READING COMPREHENSION
By chance I came across this ESL reading help for language students and I thought it could be quite useful in order to facilitate reading and translating new words.
Questo aiuto consiglio soprattutto per i miei studenti di lingua italiana oppure tedesca che stanno imparando l’inglese.
Ich hoffe, dass die folgende “Reading help” meinen Englischlernenden deutscher oder italienischer Muttersprache hilft.
http://www.esldesk.com/reading/esl-reader
You can fill the text you are reading into the window which appears.. Then you click on “click here” and you indicate the language into which
you want certain words to be translated. For the definitions, I think the best is to click on “all words”.
Let’s give it a try!
Eat, Zayde, you don’t have to stop eating to listen, that’s good about a meal, that you can eat and also listen.
The American Thanksgiving myth
My American Indian friend has recently told me that this very special day was originally celebrated because the PILGRIMS who had arrived in America were helped by the indigenous when they were starving and that the English wanted to thank them in this way. The Wampanoag Indians had, however, celebrated Thanksgiving before the Pilgrims arrived in America. I have read of other American Indians who don’t want to celebrate Thanksgiving because of what they have suffered by the white man. In order to find out more about Thanksgiving I would like to refer to what other people have written.
In reference to the first document about the Plymouth Thanksgiving
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/ednkc002.html
I get informed that the American Christian tradition can be traced back to the year 1623, when the Governor William Bradford of the 1620 Pilgrim Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts addressed his people by saying that they should render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all his blessings. According to the above mentioned document this is the origin of the annual Thanksgiving Day or harvest celebration.
It seems that on November 1, 1777, The first National Thanksgiving Proclamation was proclaimed by order of the Congress and the third Thursday of December 1777,was set aside for the celebration.
On January 1, 1795, the first President of the United States, George Washington, wrote his famous National Thanksgiving Proclamation in which he said that it was the people’s duty to show the Almighty God affectionate gratitude and acknowledge the many great obligations towards him. Thursday, the 19th day of February, 1795 as a National day.
Much later, in 1863, during the civil war, this date was again changed by Abraham Lincoln. He proclaimed an annual National Day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. This day has been maintained until today.
Lincoln said that the people had forgotten God and his precious hand which had preserved them in peace, multiplied and strengthened them. People had imagined that all these blessings had been produced by themselves.
RIPE FRUIT
In reference to the second document
http://www.creationdefense.org/89.htm
It seems that today, however, Thanksgiving has degenerated into “Turkey Day” or a time to watch football and eat a lot. A key component in the thankfulness expressed in the proclamations above is missing from the living rooms of Americans today. Only by acknowledging their sin and “in humble sorrow” and with “the penitent confession” of them were they worthy to express their gratitude to God.
FALL/AUTUMN
In reference to the third document
http://hellonegro.com/2008/11/27/thanksgiving-the-ugly -truth-slavery-connection/
In December 1620 a small group of England’s Puritan movement set anchor on American soil, a land already inhabited by the Wampanoag Indians. Having been unprepared for the bitter cold weather and arriving too late to grow an adequate food supply, nearly half of the 100 settlers did not survive the winter. ( Puritans and Pilgrims are , however, not the same.)
It was Squanto who then moved to the English colony and taught them to hunt, trap, fish and to cultivate their own crops. He educated them on natural medicine and living off the land. He was a beloved friend of the Pilgrims, for if it hadn’t been for him, they would not have survived. The Puritan Pilgrims thought of him as an Instrument of God.
What started as a hope for peace between the settlers and the Wampanoag, ended in the most sad and tragic way or in the King Philips II War and in the death of many people. For many Native American Indians of present day, the traditional “Thanksgiving” holiday is not recognized as the Pilgrim/Indian day popularized in children’s history books; rather it is a day of sorrow and shame. Sorrow for the fallen lives of those who were lost so long ago, and shame for living in a country who honors people who used religion and self-righteousness to condone murder, treachery and slavery.
Happy Thanksgiving!
QUESTIONS:
On which document can we read when the first National Thanksgiving day was proclaimed?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
On which document is written what Squanto did for the white man?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
On which document can we read that Thanksgiving Day has degenerated into eating and sports?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
a)When exactly is Thanksgiving Day?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) Who was the first President of the United States?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
c) Do you have the impression that every American has the same feeling about
this special day? Why yes, why no?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
By chance I came across this ESL reading help for English students and I thought it could be quite useful in order to facilitate reading.
Here is also a very interesting link, if you want to do an English lesson by Jennifer about Thanksgiving, Black Friday and BUSINESS in America:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL
Worksheet:Thanksgiving
At the autumn market
Rivella49's Blog 
Hi,
I think there are even more possibilities. I’ve read recently that may it gos back to Moses who lead
his people back to the holy land.
Have a good day.
Martina
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