U.S.I - UNIT 2 LESSON: Exploring Native Americans Through the Edward S. Curtis Collection
TEACHER: Christine Plagata-Neubauer
OBJECTIVE: The student will make inferences about the environment and the influence of the environment on a
Native American tribe’s way of life by examining photographs from the Edward S. Curtis Collection.
STANDARD: USI.3 – The student will demonstrate knowledge of how early cultures developed in North America
by (b) locating where the Native Americans lived, with emphasis on the Artic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plains
(Lakota), Southwest (Pueblo), and Eastern Woodland (Iroquois) and (c) describing how the Native Americans used
the resources in their environment.
LINK – Discuss features of North American geographic regions from Unit 1.
ENGAGE AND EDUCATE – Distribute photographs to each group of 4. Students Observe,
Reflect, Question – What can they learn about a person by examining details? Discuss what can
be learned about a native American tribe’s environment and adaptations (use of resources)
from details in photographs.
ACTIVATE – The students will work in cooperative learning groups of 4 to explore a particular
native American tribe. Using the project guide, the students will access photographs of native
Americans, print and prepare alphabet pages, then examine each photograph closely to
determine what can be observed about where the tribe lives and how they use the natural
resources to adapt, live, and survive. Each student will write a brief summary to explain their
alphabet page. Students will then work collaboratively to research their tribe, detailing the
geographic location of their tribe, adaptations to their environments, and discussing the history
of the tribe.
REFLECT – Discuss what students were able to infer and learn through their observation,
reflection, and question activity. Students demonstrate their knowledge of native Americans,
their geographic location, and their adaptions and way of life through a Sort It. This activity can
be completed after the research portion of the project.
NOW and THEN – Students will revisit knowledge and understand of native Americans in Unit 3
(European Exploration), Unit 4 (Colonial America), and Unit 7 (Westward Expansion) when the
differing perspectives on land and land use are discussed. (European/Colonist/Americans versus
native American).
Materials:
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Computers and access to Internet
Native American Project Guide
Native American Sample Alphabet Page – Vertical
Native American Sample Alphabet Page - Horizontal
Sort It Cards
1 large binder
CLASS PRODUCT: A student-compiled Native American alphabet book that contains photographs, information,
and analysis about Native American tribes.