New Curriculum Release: White House Holidays, Thanksgiving Unit Study!

Get ready for your most memorable and enriching homeschool Thanksgiving yet! Silverdale Press is thrilled to announce the release of White House Holidays: Thanksgiving Unit Study. It is the third in our White House Holidays series. The unit study is now available for purchase. Don't let the holiday pass without seizing this unique learning opportunity. Get your copy today! 

Designed for students in grades K-12, this unit study is a great way to teach your kids the history of this most American of holidays. The unit study is brimming with vivid illustrations, rich stories, and creative and meaningful activities. This is a unique learning opportunity that is guaranteed to bring lasting memories to your entire homeschool family. 

How to Use

• This unit study comes in a downloadable PDF format
• There are 5 lessons in this unit study. Each lesson will take about 1-2 hours to complete. Families are encouraged to spread these out over the days leading up to Thanksgiving Day. 

• Each lesson has a read-aloud portion designed for all grade levels to use together
• Many of the activities are the same for all grade levels, though some are different. The level of parental guidance needed will vary with children's ages. 
• It is 78 pages long

The curriculum is easy on parents. It features...

• Lesson plans for teachers—with an introduction and overview for each lesson
• Fun and easy activities with minimal extra supplies
• An answer key

In this unit study, children in all grades will learn about...

• The Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving celebration of freedom, peace, and provision
• How ancient harvest festivals and the founding fathers formed the roots of the national holiday
• Sarah Josepha Hale, the mother of Thanksgiving, and how she persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare a national Thanksgiving holiday
• Franklin Roosevelt and the 1939 Thanksgiving uproar
• The history of the presidential turkey pardon
• Thanksgiving food and traditions as practiced by Ike and Mamie Eisenhower

Children will also complete hands-on, enriching activities, rooted in primary sources. They will...

• Read and evaluate eyewitness accounts of the first Thanksgiving in 1621
• Express gratitude for freedom, peace, and provision through visual and written projects
• Learn the hymn "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"
• Read and analyze George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation
• Interpret and illustrate the poem, "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving" (a.k.a. "Over the River and through the Wood") *Grades K-6
• Analyze Sarah Josepha Hale's 1863 letter to Abraham Lincoln *Grades 7-12
• Read and interpret Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation 
• Interpret a letter to Franklin Roosevelt about the 1939 Thanksgiving uproar
• Discuss Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings
• Watch and discuss the presidential turkey pardon
• Bake one of Mamie Eisenhower's Thanksgiving-themed recipes
• Read and discuss this year's presidential Thanksgiving proclamation

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