Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?- Non Fiction

Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?
By: Jean Fritz

Plymouth Rock first became "famous" in 1620, when the Mayflower, along with the Pilgrims, needed a place to land as they approached the bay of Plymouth, Massachusetts. It had a quiet life, until 121 years later, when it became the center of conversation. In 1741, a wharf needed to be built where the rock was, but this led to controversy. It was believed that the rock was too important of a landmark in American history, because the Pilgrims had to have stepped on it, to just build a wharf over it. Over the course of the next 230 years, citizens moved and moved the rock, debating on the perfect place for the rock to kept safely, It was dropped and broken twice. The people finally agreed on a location, the waterfront, and made the perfect monument for the rock. The monuments opening day was on the 350th anniversary of the Mayflower's landing.

I would use this book to teach across subjects in the classroom. I would use this book for a read aloud and connect it with the social studies curriculum. In fifth grade, the students learn about the history of the United States. I would read it when discussing the pilgrims' landing on Plymouth Rock. I would implement a "Talking Back" strategy, and have the students ask the rock questions to generate their thinking about what the rock would have had to say about its journeys, if it could talk. Then the students would write a story, explaining these events from the Plymouth Rock's point of view and perspective, detailing how they think the rock would have felt when it was being moved and broken.