Build Background

• Have students tell what they know about the first Thanksgiving. Ask them to tell who was there and why, and what kinds of foods were eaten. Correct and discuss any misconceptions students might have.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students a copy of the book and have them preview the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
• Have students look at the table of contents on page 3 and the glossary on page 24. Ask them to tell what clues the chapter titles and glossary terms tell about the story.
• Make connections to the Build Background discussion by having students predict what this story has to do with the first Thanksgiving.
• Direct students to the table of contents. Ask them to tell what they think they will read about in the third chapter based on the parts of the book they have previewed so far.

Introduce the Strategy: Retell

• Reinforce how, as you read, you will stop to retell what is happening. Explain this is a strategy that good readers use to better understand and remember what they are reading.
• Think-aloud: When I’m reading, I pause every few pages to review in my head who the main characters are, what the problem is, and what has happened so far. This helps me keep track of everything that’s happening in the story, and it helps me understand what’s going on in the story. Good readers do this when they read.
• As students read, they should use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted reading strategy presented in this section. For a review of additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Remind students of the strategies they can use to work out words they don't know. For example, they can use what they know about letter and sound correspondence to figure out the word. They can look for base words and prefixes and suffixes, or other word endings. They can use the context to work out meanings of unfamiliar words.
• Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Direct students to page 4. Have them find the bold word pompion in the second paragraph. Tell students that they can look at the letters the word begins with to figure out how to say the word. Tell them that they can use the adjectives in the sentence as context clues, as well as the character’s action to infer that a pompion is something that is eaten.
• Remind students that they should check whether words make sense by rereading the sentence. Tell students that if the meaning they come up with doesn't make sense in the sentence, they can look up the word in the glossary, a dictionary, or a thesaurus.
• Review any other vocabulary students may have difficulty with, such as Nasump, quahogs, and wetu. Explain that these words are actually words from the Wampanoag language, the language of the native people in the story.
• For additional teaching tips on word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out who the two girls on the cover are and what happens to them.

Student Reading

•     Guide the Reading: Have students read pages 4-9. Tell them to underline the information that tells about the setting, the names of the characters, and any important events. If they finish before everyone else, they should go back and reread.
• Have students tell what they underlined. Ask students to tell where the story took place. If possible, provide a map to show students where Plymouth, Massachusetts is located. Discuss how the illustrations provide additional information about the setting and characters. Have students tell the major events in the story.
• Use the information generated above to model retelling the first part of the story.
  Think-aloud: I read that the English colony at Plymouth is preparing a celebration. Ellinor, a young English girl, has been asked to help prepare the food. At the same time, in the Pokanoket village, Little Deer and her mother hear shots. They do not know the Englishmen are hunting fowl. They are afraid the shots might be signaling the beginning of a war. Little Deer is very afraid. She is also angry that the English have taken her tribe’s land and brought disease to her village.
• Ask students to tell what they think might happen next.
• Tell students that as they read the remainder of the book to think about the major events and characters in the story, and what they can learn from them.
•     Tell the students to make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Reinforce how thinking about how to retell what they read keeps them actively involved in the reading process and helps them understand and remember what they have read.
• Think-aloud: As I read I learned that Ellinor and Little Deer’s problem was that they couldn’t really understand each other and didn’t really trust each other. But I know that in the end they overcame their problem. They became friends and were able to make dinner for the colonists and the Pokanoket people.
• Ask students what words they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they could read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Story elements

• Introduce and model: Review or explain that most stories usually include three or four elements: setting, characters, plot, and theme. Tell students that these are what the author uses to make the story interesting. Explain that some authors focus on one element more than another, but most stories do contain all four. Ask students to identify the setting, characters and theme of “Two Kettles”.
• Write the word plot on the board. Review or explain that the plot is the events that happen in the story. Tell students that there are five parts that make up the plot. Write the following words on the board in the format shown below:

Climax

Rising Action                     Falling Action

Introduction                                                                       Resolution

• Explain to students what happens in each of the following:

Introduction: usually describes the setting and characters
Rising Action: presents the problem and explains how the character is trying to solve it
Climax: the most exciting part of the story in which the problem is solved
Falling Action: tells what happens as a result of the character's solution to the problem
Resolution: the loose ends of the story are tied up and the story ends

• Check for Understanding: Have students identify where to put the setting and characters on the plot chart. Write the information on the board under the word Introduction.
• Independent Practice: Give students the plot worksheet to complete. Have them fill in the Rising Action information. Discuss their responses and then have them continue with the worksheet.
•     Extend the Discussion: Instruct students to use the last page of the book to write whether or not they think this story might have happened, and to explain why or why not.

Grammar and Mechanics: Formal and informal language

• Explain that writers choose their words very carefully when writing a story in order to help the reader form a mental picture of his or her words. Explain that different types of words are used in different types of books. Ask students if they notice anything about the words or language the author used in this story.
• Have students turn to page 4. Ask them to find the first question Ellinor asks her father. Tell them that this is an example of formal language. Explain that in formal language, the sentences are usually longer, the tone is usually more serious, and contractions are not used. Tell students that formal language is often used when giving a speech or writing a report.
• Have students turn to the fourth paragraph on page 21. Read the first sentence. Explain that this is an example of informal language. Tell students that in informal language, the words are usually simple and contractions are used. Explain that this is the type of language most people use in their everyday lives.
• Write the following on the board and ask students what type of language they think would be used in each situation: at the beach, in a courtroom, at a pizza parlor, in a political speech. Ask students to tell language that might be used. For example, at the beach someone might say, “Come on…let’s take a swim.”

   Have students go through the book and underline formal language with a red colored pencil and informal language with a blue colored pencil (colors are optional). Discuss their responses.

Word Work: Often-confused words

• Write the words no and know on the board. Review or explain that these words are often confused because they sound alike. Ask students to tell what each word means. Have students find the third paragraph on page 8. Have them read the words Little Deer’s mother says to her. Ask them to explain why the word "no" would not work in the sentence. Ask a volunteer to use the word in a sentence.
• Write the words new and knew on the board. Ask students to tell the meaning of each word. Direct students to the fourth paragraph on page 4 to find the sentence with the word "newest." Ask a volunteer to read the sentence. Ask another volunteer to use the word "knew" in a sentence.
• Give students the often-confused words worksheet. Tell them they may use a dictionary if they cannot determine which word to use in a sentence. Discuss their responses.

Independent Reading

• Allow the students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book. Have them reread if time allows.

Home Connection

• Give the students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing Connection

• Have students write the next chapter in the story. Have students edit their work for content and mechanics before sharing their chapters with the group.

Social Studies Connection

• Provide resources for students to research the first Thanksgiving. Have students find out what foods were available, who attended, where the dinner was held, and what happened as a result.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• remember the characters and events in the story in order to retell it
• identify the characters, setting, and parts of a plot, including the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion, in a historical story
• recognize the difference between formal and informal language and when each is used
• understand and use often-confused words to complete cloze sentences