Thanksgiving Feast
As November begins and the leaves start to turn yellow, green, and red, I start to think about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of all the food! Thanksgiving began hundreds of years ago as a way for the Pilgrims to say thanks to the Native Americans for helping them survive the cold winter. Now, Americans practice many Thanksgiving traditions on the third Thursday in November. The most well-known tradition is a feast shared with friends and family. The staples of this feast include turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, and cranberry sauce. In my house, each family member is asked to make one dish, and I always make the mashed potatoes. I cook potatoes, then add milk, butter, cream, salt, and pepper. After everyone eats a big dinner, it is time for dessert! Usually, the desserts include pumpkin pie, apple pie, and sweet potato pie. The fun part about Thanksgiving is that everyone celebrates it a little differently. Everyone's dinner and dessert menu is unique! At the end of the day, we are all stuffed. At least there are always left-overs!
Vocabulary
Pilgrims: Europeans that traveled to America for religious freedom
Native Americans: indigenous people of America; the first people living in North America
survive: to stay alive
traditions: customs that have been around for a long time
feast: a large meal
staples: items that are always there
dessert: the meal after dinner; usually includes sweet treats
unique: different, special
left-overs: after the meal is finished, the extra food is wrapped up and saved for the next day
Vocabulary Exercise
Read each sentence and select the correct vocabulary term to fill in the blank.
1. Corn, squash, and beans were the _________ of the Native American diet. They were the most important crops.
2. My mother always makes me finish my dinner before I can eat ________.
3. All people need a few things to ________: water, shelter, and food.
4. Another Thanksgiving _________ in America is watching the football games on T.V. all morning.
5. Everyone in our class is ____________. We all have different characteristics that make us special.
6. Everyone knows Ms. O loves to cook, so she always looks forward to making a Thanksgiving ________.
7. Tom and Jack helped their dad wrap up all the __________ after dinner so we would be able to eat them for lunch the next day.
8. The _________ were very grateful that the Native Americans showed them how to stay warm and store food for the winter.
9. ____________ were the first living in North America. They have a fascinating culture.
Grammar Point: Commas in a Series
Use commas to separate words in a series, or list, of three or more items. The commas are placed after each word in the series (except the last word, that gets a period!) For example, I listed the ingredients for my mashed potatoes. In my blog post, I said, "I cook potatoes, then add milk, butter, cream, salt, and pepper." There are five items in my list, so I placed a comma after each one. This keeps the writer from overusing the word "and" while keeping texts organized, short, and sweet! (See what I did there?)
Grammar Assignment: I used commas in a series many times throughout my blog post on Thanksgiving. Highlight each series in the post, then think of times you can use commas in a series. Write three sentences that each include commas in a series.
For more information on commas in a series, check out this link!
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp
Vocabulary
Pilgrims: Europeans that traveled to America for religious freedom
Native Americans: indigenous people of America; the first people living in North America
survive: to stay alive
traditions: customs that have been around for a long time
feast: a large meal
staples: items that are always there
dessert: the meal after dinner; usually includes sweet treats
unique: different, special
left-overs: after the meal is finished, the extra food is wrapped up and saved for the next day
Vocabulary Exercise
Read each sentence and select the correct vocabulary term to fill in the blank.
1. Corn, squash, and beans were the _________ of the Native American diet. They were the most important crops.
2. My mother always makes me finish my dinner before I can eat ________.
3. All people need a few things to ________: water, shelter, and food.
4. Another Thanksgiving _________ in America is watching the football games on T.V. all morning.
5. Everyone in our class is ____________. We all have different characteristics that make us special.
6. Everyone knows Ms. O loves to cook, so she always looks forward to making a Thanksgiving ________.
7. Tom and Jack helped their dad wrap up all the __________ after dinner so we would be able to eat them for lunch the next day.
8. The _________ were very grateful that the Native Americans showed them how to stay warm and store food for the winter.
9. ____________ were the first living in North America. They have a fascinating culture.
Grammar Point: Commas in a Series
Use commas to separate words in a series, or list, of three or more items. The commas are placed after each word in the series (except the last word, that gets a period!) For example, I listed the ingredients for my mashed potatoes. In my blog post, I said, "I cook potatoes, then add milk, butter, cream, salt, and pepper." There are five items in my list, so I placed a comma after each one. This keeps the writer from overusing the word "and" while keeping texts organized, short, and sweet! (See what I did there?)
Grammar Assignment: I used commas in a series many times throughout my blog post on Thanksgiving. Highlight each series in the post, then think of times you can use commas in a series. Write three sentences that each include commas in a series.
For more information on commas in a series, check out this link!
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp
Another entry on great food! I like the link to the comma rules.
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