South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

More Than Tipis and Feathers (Grade 4)

Master Teacher

Patricia Hendrickson

Time Allotment

One to two class periods

Overview

In this lesson, your students will be examining how the earliest peoples came to what is now known as the United States. They will also look at the way in which people moved throughout North and South America and how, over time, they developed many different ways of life. Through a video presentation, the class will hear how and why these first people came into North and South America. Students will also examine how Native Americans adapted to their environment, used elements of nature in their quest for food, clothing, and shelter. Students will make a small model house to show how these peoples lived prior to the arrival of European settlers.

Subject Matter

Social Studies and History

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Describe four different houses in use by Native Americans during the time prior to the arrival of European settlers.
List ways in which the daily lives differed in the various Native American cultures during that period of history.
List ways in which the cultures have similarities.
Identify the different ways Native American peoples met the basic human need for food, shelter, and clothing.

South Carolina Standards

(These Standards are found online at http://www.myscschools.com/offices/cso)

Social Studies

Grade 4: U.S. Studies to 1877

I. Time, Continuity, and Change: History

4.1.2 Compare and contrast the various Native American cultures from the time of their arrival to their encounter with Europeans.

English Language Arts

The student will draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze and evaluate what he/she reads.

Reading Process and Composition

R1 The student will integrate various cues and strategies to comprehend what he or she reads.

4-R1.18

Demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast his or her findings on a particular topic after having extracted that information from two or more pieces of graphic or written material.

Media Components

Video

Native Americans: People of the Plains

"Migration and Geography of the Plains Tribes" (02:56)

"The Tribes of the Plains" (03:13)

"The Teepee" (03:35)

Native Americans: People of the Forest

"The Tribes of the Forest" (02:22)

"Making a Wigwam" (01:25)

Native Americans: People of the Northwest Coast

"The Tribes of the Northwest Coast" (03:11)

"Housing" (00:48)

Native Americans: People of the Desert

"The Tribes of the Desert" (03:51)

To access each of these programs, log on to your account at ETV’s StreamlineSC Web page (http://etv.streamlinesc.org). In the search by keyword box, type Native Americans: People of the Plains and hit go. Click the series title and that will take you to a list of video clips. Follow the same directions for the other three programs. Prior to presenting the lesson, download the segments to your computer desktop or burn to a CD and preview them. Each 24-minute video may be shown; however, this lesson is designed using segments to accommodate for one to two class periods. Note the sections of the videos identified with subheadings and times.

(Note to Teacher: If you don’t have an account with ETV’s StreamlineSC, check with your media specialist or Instructional Technologist about signing up for your own account.)

Web Sites

EMuseum
Minnesota State University, Mankato

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/settlements/

This site features a map with North American Prehistory types of housing and settlements.

Tipis, Tepees, Teepees

http://www.tipis-tepees-teepees.com/

This site is dedicated to all the people around the world who have ever studied the American Indian tipi and wanted to live the life of freedom on the Plains that this structure represents.

Exploratorium

http://www.exploratorium.edu/chaco/flash.html

Online since 1993, the Exploratorium was one of the first science museums to build a site on the World Wide Web. This Web site provides pictures, videos and Webcasts of Ancient Chaco Canyon, a shallow, ten-mile canyon situated in the northwest corner of New Mexico. The Chacoan culture included great houses built in a desolate area at the center of a widely distributed population in the Four Corners region.

National Museum of the American Indian—Smithsonian Institution

http://www.nmai.si.edu/

The National Museum of the American Indian is the 16th museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.

Materials

Native Americans adapted their dwellings to conform to the geographic and climatic conditions. In constructing the shelter models, instruct students to use the elements of nature, such as natural fibers and textures when possible. (Make sure students pass up plastic representations of Native Americans as they are stereotypes to be avoided.)

Equipment

LCD Projector
Wall mounted or standing display screen

Prep for Teachers

Prior to presenting the lesson, download the programs to your computer desktop or burn to a CD and preview them. If time will not allow for viewing each 24-minute video, note the sections of the videos identified with subheadings and times.

Prior to teaching this lesson, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom, or use a Web site organizer, such as Portaportal (http://www.portaportal.com). Download Flash and Quick Time plug-ins (available at http://www.macromedia.com) onto each computer.
Cue the video to the appropriate starting point.

When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Ask your students how Native Americans came to the Americas. Ask what they know about Native Americans and the ways they lived. Write their answers on the board. In all likelihood, the answers will vary.

Step 2: Ask the students why they think the answers are so varied. What methods did they use to come up with their answers?

Step 3: Ask students to draw a quick sketch of a Native American house.

Learning Activities

(Note to Teacher: When using the video, identify segments to be used with visual and or aural cues. Highlight interactive techniques such as appropriate pause points: indicate specific pause points and their rationales. Include activities/discussion used between video segments.)

Step 1: Introduce the unit with a map of North America and tell briefly about the major groups of Native Americans.

Step 2: Tell your students that they will become investigative reporters researching the various cultures of the major groups of Native Americans. Tell students that they will now do some research to see how accurate the information is that they already have.

Step 3: Explain to students that they are now going to view a segment of video that will help them learn more about the first people to come to the Americas.

Step 4: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them that they are to compare the information on the board with what they will see in the video. PLAY the video segment entitled Native Americans: People of the Plains : “Migration and Geography of the Plains Tribes” (02:56).

Step 5: Distribute the Investigative Reporter worksheet. Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them that they are to describe the information that they will learn about in the video segment on the worksheet.

Step 6: PLAY the video segment entitled “The Tribes of the Plains (03:13).

Step 7: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the dwellings of the plains people. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 8: PLAY the video segment entitled “The Teepee” (03:35).

Step 9: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the people of the forest. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 10: PLAY the video segment entitled “The Tribes of the Forest (02:22).

Step 11: Define “similarity” for students. Ask students if they have detected any similarities between the peoples. Ask if they have seen any differences.

Step 12: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the dwellings of the people of the forest. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 13: PLAY the video segment entitled “Making a Wigwam” (01:25).

Step 14: Ask them to describe what happens to the shelter during various times of the year.

Step 15: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the people of the northwest coast. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 16: PLAY the video segment entitled “The Tribes of Northwest Coast” (03:11).

Step 17: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the dwellings of the people of the northwest coast. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 18: PLAY the video segment entitled “Housing” (00:48).

Step 19: Ask students to look at their notes and compare the peoples. Ask students if they know what conditions existed in order for these dwellings to be similar or different.

Step 20: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that in the next segment they are to find out about the people of the desert and their dwellings. Instruct students to report their findings on the worksheet.

Step 21: PLAY the video segment entitled “The Tribes of the Desert” (03:51)

Step 22: When students have completed their worksheets, they may compare them to those of other students.

Step 23: Ask students to describe the dwelling that they sketched on paper during the Introductory Activity. How is it similar to the ones in the video? How is it different? Ask students to think about why the different types of dwellings are important. Have them recall what they learned about the climates. How did the people adapt to climatic changes? Ask students about the significance of the environment and nature to the various peoples. Another thing that they should identify is the name given to all the shelters that they are exploring and what makes them special. Have them check their reporter notes against their information recorded on the board.

Step 24: Put students into groups of three or four. Have students move to the computers. Instruct students that they will create a model dwelling from the research they gather. Distribute the My Native American Dwelling worksheet.

Step 25: Tell students that they should decide what specific group their model dwelling will represent. Direct students to the EMuseum Web site. Give them a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them that at this Web site, there are types of Native American dwellings. The worksheets will guide students through the links, and provide a focus for the students’ discovery and ultimate learning. Students should record their findings from the EMuseum Web site on their My Native American Dwelling worksheets.

(Note to Teacher: The Web site may use different names for the various groups. However, students should be able by this time to determine if the group is classified as plains, forest, northwest coast or desert peoples.

If a computer lab is not available, this may be better done by a teacher-led Web crawl. The teacher can use the sites provided at this Web site to guide students through the sites and discuss each one. This will offer opportunities for better questioning techniques by the teacher.)

Step 26: When students have completed the dwelling worksheet, ask them to share what they learned.

Step 27: Now students will explore some other Native American sites. Ask them to go to the next Web site listed on the worksheet. Students should read each page they come to and learn a little more about Native American culture. Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction by saying that in this Web site they are looking for different ways Native American peoples met the basic human need for food, shelter, and clothing. They may record this information on the back of the worksheet; they should record information about each of the major groups from the video.

Step 28: Students need to continue their exploration by going to the remaining Web sites. Here they will find more applications in other areas. Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction, by saying that they need to continue finding ways that the Native Americans have influenced culture. They should add at least five more ways to their worksheet.

Step 29: Now students need to refocus back on social studies. How are the basic needs of the Native Americans of long ago similar? How are they different?

Step 30: Students should now have enough information from which to create their own version of a Native American dwelling. Native Americans adapted their dwellings to conform to the geographic and climatic conditions. In constructing the shelter models, instruct students to use the elements of nature, such as natural fibers and textures when possible. (Note to Teacher: Make sure students pass up plastic representations of Native Americans as they are stereotypes to be avoided.)

Suggest that students making miniature tipis base their project on what they saw in the video or from pictures in books. Substitute cloth or chamois for the hide, and small sticks or dowels for the poles. Cliff dwellings may be fashioned from clay. Miniature wigwams may be made from green twigs and bark. Northwest coast houses may be fashioned from small dowels and flat sticks.

Culminating Activity

Step 1: Instruct students to imagine they are archaeologists searching for evidence of the first Americans. Tell them to select a place and group.

Step 2: Tell them to write a letter to a friend in the class that describes what is it like to work at the site. Explain the kinds of artifacts or other evidence they hope to find.

Cross-Curricular Extensions

Character Education/Guidance: The following video may prove effective to demonstrate to students that while Native Americans migrated long ago, they are still a people contributing to our culture.

Many Voices: Positively Native (Native American Culture) Run Time: 15:00

Title Summary: Martin makes a video about his Native American life, hoping to dispel some of the stereotypes he faces daily. He is pleased with the response to the finished product, but wonders if he can continue to make changes in people’s opinions.

Community Connections

Invite a speaker from a museum or Native American Cultural center into class to make a presentation on the housing common to their people. Ask the presenter to discuss how they live today and what if any elements from the past have been incorporated in to the present.

Take a field trip to a pow wow or Native American Cultural Center to learn more about Native Americans in your area.

Student Materials

Graphic organizers may be substituted for the following: