Elk Ridge class learns about Pilgrims

Just before Thanksgiving Day, Hopewell Elementary School instructional support teacher Jason Soule visited Tracey Leonard’s first grade class at Elk Ridge School, where his daughter Madeline is a student, to talk about the Pilgrims’ voyage to America in 1620 and their settlement of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Mr. Soule’s great-great-grandfather, George Soule, sailed on the Mayflower and was one of 41 passengers to sign the Mayflower Compact establishing a government for the settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Dressed in period clothing, Mr. Soule conducted an exercise where students told what they knew about the Pilgrims and speculated on what life was like for the settlers’ and their children. He also shared family treasures including photos, a map of the Mayflower’s voyage and a family Bible, as well as samples of the types of tools the Pilgrims used in order to survive in their new home.