AIM
The Mississippian Indians at Cahokia Module will guide fourth-grade Chicago Public School students through the history of Illinois during the pre-Columbian period.
RATIONALE
It is important to learn about the ways and lifestyle of the indigenous people of Illinois. Knowledge of the Mississippians at Cahokia will increase the learners’ appreciation for cultural differences and for the accomplishments made by prehistoric people in Illinois. The learner will also gain an appreciation of the Mississippians ingenuity using the resources in his environment for the necessities needed to survive, and for making an impact in history today. By understanding the trials and accomplishments of our past, we can appreciate the present and build for the future.
AUDIENCE
This module is designed for fourth grade students in the Chicago Public Schools. Private school students or any other young people or adults interested in the Mississippian culture at Cahokia could also use it.
PREREQUISITES
- Reading at a 4th grade level
- Use of Internet browsers
- Use of mouse
SUBJECT MATTER
The subject matter of this module includes the following:
- The history of the Mississippian Indian culture in the State of Illinois during the pre-Columbian period.
- The role that geography plays on the development of cities, landmarks and how geography dictates the lifestyle of a people.
- Cultural anthropology of the Mississippian lifestyle.
- The role archeology plays in uncovering the past.
MATERIALS
- Journal
- Internet-linked computer with browser (version 5.0 recommended) for each student or group of students; or a projector with a large group of students.
- Macromedia Flash
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Goals and Objectives
Illinois State Goals
This module is designed to specifically address Goals 14, 16, and 18 of the Illinois State Learning Standards:
- STATE GOAL 14: Understand, analyze, and compare political systems, with an emphasis on the United States.
- STATE GOAL 16: Understand and analyze events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.
- STATE GOAL 18: Understand, analyze, and compare social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.
In addition this multidisciplinary module indirectly addresses the following goals through information about the Mississippian culture.
- State Goal 1: Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 5: Use the language arts for inquiry and research to acquire, organize, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information.
State Goal 7: Estimate, make, and use measurements of objects, quantities, and relationships and determine acceptable levels of accuracy.
State Goal 8: use algebraic and analytical methods to identify and describe patterns and relationships in data, solve problems, and predict results.
State goal 9: Use geometric methods to analyze, categorize, and draw conclusions about points, lines, planes, and space.
State Goal 11: Have a working knowledge of the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments, and solve problems.
Chicago Academic Stadards and Frameworks
State Goal 14 (grade 4)
CAS B.
Identify and discuss the role, structure, and function of local, state, and federal governments.
CFS 1. Identify and compare how the local, state, and federal governments are organized and how they carry out their functions.
State Goal 16, grade 4.
CAS B Describe the role and contributions of significant historical figures and groups in the development of the United States and the world.
CFS 1. Explain the significant contributions of men and women of representative cultures to the historical development of the various regions of the United States.
State Goal 18, grade 4.
CAS B. Analyze ways in which culture (the learned behavior of people which includes their belief systems, languages, social relationships, institutions, organizations) affects daily living and personal choices.
CFS 1. Explain how people from different cultures adapt differently to their physical environments and changing social conditions.
ASSESSMENTS
Questions for Cahokia
Answer True or False
- Mound 72 is the largest prehistoric earthen mound in the world
.
- Effigy pipes were carved in the shape of a man or an animal.
- Woodhenge, was a calendar that marked the seasons and important dates.
- The Mississippians ate every part of the deer, including the brains.
- Division of labor means people worked at what they do best.
- Monks Mound was located in the center of the plaza
- Maize is another name for corn.
- Archeologists discovered Mound 72 in 1972.
- The “Great Sun” lived on a platform mound.
- People were buried only in the conical mounds.
Essay
1.Describe how your local government is organized and compare it with the Mississippian culture.
2.Below is the news article for the headline that appeared on the front page of the July 18, 1909 the St. Louis Globe Newspaper “Where Human Beings Were Sacrificed Within Sight of St. Louis”. Write the news article that might have been included with this headline and picture. Be sure to include the 5W’s -who, what, where, why, and when.
Background Information
The name "Trappist" comes from the Cistercan Abbey of La Trappe in Normandy, France, reformed in the late 17th century. When the French Revolution suppressed all the religious houses in the year 1790, the monks of La Trappe took refuge as a Community in Switzerland, and after many hardships and wanderings eventually returned to France in 1815 to refound the Abbey and the Congregation of La Trappe. This Congregation flourished and the houses of Trappists were founded in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, so that at present there are some 100 houses of men and 60 of women throughout the world.
Additional Internet Resources
Algonquin First Nation - Internet Project
Mississippian Period
The Mississippian Mound Builders and Their Artifacts
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site