Objectives

• Students will investigate the multiple layers of significance of the Thanksgiving holiday and how they have changed over time

• Students will analyze how historical narratives get created and whose perspectives are or are not represented 

• Students will be able to differentiate between celebration, commemoration, and mourning 

This activity supports the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies: 

• RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. 

• RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. 

• RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Instructions

Before beginning this activity, teachers may find it useful to consult with this resource developed by the National Archives, which provides additional background information.

Step 1: Discuss the following questions with students: 

• What does it mean to call something a holiday? 

• How do you understand the story of Thanksgiving/how did the holiday originate? Where have you heard this story?

• In the United States today, what is  mainstream significance of Thanksgiving? 

• How do you observe Thanksgiving? Is it a celebratory occasion in your household? 

Optional Extension: Have students read the account of Thanksgiving that appears in their textbook. In pairs, have them discuss how their own ideas and memories of Thanksgiving compare with the textbook history. 

Step 2: Distribute “Indigenous Activists Designate ‘A Day of Mourning.’” Read the headnote aloud as a class. Ask students to read and annotate the source individually. They should circle anything that relates to how Thanksgiving is celebrated today. Ask students to find three examples of “mourning” in the source and put stars next to that text. 

Step 3: In pairs or in small groups, ask students to discuss the following questions: 

• Why do you think these Indigenous activists chose to call their protests “A Day of Mourning?” How is that different from a holiday? 

Step 4: Teacher defines the three terms: celebration, commemoration, and mourning. Students should explain how the article showed different meanings of Thanksgiving. Discuss how and why Thanksgiving as a holiday elicits celebration, commemoration, and mourning in the United States today from different perspectives. 

Step 5: Exit ticket: Ask students to imagine they were organizing a commemoration event surrounding Thanksgiving. Ask them to write three components they would include in the event.