We began the unit by learning a bit about life in England. This meant a look at the globe and out position on the planet in relation to England. It can be very difficult for young children to have a real sense of the magnitude of our planet, but many understand that you can't see across the ocean like you can Lake Champlain and that's a beginning!
After studying the Pilgrims and their long voyage and their reasons for making it, the class had the opportunity to try some food that was similar to what the Pilgrims ate on board. Saltines and beef jerky are not quite the same as the "hard tack" and dried meat that the Pilgrims ate day in and day out, but it gave them an idea of the types of food the Pilgrims ate. They quickly learned how very difficult life is when you don't have any stores for ANYthing you might otherwise buy here now. We read many books and visited the Plimoth Plantation website to take some virtual tours. It was almost like taking a field trip! Each child made a paper Pilgrim house and a Wampanoag (the Native Americans of the area) home called a Wetu. Then we recreated the Pilgrim village and neighboring Native American village. You'll see in the slide show, some very proud children...they wanted to keep the villages intact, but instead they each made a smaller replica to bring home! I hope you asked all about the project!
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