The Mayflower, the First Thanksgiving, Plymouth, Pilgrims, Separatists, and Squanto Homeschool Resources

Pilgrims, Separatists, the Mayflower, Plymouth, and the First Thanksgiving Supplements and Resources

Dates covered: 1620-1622

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Sonlight Selection: 

American History Easy Make and Learn Books:

  • Interactive 3D Maps: American History
    • Voyage of the Mayflower, Pages 34-37
    • Slave Ships Cross the Atlantic, Pages 38-41
  • The Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and More
    • Exchanging Worlds Trifold Diorama, Pages 5-8
    • Moving Mayflower Map and Peek-Inside Mayflower, Pages 9-16
    • Pilgrim Town and Wampanoag Village, Pages 17-31
    • Pilgrim Vegetable Patch and Wampanoag Garden, Pages 32-37
    • Hunt for Food Match-Up and Trap a Fish, Pages 38-43
    • What’s Cooking? Double Diorama, Pages 44-49
    • Wampanoag Basket-by-Numbers, Pages 50-53
    • Who Wore What? Wardrobes and Make & Wear Wampanoag Pouch, Pages 54-62
    • Make & Wear Wampum, Pages 63-65
    • Harvest Feast Fun-Fact Scroll, Pages 66-70

Arts and Crafts: 

Books (All Ages): 

1598

Long Before the Pilgrims: The First Thanksgiving, El Paso del Norte, 1598 Long before the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621, a similar feast of thanks was shared in the New World. In the 1500s, Mexican conquistador Juan de Oñate led an expedition north of the Rio Grande into an area now known as Texas. To celebrate his successful journey, he and his colonists joined Native Americans in a feast on April 30, 1598-the First Thanksgiving. Bilingual with both English and Spanish translations. Younger to Middle Students.

Younger Children and Picture Books

1620

  • Across the Wide, Dark Sea Picture book accounting of the Mayflower voyage.
  • My Life as an Early Settler  Easy to read look at reenactors living life in ancient Plymouth.  Level 2.9. Massachusets.
  • P is for Pilgrim a nonfiction alphabet book with a short rhyme for each letter, and then more text with details on the side for older students if they wish. Level 6.0, for the longer text. 
  • This First Thanksgiving Day Count along and follow the Pilgrim and Wampanoag friends as they prepare for a great feast, and along the way look for the bold turkey on every page. And for the very sharp of eye, there are all sorts of surprises hidden in the art! Level 3.4. Picture book. Younger students.
  • The Very First Thanksgiving Day Join us on a journey back to the very first Thanksgiving Day when two societies came together to feast and honor the earth’s bounty in peace. Picture book, reminiscent of the story The House that Jack Built. Level 3.9. Younger students

1621

1627

Younger to Middle Students (Includes picture books and early readers)

1620

  • On the Mayflower Picture Book with full-color photos throughout of children and adults reenacting the voyage of the Mayflower.
  • Pilgrim Cat The story of a Mayflower cat and his life in the New World, picture book. Level 3.8
  • Poet, Pilgrim, Rebel: The Story of Anne Bradstreet, America’s First Published Poet picture book biography. Lexile 690.
  • The Littlest Pilgrim, Mini is too little to help prepare the Thanksgiving feast, too small to help bake or hunt or sew.  But not too little to find a friend. Easy picture book, level 2.2. Massachusetts. 
  • The Pilgrims at Plymouth Long picture book, level 4.8
  • The Story of the Mayflower Compact Searching for religious freedom, Pilgrims flee England on the Mayflower and head for the New World. Led by Miles Standish, they settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620–now free to worship as they please. But how can they survive in this desolate wilderness? There are no towns, no houses, and nobody to help them–they might starve or be killed by Indians! The first winter is hard and many die. This is the story of how a few survive and go on to launch a new form of government which years later will become known as a democracy. Cornerstones of Freedom series.
  • The Story of the Pilgrims small picture book, level 4.4
  • The Thanksgiving Story Sonlight D. In this festive Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Alice Dalgleish brings to life the origin of the Thanksgiving holiday for readers of all ages. Level 4.1. Massachusetts. Younger to Middle students. 
  • The Voyage of the Mayflower is a graphic novel accounting of the voyage.  Level 3.6. Massachusetts.
  • Three Young Pilgrims Picture book, mentions a lot of deaths. Younger to Middle students. 
  • Who’s that Stepping on Plymouth Rock? A comedic book about the history of the actual rock at Plymouth and its journey into history not so much about the settlers themselves, level 5.0, Jean Fritz

1621

Middle Students

1620

  • If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 Nonfiction informative book about many aspects of the lives of the people on the Mayflower, level 4.2
  • John Alden: Steadfast Pilgrim Easy to read biography, Nonfiction. 
  • John Alden: Young Puritan Childhood of Famous Americans series. 
  • Mayflower Treasure Hunt (A to Z Mysteries series) Follow 3 present-day children as they visit the Mayflower II reconstruction, the Mayflower Museum, and other historical sights as they try to solve the mystery of what happened to one of the original settler’s jewelry. Reader, Level 4.1
  • Myles Standish: Adventurous Boy, Childhood of Famous Americans series
  • Science on the Mayflower No experiments, but science behind ocean currents, food preservation, and other scientific principles that made the trip possible. Level 5.4. Massachusetts. 
  • The Landing of the Pilgrims – Landmark In England in the early 1600s, everyone was forced to join the Church of England. Young William Bradford and his friends believed they had every right to belong to whichever church they wanted. In the name of religious freedom, they fled to Holland, then sailed to America to start a new life. But the winter was harsh, and before a year passed, half the settlers had died. Yet, through hard work and strong faith, a tough group of Pilgrims did survive. Their belief in freedom of religion became an American ideal that still lives on today. 
  • The Mayflower: The Perilous Voyage that Changed the World DK nonfiction longer picture book, Lexile 860
  • The Mayflower Compact Easy to understand nonfiction book. Learn about the Mayflower Compact, one of the most significant documents in U.S. history. Find out about those who were involved in its creation and why studying this primary source is so important. Level 6.0. 
  • The Mayflower Compact Dramatic and defining moments in American history come vividly the life in the Cornerstones of Freedom series. Fun text and lots of images help bring history to life.
  • The Mayflower Secret: Governor William Bradford, Part of the Trailblazer series by Dave and Neta Jackson about famous missionaries and church leaders, a young girl travels to Plymouth with Governor Bradford and is witness to his story.  Middle students. 
  • The Pilgrims Cornerstones of Freedom series. Discusses the daily life of the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony.
  • What Was…The First Thanksgiving (Part of the Who Was/What Was series), nonfiction easy-to-read accounting of the event, level 5.0
  • William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy Read-aloud style book, Childhood of Famous Americans series.  Massachusetts. 

1621

  • First Thanksgiving Cornerstones of Freedom series. Discusses the history of New Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, the relationship between the colonists and the native Wampanoag people, and the harvest festival which would later become Thanksgiving Dy using photos and creative text.
  • If You Lived At the Time of Squanto, and If You Lived series book, nonfiction. Middle Students. 
  • Problems in Plymouth The Imagination Station from Adventures in Odyssey takes Patrick and Beth back in time to the first Thanksgiving.  Level 3.1
  • Squanto and the First Thanksgiving Chapter book style, level 3.6 

Middle to Older Students

1614

Stink Alley The year is 1614. Recently orphaned Lizzy Tinker has lived half of her twelve years in Holland and belongs to a small congregation of religious refugees who have fled England to worship as they choose. The Dutch people enjoy a free and easy lifestyle that Master William Brewster constantly admonishes. Although the Brewsters took Lizzy in when her father died, she doesn’t feel at home with them. Her undisciplined tongue always seems to get her in trouble. Lizzy has a talent for cooking, and her kitchen craft has landed her a job cooking for a Dutch family whose precocious eight-year-old son has a stubborn nature, artistic talent, and nose for trouble even greater than Lizzy’s own.  With meticulous research and great imagination, Jamie Gilson has created an authentic, entertaining story that brings to life seventeenth-century Holland and the unique culture that fostered both the Mayflower Pilgrims and master painters such as Rembrandt.

1620

1621

  • 1620 Year of the Pilgrims Children’s non-fiction by Newbery Award runner-up, Genevieve S. Foster. The book relates what was occurring in the Old and New World at the time the Pilgrims made their first settlement in America. Includes a look at famous people and places around the world in 1620. 
  • Shadows in the Glasshouse (American Girl History Mysteries) Historical fiction of a girl kidnapped and sold to be an indentured servant for a glasshouse in the New World. She makes friends with another glasshouse worker, only to find danger around every corner. A different look at life in early Jamestown. Level 5.3

1622

Older Students

1621

  • 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving is a longer book, nonfiction, but it provides a lot of recent understanding of the history around Thanksgiving and a look at the world of 1621 from the Wampanoag point of view as well as clears up common misconceptions, level 7.1

1622

  • The Mayflower and the Pilgrim’s New World While most books about the Mayflower stop shortly after the First Thanksgiving, this well-researched and well-written book keeps exploring through the next 50 years, going into details about life in the new colony as well as info on King Philip’s War. Level 8.3. Older students. 
  • Poison in the Colony, the sequel to Blood on the River, from Sonlight D, this book covers more harsh and difficult topics that might require trigger warnings, including various forms of child abuse. Historical fiction for mature students only. I would personally wait until high school or adult.  

Coloring Pages/Drawing/Activity Books and Pages: 

Documentaries: 

Lapbooks/Notebooking Pages/Unit Studies/Paper Dolls: 

Movies (20 Minutes or Longer): (See Also: Videos)

Museums/Field Trips (including virtual): 

Recipes: 

  • Book: American Indian Cooking Before 1500 Discusses the everyday life, cooking methods, common foods, and hardships and celebrations of American Indians before 1500. Includes recipes for multiple items, including Maple-Glazed Turkey Legs and Baked Wild Rice, Acorn Cakes, Squash Stew, Snow Cream with Raspberries, and more.
  • Book: Food and Recipes of the Pilgrims, a short book that discusses planting, cooking, and baking in pilgrim days, along with four authentic recipes. Level 4.8

Songs: 

Toys/Games

Videos (1-20 minutes): (See also Movies)

 

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