Oral mediation:
1. Oral Mediation Task:
Tell your family about the origins of Thanksgiving.
Read this text to help you:
Thanksgiving Traditions
The History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States of America.(1)____________ (TRADITION), Thanksgiving is a holiday that Americans spend together with their families who enjoy a Thanksgiving meal which usually includes the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.
The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious (2)_______________ (PERSECUTE) in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the (3)____________ (RELIGION) freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become (4)____________ (ATTACHMENT) to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch (5)_____________ (FRIVOLITY) and their ideas a threat to their children's education and (6)_____________ (MORAL).
So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English (7)____________ (INVEST), the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and (8)______________ (SUPPLY) in exchange for their working for their (9)_________________ (BACK) for 7 years.
On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints", and 66 others, (10)____________ (WHO) the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."
The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the (11)___________ (WOOD) ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was (12)____________ (SIGHT) on November 10th.
The long trip led to many (13)______________ (AGREE) between the "Saints" and the "Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an (14)___________ (AGREE) was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed (15)___________ (EQUAL) and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."
Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbour. A large brook (stream) offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a (16)__________ (PEACE) group and did not prove to be a threat.
The first winter was (17)___________ (DEVASTATE) to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was (18)____________ (EXCEPTION) heavy, (19)_____________ (INTERFERENCE) with the workers as they tried to construct their (20)___________ (SETTLE). March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, fewer than 50 survived the first winter.
On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian (21)_____________ (BRAVERY) walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).
His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had learned English from the captains of (22)___________ (FISH) boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English.
Squanto's (23)___________ (IMPORTANT) to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were (24)__________ (POISON) and which had (25)________________ (MEDICINE) powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by (26)______________ (HEAP) the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The (27)_____________ (DECAY) fish (28)________________ (FERTILE) the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn.
The harvest in October was very (29)___________ (SUCCESS) and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over (30)_____________ (SMOKE) fires.
The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the(31)___________ (WILD), they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long (32)__________ (COME) winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbours. They had (33)___________ (BEAT) the odds and it was time to celebrate.
The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the (34)_____________ (COLONY) and the (35)_____________ (NEIGHBOUR) Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is (36)____________ (CERTAINTY), but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.
The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as (37)_____________ (BOUNTY), as they were still (38)_________ (USE) to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored food with (39)_____________ (COME) and the Pilgrims ran short of food.
The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon (40)___________ (AFTER) that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
The custom of an (41)___________ (ANNUAL) celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770s), a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.
In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day (42)____________ (PROCLAME), usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
KEY
1. Traditionally
2. persecution
3. religious
4. attached
5. frivolous
frivolous: /ˈfrɪvələs/
1. (of people or their behaviour) silly or funny, especially when such behaviour is not suitable.
E.g.
frivolous comments/suggestions
Sorry, I was being frivolous.
Her words seemed utterly frivolous.
6. morality
7. investors
8. supplies
9. backers
backer: a person or company that gives support to somebody/something, especially financial support (sponsors)
E.g.
The project receives its money from European backers.
We need to find a new financial backer.
10. whom
11. wooden
12. sighted
sight something to suddenly see something, especially something you have been looking for. Sp. divisar, ver
E.g.
After twelve days at sea, they sighted land.
They finally sighted land. Sp. Por fin divisaron tierra.
13. disagreements
14. agreement
15. equality
16. peaceful
17. devastating
18. exceptionally
19. interfering
20. settlement
21. brave (a young Native American warrior) Sp. guerrero indígena (de Norteamérica)
22. fishing
23. importance
24. poisonous
25. medicinal
26. heaping
heap something (up): to put things in an untidy pile. Sp. amontonar.
E.g.
Rocks were heaped up on the side of the road.
She looked at the vegetables heaped on the table.
27. decaying
decay (something): to be destroyed gradually by natural processes; to destroy something in this way. Rot. Sp. pudrirse.
E.g.
decaying leaves/teeth/food
28. fertilised
fertilise/ˈfɜːtəlaɪz/
29. successful
30. smoky
smoky: producing a lot of smoke.
E.g.
a smoky fire
31. wilderness
wilderness /ˈwɪldənəs/
a large area of land that has never been developed or used for growing crops because it is difficult to live there. Sp. tierra virgen.
E.g.The Antarctic is the world's last great wilderness
Etymology: Old English wildēornes ‘land inhabited only by wild animals’, from wild dēor ‘wild deer’ + -ness.
32. coming
coming: happening soon; next. Sp. próximo -a, venidero -a
E.g.
in the coming months
This coming Sunday is her birthday.
this coming Friday Sp. el viernes que viene.
33. beaten
beat the odds: to succeed despite not having a good chance of succeeding. Sp. contra todo pronóstico.
E.g.
Most new restaurants fail, but this one somehow managed to beat the odds.
Nobody thought my grandfather would survive cancer, but he beat the odds and is alive and healthy today.
34. colonists
35. neighbouring
36. uncertain
37. bountiful
bountiful: abundant
38. unused
be unused to (doing) something not having much experience of something and therefore not knowing how to deal with it; not used to something. Sp. no estar acostumbrado -a a (hacer) algo.
E.g.
unused to something
This is an easy routine, designed for anyone who is unused to exercise.
unused to doing something
She was unused to talking about herself
She was unused to being alone. Sp. No estaba acostumbrada a estar sola.
39. newcomers
40. thereafter, afterwards
thereafter: after a particular event or time
E.g. Sophie was born in France, but shortly thereafter her family moved to the United States
41. annually
42. proclamation
proclamation /ˌprɒkləˈmeɪʃn/ an official statement about something important that is made to the public; the act of making an official statement
E.g.
The King issued a proclamation dissolving Parliament.
issue a proclamation. Sp. emitir una proclama
Complete text:
Thanksgiving Traditions
The History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States of America. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a holiday that Americans spend together with their families who enjoy a Thanksgiving meal which usually includes the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.
The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.
So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers (sponsors) for 7 years.
On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints", and 66 others, whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."
The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.
The long trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the "Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."
Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbour. A large brook (stream) offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not prove to be a threat.
The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter.
On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian brave (a young Native American warrior (= fighting man) ) walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).
His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English.
Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn.
The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.
The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbours. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.
The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighbouring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.
The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food.
The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770s), a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.
In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
Use this questions to help you select interesting information:
1. Why did the pilgrims leave Holland?
2. What made their journey to America possible?
3. Why was their journey so uncomfortable?
4. Why did they choose to settle in Plymouth?
5. How would you describe their first year in America?
6. How was Squanto’s important to the settlers?
7. Why did the settlers have reason to celebrate in late 1621?
8. Write a description of how you imagine the celebration ordered by Governor William Bradford.
Related stories:
Difference between thankful and grateful
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.