Thursday, May 27, 2010

This First Thanksgiving Day By Laura Krauss Melmed, Illustrated by Mark Buehner

"This rollicking counting story celebrates the very first Thanksgiving Day with vibrant illustrations and lively verse. 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!"



The reason why this is a great book for the ELL students is because it gives them background knowledge about Thanksgiving. Not necesarily about the feast and the classical story behind the Thanksgiving celebration but, about the scenery, the things that are icons for the Thanksgiving celebrations. I live in Oregon and looking for clams is a common scene -- as long as the tide is low. Children can connect what they know, with the way things used to look like back in the time of the Pilgrims. When I turn to The 11 rejoicing in the autumn sun page, It never ceases to amaze me because hide and seek is a universal game. Over the years, there have been interesting conversations about this game, mostly primary grade children who have lived in other countries and are old enough to remember playing hide and seek with other children there. So, in a way, the story may not end about Thanksgiving, but about what they used to play in their countries of origin with their friends and relatives. That is how we begin to build background knowledge.



I would love to hear the stories you'll hear.

1 comment:

  1. This book sounds like a great resource for teaching the first Thanksgiving. Thank you!

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