Paired Texts > Thanksgiving at the Lake

by Megan Hoyt 2019

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

How Birds Beat the Odds
How Birds Beat the Odds
Charles C. Hofer

In "How Birds Beat the Odds," Charles C. Hofer explains how birds use a variety of strategies to help their eggs and young survive.

Pair “How Birds Beat the Odds” with “Thanksgiving at the Lake” and have students discuss how the parents care for their young in both texts. What are the different ways that birds ensure their young survive in “How Birds Beat the Odds”? How do the father figures in the poem “Thanksgiving at the Lake” care for their young? How are the ways that humans care for their young similar to how other animals care for their babies in nature? How are they different?

4th Grade Informational Text 930L
The Return of Sal Caputo
The Return of Sal Caputo
Timothy Tocher

In the story "The Return of Sal Caputo," a boy tries to help his father, an injured veteran from World War II.

Pair “The Return of Sal Caputo” with “Thanksgiving at the Lake” and have students discuss the role of “father” in both texts. How can Dad not fulfill his role of “father” to Lou in “The Return of Sal Caputo”? How does this make Dad act and feel? How does the speaker in “Thanksgiving at the Lake” define the role of “father”? Do you think that Lou’s Dad is not a “father” because he cannot work or fight in the war? Do you think the way that we assign certain jobs to different genders is fair? How can this be hurtful to how people see themselves?

5th Grade Historical Fiction 820L
Giving Thanks
Giving Thanks
Joseph Bruchac

In "Giving Thanks," the speaker shares a lesson about gratitude from Mohawk elder Chief Jake Swamp.

Pair “Giving Thanks” with “Thanksgiving at the Lake” and have students discuss the similar message of thankfulness in the poems. What is the message about Thanksgiving that the speaker learns from the Mohawk elder in “Giving Thanks”? What is the speaker thankful for in “Thanksgiving at the Lake”? Do you think the speaker in “Thanksgiving at the Lake” would agree with the Mohawk elder’s message about Thanksgiving? Why or why not?

4th Grade Poem