Pilgrims Unit Study

In this unit study you will learn about the Pilgrims' voyage from England to America on the Mayflower. Your students will learn about how the Pilgrims lived and why they wanted to travel all the way to America. They will also learn about the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving. We have included a printable timeline and vocabulary flash cards to help your students learn more about the Pilgrims.

Printables:

• Pilgrims Timeline
• Pilgrims Vocabulary words (front side)
• Pilgrims Vocabulary words (back side)

Suggested Reading:

• . . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620
• The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving
• The Story of the Pilgrims
• If You Were At The First Thanksgiving

Suggested Activities:

• Discuss the reasons why the Pilgrims went to Holland. Also discuss the reasons why they wanted to leave Holland and go to the new world.
• Use a map or a globe to locate the places where the Pilgrims traveled. Locate England, Holland, and America on a map. Discuss the continents. What content is England a part of? What about America? Discuss the oceans. What ocean did the Pilgrims travel across? Discuss directions: north, south, east and west. Which direction did the Pilgrims travel?
• Have your students write a story about a long trip they have taken with their family. Talk about the differences between their trip and the pilgrim’s voyage.
• Discuss the Mayflower Compact. Have your students pretend that they have just moved to a new world and there are no laws in this new place. What kind of laws would they want to have in their new world?
• Discuss Pilgrim life. Compare how the Pilgrims lived with how we live. What kind of challenges did the Pilgrims have to face in the new world?
• Talk about the pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving. Talk about how the pilgrims celebrated and who came to their Thanksgiving celebration. How do your students celebrate Thanksgiving? Who do they invite to celebrate with them and what kind of traditions does their family have? What kind of foods did the pilgrims eat during their celebration? What about the students? Do they have a favorite Thanksgiving food?
• Print out the pilgrim’s timeline. Have your students create their own timeline. They can create a timeline of their lives and include birthdays or special celebrations or they can create a simple timeline of today’s events.