Later Elementary Social Studies The First Americans
American History
SCoPE Site Lesson Plan
Title: Lesson 5 – Native American Cultures: Other Regions (SS050205)
Abstract
In this lesson students learn about the Native Americans of different regions by exploring maps, primary sources, literature, and informational text. Students explore the connections between geography and culture and continue developing the skill of comparing and contrasting.
Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade Level and Course Title: Fifth Grade/American History
Unit of Study: The First Americans
Benchmarks
· Locate and describe major places, cultures, and communities in Native American life (II.1.LE.3). GLCE.
· Describe how Native Americans adapted to or modified the environment (II.2.LE.4). GLCE.
· Use narratives and graphic data to compare early Native American life with present day life (I.2.LE.2). GLCE.
Key Concepts
culture
Native Americans
regions
Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
A large map of the United States
Overhead projector
Student Resource
Any class set of textbooks for fifth grade Social Studies, such as:
Berson, Michael J. Horizons: United States History: Beginnings. Orlando: Harcourt School Publishers, 2005. 70-73.
American Indians. 1997-2005. Americans.net. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.americanindians.com/>.
Native Americans. 1996-2005. Americans.net. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.nativeamericans.com/>.
Native American Cultural Regions Map. U-S-History.com. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.u-s-history.com/natammap.html>.
Native American Toys. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.civilisations.ca/aborig/stones/toys/tymenu.htm>.
Native American Websites. Kidfo Website. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Native_Americans.html>.
North American Ethnographic Collection. American Museum of Natural History Website. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/databases/north_public/north_public.htm>.
Pre-contact Housing Types. 23 May 1997. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/housingmap.html>.
Rodanas, Kristina. Dragonfly’s Tale. New York: Clarion Books, 1992.
Teacher Resource
Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Houghton Mifflin. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/na_000107_entries.htm>.
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village. Teaching With Historic Places Lesson Plans. National Park Service. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/66gran/66gran.htm>.
A Historical Look at Native Americans Theme Set. Washington, D. C.: National Geographic Society, 2005.
Map of the Great Plateau. Native American Rhymes. 16 Sept. 2005. <http://nativeamericanrhymes.com/greatplateau/gtplateau.htm>.
Maps of Native American Regions. Native American Rhymes. 16 Sept. 2005 <http://nativeamericanrhymes.com>.
We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today. A series from Lerner Publications Co., 241 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401.
Other
Egbo, Carol. Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc). Teacher-made material. Waterford, MI: Oakland Schools, 2005.
Teacher Note: This lesson should be supplemented with material from a fifth grade social studies textbook such as the one listed in the student resources. Use pages 70-73 in this book or a similar selection in another fifth grade book.
Sequence of Activities
1. Remind students that in studying Native American groups, it is important to explore both where they live, or geography, and how they live, or culture. Write the following question on an overhead transparency or chalkboard: “How are geography and culture connected?” Tell students to answer this question by giving an example from what they learned about Eastern Woodland Native Americans in the previous lesson. Have students share their journal writing with a partner and then choose volunteers to share with the whole class. Possible answers to the question include:
· One of the most important geographic features of the Eastern Woodlands region were the forests. For this reason many of the cultural artifacts of the region such as houses, tools, and utensils were made of wood.
· Deer were common in the woodlands. For this reason, people made their clothing, another cultural component, out of deerskin.
2. Explain that in this lesson students will be exploring the geography and cultural traits of several other Native American regions.
3. Continue your integration of literature with these Native American lessons by having each student take out their copy of the “Native American Folktales Chart” which you handed out in Lesson 4 (see Supplemental Materials SS050204.doc). Explain that you will be reading them another folktale, which they will summarize on this chart.
4. Read Dragonfly’s Tale by Kristina Rodanas or a similar folktale by a Native American group from the Southwest region to students. Explain that this is a Zuni folktale from the Southwest region. When you have finished reading have students summarize the folktale on their charts as follows:
· Folktale: Dragonfly’s Tale
· Region: Southwest
· Cultural Group: Zuni
· Type of Folktale: Teaching a moral lesson
· Summary: A tribe has a bountiful harvest and celebrates by having a war with food. The corn maidens become angry and send drought and famine until the creation of a special creature by a boy for his sister.
5. Have students take out the map they began in Lesson 4. This map should have the Northeast and Southeast Woodland Regions shaded in. Make and display an overhead transparency of the “Southwest Region, Overhead #1,” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc). Have students shade in the Southwest region on their maps.
6. Briefly explain that the ancient people in this region were known as the Anasazi. They built a civilization in the dry deserts of this region. Share the following information with students:
· From about 2300 years ago to about 700 years ago the Anasazi lived in this region.
· They lived in groups of houses built next to or on top of each other like apartment houses today. They were later named pueblos.
· Most pueblos were built on top of mesas which were high, flat-topped hills. Others were built into the sides of high cliffs.
· These houses were built of stone, which was an abundant natural resource in this area.
· The Anasazi were farmers who grew corn, beans, and squash.
· The Anasazi were the ancestors of other groups such as the Hopi and Zuni that lived in the Southwest later in time.
7. Point out the Southwest Region again on the transparency of the “Southwest Region, Overhead #1” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc). Explain that the climate of this region was very dry. Ask students to predict how this may have affected the cultures of the Native Americans living in this region. Discuss student responses and then use an overhead transparency of “Southwest Native Americans, Overhead #2,” to introduce this region, located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc).
8. Have students preview the lesson in their text on Southwest Native Americans by exploring text features and text structures. If you are using the text listed in the student resources students should preview pages 70 – 73 and note the following:
· The big idea of this lesson is that cultures of the Southwest Native Americans were greatly affected by the dry climate.
· The lesson has five vocabulary terms.
· Text features include a diagram of a pueblo, a sidebar with a biography, photographs, a map, and examples of primary sources such as a sand painting.
· The lesson has three sections: one on The Pueblo Peoples, one on Desert Newcomers, and one on Navajo Beliefs.
· The structure of this lesson is based on making comparisons.
9. Have students read the textbook section on the Southwest Region and create a graphic organizer such as a web or Venn diagram with a partner. Encourage students to pull together what they have read and what they have learned from other resources used in this lesson. Note that if time permits you may want to use parts of the lesson on 7th to 17th century Pueblo life located at this website:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/66gran/66gran.htm>. It has excellent images, maps, and text and is part of a project on “Teaching With Historic Places.”
10. Continue to use the above pattern described in Steps 4 through 9 to study other Native American regions. Use the following resources located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc):
· “Great Plateau Region, Overhead #3” and “Great Plateau Native Americans, Overhead #4”
· “Northwest Coast Region, Overhead #5” and “Northwest Coast Native Americans, Overhead #6”
· “Great Basin Region, Overhead #7” and “Great Basin Native Americans, Overhead #8”
· “California Region, Overhead #9” and “California Native Americans, Overhead #10”
· “Plains Region, Overhead #11” and “Plains Native Americans, Overhead #12”
11. For an alternative method of studying Native American regions consider one of the following options:
· Divide students into small groups of three or four students each. Assign each group to one of the regions to research. Provide each group the overhead transparencies for their region as listed above and resources such as some of those listed on the “Native American Resources” sheets included with Lesson 4. Have groups research their region and design a presentation to teach about their region.
· Use the National Geographic Theme Set called: A Historical Look at Native Americans. This differentiated theme set consists of four different leveled books on four different Native American groups as well as worksheets, graphic organizers, and a teacher’s guide.
12. Note that you may want to have students do an independent research project on a Native American tribe. The following websites are good for student research:
· American Indians http://www.americanindians.com/>.
· Native Americans <http://www.nativeamericans.com/>.
· Native American Cultural Regions Map <http://www.u-s-history.com/natammap.html>.
· Native American Websites <http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Native_Americans.html>.
13. In order to make a connection between this lesson and Native Americans today read students one or more books from the We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today series such as the following:
· Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters
· Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition
· Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugar-making
· The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering
· Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer
· Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave
Note that several other good books are listed on the “Native American Resources” included in Lesson 4 under the category of “Real Child Books.
14. As a culminating activity, have students complete the “Native American Regions Chart,” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050205.doc).
Assessment
The chart from Step 14 can be used to assess student understanding. For a more formal assessment, have students write an essay describing two or more Native American groups, and how they modified and adapted to the natural environment.
Application Beyond School
Students could Native American connections to their local community. Students can explore ways people continue to modify or adapt to their environment by investigating instances in their own community.
Connections
English Language Arts
Students develop oral language skills when they participate in group discussions and make presentations to the class.
Students develop comprehension strategies when they explore various forms of text.
Mathematics
Students explore mathematics concepts such as orientation and scale as they work with maps.
September 16, 2005 SCoPE SS050205 Page 6 of 6