I read Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson to 5th and 6th graders. It tells the true story of a woman named Sarah Hale, who wanted Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. She wrote magazine articles and thousands of letters to politicians asking them to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Each time, she was rejected, but she never gave up. It took her thirty-eight years, but she did it! In 1863, President Lincoln agreed that our country needed to celebrate a day of thanks, and made the fourth Thursday of each November the national holiday that we know as Thanksgiving. We agreed that Sarah epitomized persistence, our character trait of the month.
5th graders heard the story Thanksgiving in the White House by Gary Hines on the last day before Thanksgiving break. It was a natural followup to Thank You Sarah, considering the setting is the time of the first Thanksgiving after President Lincoln approved the national holiday. The story's main character was Tad, Lincoln's son, who tended to get himself into a bit of mischief. Tad did some crazy things, like bringing everyone's clothes onto the White House lawn to sell them, charging people a nickel to see his father, and letting loose his toy cannon in the White House during a cabinet meeting. Although he loved pranks, Tad also loved animals, and he became very fond of the turkey that came to the white house around the time of the first holiday. He thought that the turkey was a pet and named him Jack, and he was horrified when he overheard that Jack was intended to be the main course at the Thanksgiving celebration. Tad begged and pleaded with his father to give the turkey an official reprieve, and Lincoln obliged. So ham it was for dinner!
As a fun way to kick off the break, 5th graders made origami turkeys. We based the project from the book More Thanksgiving Origami by Ruth Owen. It was a bit challenging, but they did a great job! Maybe some of these turkeys adorned the students' holiday tables!
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