Traveling on the Mayflower

Students will participate in a role-play to understand the experiences of Pilgrims on the Mayflower.

A lesson plan for grade 2 English Language Development, Social Studies, and Theater Arts Education

By Ellen Douglas and Melissa Park

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• Learn more about English language learners, Mayflower, Pilgrims, role playing, and social studies.

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Learning outcomes

Students will identify characteristics of travel on the Mayflower.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

45 minutes

Materials/resources

• masking tape (tape an outline of a ship on a large carpet area, allowing barely enough room for all of the students to sit inside of the ship)
• visuals for English Language Learners

Pre-activities

Students should have an understanding of who Pilgrims were, why they came to America, and how they planned to travel to America. This should be reviewed briefly before the role-play.

Activities

1. Teacher tells students they will pretend they are Pilgrims that lived long ago. The teacher will lead students through a role-play about traveling to America.
2. Tell students to stand up at their desks. They can only pack one chest of things to take on the trip. You cannot take everything you want. Pretend you are packing. Tell the person beside you what you are packing in your chest.
3. Tell students they may now board the Mayflower. The teacher pretends to take their chests and then seats the students in the outline of the ship on the carpet. Tell the Pilgrims that they will ride on the bottom of the ship. Crowd the students on the floor.
4. Turn off the lights. Tell students that it was dark because the Pilgrims were riding on the bottom of the ship. There was little air.
5. The teacher will tell the students it is time to eat. Pretend to hand each student food while calling out, “Salt pork for you. It is tough and salty meat. Hard tack for you. Do you like the hard bread? Here are some peas and beans, yum yum!” Wait a little while and have students sway like they are sailing on the water. Then repeat the same lines with the food several times. The teacher may also add, “Oh, be careful and look for bugs in your food!”
6. Tell the students they are getting a little smelly. Then tell them they cannot take a bath or a shower. They can only wash up with a wet towel. Have the students pretend to wash with a towel.
7. Tell the students they will have to wear the same clothes for sixty-six days! They are starting to smell again.
8. Have the students start swaying again as if they are sailing. Tell the students they are starting to get seasick on the ship. Have them act out appropriately.
9. Tell the students that after sixty-six days, they have finally made it to America. Lead the students out of the ship outline.
10. Gather students in front of an easel with chart paper. The chart is titled, “On the Mayflower.” Ask students to tell you what it was like on the Mayflower. Record students’ answers on the chart, along with simple illustrations.

Assessment

Have students write four to five sentences about what it was like on the Mayflower. The students may include an illustration. Use the attached checklist to evaluate the students’ responses. If students include 4 out of 6 of the events of the role-play, that indicates good understanding. (see Checklist attachment at bottom of document.)

Supplemental information

Here are some books that can add to the lesson:

• If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
• On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship’s Apprentice & A Passenger Girl by Kate Waters, Russ Kendall

Modifications

These modifications refer to the specific steps in the Activities listed above:

Point to a visual of Pilgrims. On a world map, move a ship cut-out from England to America. The teacher may want to place two small “Pilgrim faces” on the ship so students see that the Pilgrims are moving to America.

In place of the word “chest”, the teacher could use the word “box.” Teacher may use an empty box for demonstration and add actual items like clothing, food, tools, etc. Then the teacher would move over to a child’s desk and pantomime adding the same materials to a box, while speaking, “I’m taking some clothes with me. I better take my hammer, etc.”

4. Using the ship from step 1, point to the bottom of the ship indicating where the Pilgrims will be traveling. The teacher may move the Pilgrim faces to the bottom of the ship. When telling students that there is little air, the teacher may gasp and talk like they are out of breath.
5. Have visuals of salt pork (meat), hard tack (bread), peas, and beans available to distribute to students. Make a few bug visuals to distribute with the food also. You may even want to serve hard biscuits and jerky!
6. The teacher will pretend to sniff the Pilgrims and hold his/her nose. Have a visual of a bathtub/shower available. The teacher will point to it and shake his/her head no. Distribute a washcloth for students to “wash” up with.
7. Point to a calendar to indicate the passing of 66 days. The teacher will pretend to hold his/her nose again while pointing to/touching some students’ clothing (may choose proficient English speakers who understand that the teacher is pretending and will not be embarrassed.)
8. When the teacher tells the class they are seasick, the teacher may hold his/her stomach while swaying and pretend they are sick.
9. On world map, indicate that the Pilgrims have landed in America.

Alternative assessments

Allow the students to copy words from the class chart completed in step 10 of Activities. Only require the Novice High English Language Learner to write 1-2 sentences.

The teacher may also question the child orally and complete the checklist. If students include 2 out of 6 of the events of the role-play, that indicates good understanding. Use the same checklist to indicate whether the listening and speaking goals were observed or not observed during this activity.(see CHECKLIST attachment at bottom of document.)

Critical vocabulary

Pilgrims, Mayflower, America, England, ship

Comments

This lesson plan was developed during the English Language Development Standard Course of Study lesson planning institutes hosted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and LEARN NC, June and July, 2004. It includes specific strategies, instructional modifications, and alternative assessments which make this lesson accessible to limited English proficient students. Please note that this lesson has been aligned with the goals and objectives of the N.C. English Language Development standards.