Year 8 Extended Homework
The American West
Your extended homework task this half term is about a study into the
American West.
You are going to use the information provided and what you have learnt
with your history teacher to complete one of the following tasks below. You
have a choice between:
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Pathway 1- Totem Poles
Pathway 2- Religions and Rituals
Pathway 3- Customs and Culture of the Sioux Tribe
Pathway 4- The Buffalo
Pathway 5- The Plains Indian Children
Pathway 6- The Headdress
It is up to you which pathway you choose to follow. You can choose to
complete more than one pathway if you wish, this will be taken into account
when deciding your performance grade.
There is also a bonus Pathway you can complete instead of the above
pathways or as an additional task.
Pathway 7- G&T:
Your task is to create an information folder on the American West. This
should include;
Origins, Religion, Rituals, Culture, Children, Fashion, Present Day Native
Americans
Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 1
The American West- Totem Poles
• Your task is to design and build a miniature totem
pole.
• It is your choice which style and design you use for
your totem pole.
Ideas for building your totem pole:
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Use
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any materials that are readily available to you.
Perhaps you could use empty kitchen rolls or crisp tubes (Pringles etc.)
You could paint it or use templates/stickers to decorate you totem pole.
Black, red, blue, green, and brown are typical decorative colours
For 3D effect papier-mâché could be used.
Make sure your totem pole is sturdy, you could do this by placing cardboard or
ice-lolly sticks underneath to create a base.
• However, it is your totem pole, so you can choose how you design and
build it. Prizes and merits will be given to those who complete the task.
• Your work will be judged on its accuracy and creativity. You will be
expected to demonstrate your understanding of the key purpose of a
totem pole and the cultural significance behind them. Above all, a good
imagination is required and you are allowed to work in small friendship
groups to complete the task if you prefer to.
• Further information can be found on the VLE (Courses
>>>History>>>Key Stage 3>>>Year 8 Extended
Homework Task)
• You should submit your totem pole by no later than Friday
15th May to your History teacher.
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Good luck and happy building!
Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 2
The American West- Religions and Rituals
You are to complete the task below based on religion and rituals for the
Sioux Tribe. To do this you will need to use the internet to research the
questions to find the answers:
1. Who did the Sioux Indian people worship?
2. What was the role of the Medicine Man in a Sioux Tribe?
3. What was the purpose of ceremonies such as the Sun Dance and the Bull
Dance?
To display your work you are to design a newspaper article as if you are
interviewing a member of the Sioux tribe for an article on their religion
and rituals.
Extension Task:
How does religion and rituals of the Sioux tribe compare of religion today?
Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 3
The American West- Customs and Culture of the Sioux Tribe
The Native American tribes had many different designs for face painting. Every tribe
had its own particular design, but each person would also paint their face reflecting a
personal message or a design having personal spiritual significance. Colours normally
used in painting their faces were red, black, green, white and yellow. Each of these
colours had a certain meaning, red was the colour of war, black the colour of the living,
green was meant to increase the wearer's night vision, white meant peace - i.e. flying a
white flag, and yellow signified death or an encounter with death. A few tribes would
associate different meanings to each colour, but most of them had the same meaning
for each colour.
Men would often paint lines on their cheeks, foreheads, and chin. And the women used
mainly dots on their faces. Often the males would separate theirs into two parts and
paint each section differently. Most of their paintings were not very elaborate, and
because the colours had signified a happening or feeling they used the colour to
illustrate meanings.
TASK
a) Find two images of Native American face painting. Paste (or draw)
each image into the space provided. Decide which occasion you think
the face painting was created for.
b) Find out what face paints were made from. Write your answer in the
space provided
What were face paints made from?
Image 1:
Image 2:
I think this image was designed for
I think this image was designed for
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Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 4
The American West- The Buffalo
Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 5
The American West- The Plains Indians Children
Growing up in an Indian village is very different from the lives we know. In the
table below on the left, answer the questions about the Sioux children or
research the areas mentioned. How is your childhood different? How is your
childhood the same? Complete the table.
THE SIOUX
Who did Sioux children live with?
Marriage
How many children did Sioux women give
birth to?
Place of Birth of Sioux children
Names of Sioux children (Nicknames)
Education. How did Sioux children learn?
Toys and pass time
MY CHILDHOOD
Year 8 Extended Homework Task- Pathway 6
The American West- Sioux Headdresses
Headdresses were very common amongst Indians. Headdresses were usually
headbands and various tribes wore them. Some Indians grew longhair or
glued extra hair on the headband or even both!
One type of headdress was a warbonnet. A warbonnet was a headband with
feathers through it. What kind of feather you ask? Eagle feathers of
course, because eagles were powerful and the Indians wanted their power.
Eagle feathers were symbols of great actions. Fur was also used by the
Sioux to create their headdresses. Make or draw your own Sioux
headdress, using the images below to help you.