Projeto Thanksgiving

Título do projeto: “Thanksgiving”

Disciplinas envolvidas: Inglês, História e Arte

Público-alvo: Alunos do 4º ao 9º ano do ensino fundamental das escolas municipais de

Dourados-MS

Responsáveis: Professores de inglês da rede municipal de Dourados-MS

Justificativa
O presente projeto justifica-se principalmente por permitir o desenvolvimento de práticas
pedagógicas interdisciplinares (tendo a disciplina de Língua Inglesa como eixo central),
bem como o desenvolvimento dos letramentos por meio de práticas sociais/comunicativas
em língua inglesa. Pensar em um trabalho que envolva o estudo dessa festa norte-
americana, o Thanksgiving, contribui para que alunos e professores conheçam um pouco
mais sobre a cultura de um dos povos falantes de língua inglesa, fator este que não atribui
apenas a uma nação (EUA) o cenário para este idioma, mas que a coloca como um dos
lugares onde falantes de inglês interagem, produzem e reproduzem enunciados, hábitos,
costumes e práticas culturais diversos. Parece-nos ser mais interessante e enriquecedor que
as práticas pedagógicas em língua inglesa dialoguem com outras áreas e, mais que isso,
estejam voltadas para práticas reais de comunicação. Deste modo, estudos que enfoquem
puramente tópicos gramaticais num âmbito sistêmico da língua dariam lugar para trabalhos
nos quais o ensino e a aprendizagem da língua estariam intrinsecamente relacionados aos
aspectos culturais, sociais e históricos de determinados sujeitos em determinados espaços e
lugares. Além de proporcionar o conhecimento de fatos culturais de outros povos, este
projeto prevê a possibilidade das práticas orais e escritas a serem desenvolvidas através da
produção de gêneros textuais que emergem de tais práticas sociais em questão. Assim,
o desenvolvimento linguístico dos estudantes estarão relacionados e interligados às
situações sociais vivenciadas durante as aulas do projeto.

Objetivos
- Conhecer a origem da celebração do Thanksgiving pelos povos norte-americanos;
- Conhecer as práticas culturais e festivas envolvidas na celebração desta data;
- Realizar práticas pedagógicas interdisciplinares;
- Compreender e produzir gêneros textuais emergentes das práticas sociais
vivenciadas durante o projeto;
- Socializar, no ambiente escolar, o conhecimento trabalhado durante o projeto;
- Incentivar a reflexão e o exercício da gratidão e da solidariedade na escola.

Sugestões de atividades
- Aula de história sobre a origem do Thanksgiving;
- Aula de Arte sobre as produções artísticas realizadas no Thanksgiving;
- Atividades sobre o Thanksgiving (interpretação de texto);
- Atividades diversas com o vocabulário;
- Trabalho com os gêneros escritos: convite, cartaz, carta, bilhete/painel etc; gêneros
orais: apresentação de seminário, entrevista, música (oral e escrito);
- Trabalho em grupo: pesquisas sobre particularidades do Thanksgiving;
- Exposição para a escola (sugestão: realizar em novembro, perto do Thanksgiving Day)
(nomear o evento: I Mostra Cultural de Língua Inglesa etc.)
- Sugestão: Realizar no 7º ano.
Textos de apoio
1. Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day, o "Dia de Ação de Graças", é uma data tão importante quanto o Natal
para os norte-americanos. De uns tempos para cá, ele vem sendo comemorado também em
nosso país.
Tudo começou quando os pilgrims (imigrantes puritanos ingleses) partiram da Europa num
navio chamado Mayflower.
Em 1620, ao chegarem em Massachusetts, nos Estados Unidos, fundaram uma cidade
chamada Plymouth. Com a ajuda dos índios, eles aprenderam a plantar, caçar e pescar. Um
ano depois, na quarta quinta-feira de novembro, os pilgrims deram graças a Deus por terem
sobrevivido ao seu primeiro ano no "Novo Mundo".
A colheita foi farta e eles comemoraram com um grande jantar, em que também
compareceram nativos norte-americanos. A festa durou três dias.
Atualmente, o "Dia de Ação de Graças" é um feriado familiar que é comemorado na quarta
quinta-feira do mês de novembro. Nessa ocasião, familiares que vivem distantes se reúnem
para um grande jantar e dão graças pelo ano que passou. Esse jantar costuma reproduzir a
comida que os colonos de Plymouth serviram naquele dia: peru, batata-doce, milho e torta
de abóbora.

2. Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
On this date, everyone is ready for one of the biggest meals of the year. Every family is up
early to put the turkey into the oven and help to get the house ready for guests.
When the turkey, the vegetables, and many other things are on the table, everyone sits
down. Some families say a prayer to give thanks for their food. That's the reason for
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America.
In 1620 a ship called the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It brought about
150 people who were escaping from the religious persecution in Europe. They were called
Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to
eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans — Wampanoag
— taught them how to hunt, fish and grow food.
They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they
had survived and for the good corn harvest they’d had. Americans want to remember the
pilgrims and their trip across the ocean in 1620. For that reason, Thanksgiving dinner is like
the meal of those pilgrims after their first long winter in New England.
Most people eat until they are full, but they still eat one more thing — a piece of pumpkin
or apple pie. The turkey, the pie and the pilgrims are important, but Thanksgiving is not just
a day to eat and to remember the pilgrims. It's also a time of the year when people travel
from far away to be with their families.
(Adaptado de Badauê On-line. Acesso: junho de 2008.)

3. The Thanksgiving Story — A close look at history facts

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and
the Indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast
in celebration of a good harvest, and the local Indians did participate, this "first
Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast
of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can,
however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim
Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in
1621 with the pilgrims and Indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading
up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our
modern Thanksgiving. 
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of
the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England
and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they
enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch
way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a
London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of the people making the
trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's
interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
(from www.wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm accessed: 11/3/2008)
Glossary
afterward: posteriors, que vieram
ever since: desde então
fixture: fixado, formalizado
fled: passado de flee: abandonar, fugir
gathering: reunião hired: passado de hire: contratado
leading up: conduzindo, levando a
one-third: um terço
persecution: perseguição
pilgrimage: perigrinação
stock company: companhia de capital e financiamento

Answer the questions:

1. Was the first Thanksgiving Day a holiday?
The "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering.
2. Who proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a holiday? When?
Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first
president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day.
3. When was the first Thanksgiving held?
The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the pilgrims and Indians.
4. Who were the Pilgrims?
They were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect).
5. Why did they move from England to Holland, and to America?
They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to
escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they
eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a
better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage
to America.
4. A Day for Thanks
Americans have always been hungry for the holidays, and a big turkey feast on
Thanksgiving has always satisfied that hunger. But this year’s Thanksgiving should be
more special than most because, after September 11, there are more reasons to “give
thanks.”
The History Behind the Holiday
The feast that has become known as the first Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival
celebrated in December 1621. That's when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts,
gave thanks for the progress they had made after a harsh winter in their new country.
Guests at outdoor tables gobbled up ducks, geese, turkeys, clams, eels, fish, wild plums,
corn bread and other goodies. About 90 Native Americans also came and brought five deer
to add to the feast, which lasted for three days.
After the American Revolution, George Washington proclaimed that the first national
Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people
celebrated Thanksgiving locally with no official date.
Making Thanksgiving Official
In 1863, a women's magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded President
Abraham Lincoln to proclaim the last Thursday in November as a national day of
Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt set it
one week earlier to encourage more holiday shopping during a tough economic time in our
country. Today, Thanksgiving is an official federal holiday falling each year on the fourth
Thursday of November.

Glossary
clams: moluscos
eels: enguias
geese: gansos
gobbled up: devoraram
goodies: delícias, especiarias.
harsh: rigoroso
persuaded: persuadiram
settlers: colonizadores
tough: difícil, duro
wild plums: ameixas-silvestres

Answer the questions:

1. When was the first Thanksgiving first celebrated?
The feast that has become known as the first Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival
celebrated in December 1621.
2. What did the Pilgrims celebrate on that date?
The Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after
a harsh winter in their new country.
3. Who were their guests?
About 90 Native Americans also came and brought five deer to add to the feast.
4. How long did the feast take?
The feast lasted for three days.
5. What did they have ?
Ducks, geese, turkeys, clams, eels, fish, wild plums, corn bread and other goodies.