The history of Thanksgiving

Read the story of the first Thanksgiving. Point at the underlined words to see the translation.Lis l'histoire du premier Thanksgiving. Pointe les mots soulignés pour voir la traduction.

Tradition says the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621. The Pilgrims were religious dissidents who fled oppression in England. First, they went to the Netherlands, then left to establish a colony in North America. They arrived at what later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their trip across the Atlantic Ocean and their first months were difficult. About one hundred Pilgrims arrived just as autumn was turning to winter; about half of them died during the cold months that followed. As the story goes, when spring came, the Pilgrims planted crops with the help of a Native American named Squanto. By the end of summer, there was a good harvest of corn and barley. There was enough food to last through the winter. The Pilgrims held a celebration of thanks for their harvest. A Native American tribe who lived nearby, the Wampanoag, took part and the feast lasted three days.

The text says « the Pilgrims » or « the Pilgrim Fathers ». Today, we say Native Americans rather than « Indians » for the first people of America.

Next: find the words →

Find the English words in the text.Trouve les mots anglais dans le texte.

« ont fêté » =
« les pèlerins » =
« les Pays-Bas » =
« ont fui » =
« le voyage » =
« sont morts » =
« le printemps » =
« les cultures » =
« la récolte » =
« le maïs » =
« l'orge » =
« durer » =
« le festin » =
« dans les environs » =

Next: the verbs →

Put the verbs in the past (the base verb is given after each gap).Mets les verbes au passé (la base verbale est donnée après chaque trou).

Tradition says the Pilgrims (celebrate) the first Thanksgiving in 1621. The Pilgrims (be) religious dissidents who (flee) oppression in England. First, they (go) to the Netherlands, then left to establish a colony in North America. They (arrive) at what later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their trip across the Atlantic Ocean and their first months (be) difficult. About one hundred Pilgrims arrived just as autumn was turning to winter; about half of them (die) during the cold months that followed. As the story goes, when spring (come), the Pilgrims (plant) crops with the help of a Native American named Squanto. By the end of summer, there (be) a good harvest of corn and barley. There was enough food to last through the winter. The Pilgrims (hold) a celebration of thanks for their harvest. A Native American tribe who lived nearby, the Wampanoag, (take) part and the feast (last) three days.

Next: the key words →

Drag the key words back into the text.Remets les mots clés dans le texte.

Tradition says the Pilgrims celebrated the first in . The Pilgrims were religious dissidents who fled oppression in . First, they went to the , then left to establish a colony in . They arrived at what later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their across the Atlantic Ocean and their first months were difficult. About one hundred Pilgrims arrived just as autumn was turning to ; about half of them died during the cold months that followed. As the story goes, when came, the Pilgrims planted with the help of a Native American named Squanto. By the end of , there was a good of and barley. There was enough food to last through the winter. The Pilgrims held a of thanks for their harvest. A Native American tribe who lived nearby, the Wampanoag, took part and the lasted three days.

Next: summary →

Choose the right sentence each time to build a summary of the story.Choisis chaque fois la bonne phrase pour construire un résumé de l'histoire.

Next: was, were or had? →

Was, were or had? Choose.Was, were ou had ? Choisis.

The Pilgrims religious dissidents.
They persecuted in England.
The crossing very difficult.
Many ill and died.
The first harvest very good.
There enough food for everybody after the harvest.
They a lot of problems when they arrived.
The Pilgrims a very difficult crossing.
They very little food on the ship.
During the crossing, two people died and one baby born.

Next: your turn →

Your turn (on a sheet of paper).À toi (sur une feuille).

On a sheet of paper, draw a timeline of the story: 1. England → 2. the Netherlands → 3. the trip across the Atlantic → 4. the first winter → 5. spring → 6. the harvest → 7. the first Thanksgiving.

Then tell the story to a partner without reading the text, using the past: The Pilgrims fled England. They went to…