Description

This DBQ doesn’t just “correct” the Thanksgiving story. It transforms how students think about history, memory, and voice. Through primary source analysis, critical writing, and structured reflection, students confront the dominant narrative and uplift Indigenous resistance—without losing academic rigor.

This resource includes everything you need to guide your students through a full document-based inquiry:

What Students Will Do:

• Analyze diverse sources—including paintings, newspaper articles, speeches, and protest images
• Learn about the Wampanoag Nation and the origins of the National Day of Mourning
• Critically examine how Thanksgiving is remembered, taught, and celebrated in the U.S.
• Write a well-structured DBQ essay responding to the essential question:
  How have dominant narratives about Thanksgiving shaped national memory?

What’s Included:

• 1-page Introduction to DBQ page
• 10 curated primary sources (visual, written, and protest-based)
• Source descriptions, analysis/critical thinking questions for each document
• Full writing scaffold: paragraph breakdowns, sentence stems and outline
  Student-friendly DBQ rubric (blending historical thinking + Ethnic Studies values)
• Guiding Slides: Slides to guide you through the lesson
• Mini-lecture slides: The Truth About Thanksgiving

Standards-Aligned + Culturally Responsive

This resource builds historical thinking, close reading, and writing

Perfect for:

• Ethnic Studies
• U.S. History
• ELA or Humanities
• Sub plans before or after Thanksgiving Break

Help your students think critically, read deeply, and write powerfully. Let’s teach the truth, not the myth.