantation to learn the truth about the "First Thanksgiving."

Plimoth Plantation
The programs on this website emphasize the personal side of history, representing the perspectives of the Native Wampanoag and Colonial English people (popularly known as the "Pilgrims") who lived in the Plymouth area in the 17th century.

Pilgrim's Progress
Using this activity, your students can become historical detectives who will progress through a variety of challenges and tasks. After a step-by-step investigation, they will discover how their community, the people in your area, and the land itself has changed over the course of history. They may even be able to describe what life was like had they been alive in 1628.

The Wampanoag Indians Helped the Pilgrims
Student will be able to recognize the hardships the Pilgrims faced when trying to adjust to a new and different environment and lifestyle. Students will also be able to describe some of the natural resources the Wampanoag Indians showed to the Plimoth Settlers.