4th Grade History & Social Studies — America's Godly Heritage — From Columbus to the Constitution
Students will learn how the Pilgrims left England to worship God freely and established Plymouth Colony based on their Christian faith.
In the early 1600s, a group of Christians in England called the Pilgrims were not allowed to worship God the way they believed the Bible taught. The king said everyone had to follow the state church, but the Pilgrims wanted to follow the Bible alone.
The Pilgrims first moved to Holland, but they worried their children were losing their English way of life. So in 1620, they made a brave decision to sail across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship called the Mayflower to start a new colony where they could worship God freely.
Before they even left the ship, the Pilgrims wrote the Mayflower Compact — an agreement to govern themselves under God's laws. This was one of the first examples of self-government in America and was based on Biblical principles of covenant and community.
The first winter was terribly hard. Nearly half the Pilgrims died from cold and sickness. But God provided help through a Native American named Squanto, who taught them how to plant corn and catch fish. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims held a feast of thanksgiving to God for His faithfulness — the first Thanksgiving!
Write a short diary entry as if you were a Pilgrim child on the Mayflower. Describe what you see, how you feel, and what you are praying for. Then draw a picture of the first Thanksgiving feast.