Student Resources:

• The First Thanksgiving Painting 
• Cultural Exchanges in the Colonial World Primary Source Set
• Cultural Exchanges in the Colonial World Graphic Organizer 

Engage 

• Display the First Thanksgiving painting on the board.  
• Conduct a See-Think-Wonder (STW) activity:   
  • What do you see? (Observations)  
  • What do you think about that? (Interpretations)  
  • What does it make you wonder about? (Questions)  
• See-Think-Wonder Options:  
  • Model the STW process by thinking aloud:  
    •  See: “I am going to describe exactly what I observe in this image without making any interpretations.”  
      • Example: “I see people sitting at a table eating a meal.”  
    • Think: “Now, I will share what I think about what I am seeing, based on my observations and prior knowledge. I am also going to consider what civic virtues might be demonstrated in this image.”  
      • Example: “I think this might be the Pilgrims and Native Americans since they are eating food together.”  
      • Example: “The figures are displaying the virtue of respect, or regard for others’ dignity and equal rights, by coming together to enjoy food and each other’s company.”  
    • Wonder: “Finally, I will ask questions about what I have observed and thought about.”  
      • Example: “I wonder what events led to the Pilgrims and Native Americans to meet.”  
  • Student Pair/Group Activity:  
    • Divide students into pairs or small groups.  
    • Instruct students to complete the STW process together, recording their ideas in each column of the graphic organizer  
    • Circulate to provide support and ask probing questions.  

Scaffolding note: Consider providing students with the following thinking stems to support student analysis.  

• See:   
  • “In this image, I notice…”  
  • “The painting shows…”  
  • “I can clearly see…”  
  • “In the foreground/background, there is…”  
• Think:  
  • “Based on what I see, I think…”  
  • “This image might represent…”  
  • “The painter may have wanted to show…”  
  • “This makes me think about…”  
  • “This image might demonstrate the civic virtue of…”  
  • “The actions shown here could represent…”  
  • “This painting makes me think about the importance of…”  
• Wonder:  
  • “I wonder why…”  
  • “How might the people in this image be feeling?”  
  • “What does this image tell us about life during colonial times?”  

Transition: We’ve just analyzed the First Thanksgiving painting, making observations and asking questions. But paintings don’t tell the whole story. Now, we’ll explore real historical documents—primary sources that reveal different perspectives on cultural exchanges in colonial America. As we analyze them, think about whose voices we hear and what they tell us about the past. Then, you’ll create your own visual representation based on what you’ve learned. 

Explore 

• Divide the class into small groups (3-5 students).  
• Provide each group with a primary source related to experiences during the colonial time period.   

Scaffolding note: Version A of the documents is for higher-level readers and Version B contains more scaffolding.

• Prepare for a Gallery Walk:  
  • Assign each group a specific primary source to analyze using the “VIEW” acronym. 
    • Voice: What is the author’s voice? How does the author’s job, social class, age, experience, or other characteristics impact what they are saying?  
    • Intent: Is the document intended to inform, persuade, remind, change?  
    • Environment: What is the environment like surrounding the creation of the document? What had happened before the document was created?  
  • Who: Who was the document created for? Was it written for a friend or foe in the form of a letter? Is it a diary entry that was probably just for individual memory keeping?  
  • Key details about personal experiences including evidence of civic virtues  
  • Questions about the source.  

• Gallery Walk:  
  • If the group visual displays were done on paper, groups rotate around the room, viewing other groups’ displays.    
    • Students use sticky notes to leave comments or questions on other groups’ work.   
  • If the visual displays were completed digitally, groups should review the other displays together on their devices.  
    • Have students use the comment feature on the chosen digital tool to interact with other groups by leaving comments or questions.  
  • Students should record information about the other primary sources on their graphic organizer. Students record information about their source on their graphic organizer.  Then they use the information to create a visual display summarizing their primary source and key takeaways.  The visual display can be done on paper or a digital tool of choice.  

 

Assess & Reflect

• Individual Reflection: Have students write a short-response or essay response to the question:  
• How did studying these sources enhance your understanding of colonial Americans, Native Americans, and enslaved peoples’ experiences and their interactions during the Colonial America period?