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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

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Use Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Leave the classic tale of Pilgrims and Native Americans behind and share the untold story of Thanksgiving instead. In Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving, readers will learn the Story of Sarah Hale, the woman who penned Mary Had a Little Lamb", became the first magazine editor in America, and who fought for Thanksgiving.

This fast-paced read makes it easy for students to make predictions, ask questions, and infer information as they read about Sarah Hale's crusade to establish a day of thanks for our nation. Readers will also learn how authors use ellipses to create suspense, connect information, and to encourage their readers to make predictions."
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving in the drop down below.

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Determining Importance with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Author Laurie Halse Anderson did an outstanding job of presenting interesting information about Sarah Hale. Through engaging with this determining importance mini lesson and set of resources, students will learn that authors use font size and exaggerated illustrations to highlight important information in text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.2.6,RI.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.1c,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7D,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9D(iii),2.9D(ii),2.9D(i),2.9C,2.8C,2.8A,2.7F,2.7E,2.1A,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6G,2.6E,2.6B,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Identifying the Author's Purpose with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Laurie Halse Anderson welcomes readers to learn about American history in a fun and engaging way. Readers will quickly learn the author's purpose for using all capital letters and exclamation marks to tell a notable story about a forgotten hero in America's history.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.2.2,RI.2.6,RI.2.8,RI.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.1c,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7F,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.10B,2.10A,2.9D(iii),2.9D(ii),2.9D(i),2.9C,2.8C,2.1A,2.7E,2.7D,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Making Inferences with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Making inferences about the events in this story gives students an opportunity to consider new ideas while drawing on their prior knowledge about Thanksgiving. This making inferences resource set encourages readers to use both the detailed illustrations and clues in the text to make inferences while reading this informational text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.2.3,RI.2.4,RI.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7E,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9D(iii),2.9D(ii),2.9D(i),2.8C,2.8B,2.7F,2.1A,2.7D,2.7C,2.7B,2.6I,2.6F,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Making Predictions with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

The author of "Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving" added ellipses throughout the story to encourage children to make predictions. Readers will have fun practicing reading comprehension skills with this playful narrative.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.2.3,RI.2.4,RI.2.8,RI.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9D(iii),2.9D(ii),2.9D(i),2.8C,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6C,2.6B,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Children will be excited to retell and summarize the new information they learn about Thanksgiving after reading this text. Use this lesson plan and set of resources to teach students how to identify which information should be included in their retelling of this alternative history of Thanksgiving.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.2.1,RI.2.2,RI.2.4,RI.2.6,RI.2.7,RI.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7F,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9D(iii),2.9D(ii),2.9D(i),2.9C,2.8D,2.8C,2.8A,2.1A,2.7E,2.7D,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6G,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Syllables with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laura Halse as a springboard for instruction focused on VCe syllables.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how words that end in VCe (vowel-consonant-e) syllable are used inside the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with VCe syllables.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.2.3,RF.2.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

This set of vocabulary development resources for Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.2.4a,L.2.5a,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7E,2.7F,2.3A,2.3B,2.3D
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Comprehension Assessment with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving.
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Running Record with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

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Cause and Effect Matching with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Read Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.
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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.
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Writing with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
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Determining Importance with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Identifying the Author's Purpose with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Inferences with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Predictions with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling & Summarizing with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Writing with Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (Spanish)

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About the Book

Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources
Title: Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Themes: Fall, Women's History Month, Thanksgiving, History
ISBN: 9780689847875
Publisher's Summary:
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson is a lively and inspiring picture book that introduces students to the remarkable story of Sarah Josepha Hale. Set in the 19th century, the book follows Sarah—a writer, editor, and advocate—who noticed that Thanksgiving was only celebrated in parts of New England and was at risk of fading away across the rest of the country. Determined to preserve the holiday, Sarah launched a decades-long campaign of letter writing, appealing to presidents, politicians, and the public to make Thanksgiving a national observance. Her unwavering persistence over thirty-eight years eventually paid off when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

Through witty narration and engaging illustrations, the book highlights Sarah's boldness, intelligence, and determination, making her a memorable role model for students. The story emphasizes the importance of perseverance, civic engagement, and the impact one individual can have on society. Anderson's playful yet informative style, paired with historical context and a "Feast of Facts" section at the end, provides educators with an excellent resource for discussions about American history, women's contributions, and the value of gratitude. This book is an outstanding choice for teachers seeking to enrich Thanksgiving lessons with a true story of advocacy and change, while encouraging students to believe in the power of their own voices.
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