Episode 90 - Teaching Thanksgiving with Accuracy and Empathy

The ESL Teaching Podcast

A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a student who had just arrived from Turkey that inspired a monthly newsletter to our staff about celebrations around the world for that month. In November, as we were going over the days that we will be in school and why we have a break at the end of the month, we talked about the celebration of Thanksgiving and what typically happens during that time.

Many of our ELs, unless they are in elementary schools, don't have a clear concept of the origins of certain purely American holidays. And the topic of Thanksgiving lends itself wonderfully to teaching history and language at the same time. So in this episode, I will share with you the answer to my student's question, and a lesson on Thanksgiving, the background, the aspects I chose to cover, and the very sequence.
What you will hear about in this episode:

• Teaching Thanksgiving to newcomers
• The Story of Thanksgiving
• Vocabulary practice and adaptations for different proficiency levels
• The importance of teaching history objectively and respectfully

Show Notes:

• Episode 90 - Teaching Thanksgiving with Accuracy and Empathy

Resources Mentioned:

• The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join.
• Simply Ieva ESL Teachers Pay Teachers Store
• 1:1 ESL Teacher Coaching Session
• Essential Lesson Plan Bundle
• The Story of Thanksgiving Lesson

Related/Previous Episodes:

• Episode 9 - Text Engineering For EL Students with Susan Patterson
• Episode 41 - Language, Inclusion and Moving Beyond for ELs with Carly Spina

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