United States History to 1877

Exploration to Revolution: Pre-Columbian Times to the 1770s

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Explain how physical and climatic features of a geographic location influenced the culture and lifestyles of the American Indian (First American) tribes living there. Place students in pairs, or have them work individually. Give each student or pair a physical outline map of the United States (see http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html). Instruct students to research the location of the following tribes: Inuit, Kwakiutl, Sioux, Pueblo, and the Iroquois. Students may use a desk atlas, their textbook, and/or the Internet to find the locations.
• Use the Class Discussion Matrix worksheet throughout the unit as a tool for students to record information they learn about each of the American Indian (First American) tribes. For the Class Discussion Matrix worksheet, CLICK HERE.
• Have the students use colored pencils to mark the locations on their maps, shading and labeling the appropriate areas. Have students title their maps and create a legend.
• Use the Web sites listed below on the American Indians (First Americans) to assist the students in collecting information on each of the cultures.
• Have students consider how the physical and climatic features of each tribe's location influenced its culture and lifestyle. To help students grasp this concept, ask them how hurricane season influences or impacts their own life today -- their attendance at school, their vacations, etc. Have them consider ways that other factors in their environment might alter their lives. Ask students who have lived in other parts of the United States to describe ways that their previous location differs from or resembles their present location and ways the physical and climatic features of that location affected their lives. Help students name some ways the physical and climatic features of each tribe's location probably influenced its culture and lifestyle.
• Have students locate on a contemporary political map of the United States three major cities located in the areas that once were home to the Indian tribes above. Have students use the Internet to gain information about climatic conditions in these areas. For example, have them refer to the United States Climate Page at http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/states.fast.htmlfor climatic data.
• Explain to students that they will create a shadow box containing "artifacts" that reflect one of the following American Indian (First American) tribes: Inuit, Kwakiutl, Sioux, Pueblo, and the Iroquois. Divide students into pairs or trios, and assign each group a particular tribe, or let students select. Make sure that each tribe is represented.
• Have students research their assigned tribe before creating their shadow box. Make resources available in the library and point students to resources on the Internet. Students' research should cover the following: types of dwelling, clothing, food, arts and crafts, tools, and other applicable information.
• After completing their research, allow students to begin assembling their shadow box. Encourage students to make replicas of artifacts, such as baskets or clothing, to include pictures (either hand-drawn or printed from the Internet), and to include a title on their shadow box and to label each artifact. You may wish to have students write a short report explaining the significance of each artifact. The shadow box should provide a complete picture of the culture and lifestyle of the tribe.
• Display completed boxes in the classroom. If students wrote reports, place them next to the boxes. Have students explore and complete the Shadow Box Artifacts Observation worksheet related to the tribes they did not research. For the Shadow Box Artifacts Observation worksheet, CLICK HERE.
• Once students have completed their worksheets, conduct a whole-group discussion. Have students consider the major similarities and differences between the tribes. Ask students how geography influenced the tribe's culture and lifestyle. Have students refer to the map exercise they completed in the first session.
• Use copies of folktales from the Inuit, Kwakiutl, Sioux, Pueblo, and Iroquois (see sample Web sites listed below).
• Explain to students that much of what we know about American Indian culture comes from folktales. Indian tribes practiced an oral tradition. While many of these folktales are lost to us today, fortunately some were written down. Indian folktales often attempt to provide explanations for occurrences in the natural world. Nature was essential and often sacred to the lives of American Indians. Explain to students that they will read a series of American Indian folktales and compare and contrast various reoccurring elements.
• Choose a variety of American Indian folktales that addresses several themes, or select tales across tribes that share similar themes, such as creation or origin. Web sites that provide the full text of folktales or offer a bibliography of folk tales are listed below.
• After students have read the folktales, lead them in an examination of the stories. Graphic organizers may be useful to help students comprehend the stories and make comparisons. Ask students:
  • What are some of the common elements of the folktales?
  • What purposes did folktales serve?
  • What can one learn about the beliefs and cultures of the various tribes from reading the stories?
  • What instruments or methods do we use today to help us make sense of the world?
• To extend the lesson, have students write their own folktales. Review some of the basic elements of a folktale before having the students write their stories. Have them consider a natural occurrence they would wish to explain, such as: How did squirrels get their bushy tails? Why do snakes crawl on their bellies? Students also may choose to write a folktale that addresses a creation myth. They may choose to include illustrations with their stories.
• Review American Indian (First American) geography and culture by completing the American Indian Review worksheet. For a copy of the worksheet, CLICK HERE.For a copy of the American Indian Review worksheet key, CLICK HERE.

WEB SITES

http://www.crystalinks.com/inuit.html
Information on the Inuit

http://www.native-languages.org/kwakiutl.htm
Information on the Kwakiutl

http://www.nativeamericans.com/Sioux.htm
Information on the Sioux

http://inkido.indiana.edu/w310work/romac/swest.htm
Information on the Pueblo

http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports1/iroquois2.htm
Information on the Iroquois

http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/B281
Native American tales, particularly those of the Sioux, taken from Wigwam Evenings: Sioux Folk Tales Retold by Charles A. Eastman and Elaine Goodale Eastman

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/pacific/langarts.html#folklore
Information about the Pacific Northwest Indians (Kwakiutl) and suggested questions that can be asked of any folktale

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/sw/pifs/
Collection of stories from the Isleta Pueblo people of New Mexico

http://www.earthbow.com/native/frames.htm
Lore, legends, and myths of many Native American peoples, indexed by tribe

http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/inte/back.1_div.3.html
Useful bibliography of books about the Pueblos

Copyright ©2008 Prince William Network/Virginia Department of Education