The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story by Chuck Larsen | CommonLit

by Chuck Larsen 1986

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.

Northeast Natives

BirdBrain History

"Northeast Natives" is an informational text that invites readers to imagine how they would explore the villages and lives of America's pre-Columbian northeast natives.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “Northeast Natives” and have students discuss what they learned after reading “Northeast Natives”. Does reading that text change their opinion of “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story”?

6th Grade Informational Text 930L

Lewis and Clark: American Explorers

Barbara Radner

"Lewis and Clark: American Explorers" explores the circumstances of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's famous 1804 journey to chart the western United States.

Pair “Lewis and Clark: American Explorers” with “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” and ask students to discuss how Native Americans have helped early Americans survive and thrive when founding the country as we know it today.

4th Grade Informational Text 560L

Behind The Native American Achievement Gap

Celeste Headlee

In "Behind the Native American Achievement Gap," Celeste Headlee interviews Anton Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe History and Language, about the education of Native Americans.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “Behind the Native American Achievement Gap” and ask students to compare how the story of Thanksgiving is usually taught in schools with how it is depicted in the text. How might this negatively impact Native American students’ experiences in school?

9th Grade Interview 1090L

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In "The Danger of a Single Story," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the importance of not allowing one story to construct your understanding of the world.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “The Danger of a Single Story” and ask students to discuss how the story of the first Thanksgiving has primarily been told as a single story. What has been the effects of this? Consider pairing excerpts from “The Danger of a Single Story” with “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” to portray the main ideas of Adichie’s text in a more accessible way for students.

11th Grade Speech 1090L

Chief Powhatan's Address to Captain John Smith

Chief Powhatan

In the "Address to Captain John Smith," Chief Powhatan discusses the current violent relationship between English settlers and the Powhatan people.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “Chief Powhatan’s Address to Captain John Smith” and ask students to compare what happened in Plymouth and in Jamestown. Why did the relationship between settlers and Native Americans deteriorate so quickly in both situations?

8th Grade Speech 1080L

Heartbeat of Mother Earth

CR Willing McManis

In the informational text "Heartbeat of Mother Earth," CR Willing McManis describes what takes place during pow wows.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “Heartbeat of Mother Earth” to have students compare the two celebrations. Ask students how pow wows are similar to the first Thanksgiving. How are they different?

5th Grade Informational Text 900L

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Sanjana Chetia

In the informational text "Cinco de Mayo," Sanjana Chetia explains the history of Cinco de Mayo and why it has become an important cultural celebration for Mexican Americans.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “Cinco de Mayo.” Ask students to compare and contrast the Pilgrims and Indians with the Mexicans and the French. Discuss the popularity of both Cinco de Mayo and Thanksgiving. What is being celebrated in each holiday? Do both holidays call for celebration? Why or why not?

6th Grade Informational Text 1030L

What Turkeys Eat for Thanksgiving

Leslie Dendy

In "What Turkeys Eat for Thanksgiving," Leslie Dendy explains how wild turkeys are different from the turkeys on many Thanksgiving tables.

Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “What Turkeys Eat for Thanksgiving” and ask students to discuss the “first Thanksgiving.” What information does “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” give about the Native Americans who were a part of the “first Thanksgiving”? How is this information different from the information “What Turkeys Eat for Thanksgiving” gives about the Native Americans and the “first Thanksgiving”? How do these two texts help readers understand the “first Thanksgiving”?

4th Grade Informational Text 970L

First Contact with Europeans

Stephen Currie

In the informational text "First Contact with Europeans," Stephen Currie discusses European explorers' first contact with American Indian tribes.

Indigenous American author Chuck Larsen adds key details that are missing from the story of the “First Thanksgiving.” Pair “The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story” with “First Contact with Europeans” to provide students with information about the first Thanksgiving and the relationship between Indigenous Americans and English settlers. Ask students to compare how the interactions between the Indigenous Americans and Europeans compare in the two texts. How and why did Europeans’ relations with Indigenous Americans decline?

5th Grade Informational Text 980L

Paired Texts > The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story