California
Native
American
Group Project
By: Carolinateach
To be used with Harcourt Reflections
California: A Changing State 4th Grade
Note to Teachers:
This is a group project that can be used with Harcourt
Reflections California Series Unit 1, Chapter 2: California
Indians. Students will work with a group to choose a California
Native American Tribe to research, create a report and present
to the class. Students will enjoy working cooperatively together
and will learn so much more from this project versus just reading
the chapter.
Suggestions for LessonsDay 1• Read Lesson 1, The First Californians (pg. 56-61) to
introduce the Chapter.
• You may want to watch the following video titled “Native
Americans of California” on YouTube. It is 4:01 minutes
long. It is kid friendly, however there is one picture in black
and white of a topless woman but it is not very clear. I
have shown it to my 4th grade class and feel it is
appropriate for school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=19&v=hFDADorL1dM
Day 2• Explain to the class that they will not be reading the rest of
the lessons in this chapter. Instead, you will be assigning
the Native American tribes that are presented in the
lessons to different groups. They will read about their
tribe, do research, and complete a report to present to the
class. The Social Studies textbook has more information
on some tribes than on others. You may want to plan
ahead and coordinate your library day around this time.
Or you may choose to check out books on California Tribes
ahead of time. I also allow my students to extend their
research to the internet.
Day 2 cont.- There are 10 California Native American Tribes
discussed in the textbook. Assign students groups of 2, 3 or 4
depending on your class size. Cut out the Tribe Names cards
and have them pick from a box or bag to assign tribes. The
page number that the textbook information on the tribe can
be found is written on the cards. After students have chosen
a tribe, they should begin reading the information in the
textbook first. Pass out the research report pages.
Day 3-4- Additional research may be completed as needed or
as you see fit. My students complete this project in four days.
Day 5- Group Presentations
I hope your students enjoy working on this group project.
Enjoy!
Please visit my store
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Carolinateach
Yurok
Hupa
Pomo
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Chumash
Gabrielino Maidu
Page 70
Page 72
Page 78
Miwok
Yokuts
Cahuilla
Page 80
Page 80
Page 85, 86
Mojave
Page 87
Cut the California Tribe name cards. Have a
student from each group pick a card to
determine the tribe they will research. The
page number corresponds to where the
information can be found in the textbook.
California Native American
Tribe
__________________________
Group Members:
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
California Native American Report
Food
List five types of food that your tribe ate.
1.________________________________
2.________________________________
3.________________________________
4.________________________________
5.________________________________
How did the Native Americans in your tribe
get food to eat?
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Draw a picture of the typical clothing that was worn by
your Native American tribe.
Why do you think your Native American tribe dressed
this way?
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
California Native American Report
Food
List five types of food that your tribe ate.
1.________________________________
2.________________________________
3.________________________________
4.________________________________
5.________________________________
How did the Native Americans in your tribe
get food to eat?
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
California Native American Report
Shelter
Draw a picture of the type of shelter used by your
tribe.
What is the name of this type of shelter?
___________________________________________
______________________________________
Why did your tribe use this kind of shelter?
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
California Native American Report
Culture
Name of your tribe:__________________
List five interesting facts about the culture
of your tribe.
1.________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
2.________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
3.________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
4.________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
5.________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________