Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
Native Americans in Kentucky
Essential Question
What was life like for the first Kentuckians?
Lesson Summary
Students are introduced to the four time periods archeologists have used to order prehistoric Native
American life in Kentucky. Students create timelines in their “Discovering Kentucky” notebook to develop
a chronological sense of how long ago Native Americans lived in Kentucky. Students read informational
passages to learn about the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Late Prehistoric periods. On Day Two,
students participate in a simulation to better understand the differences between hunter-gatherer and
agricultural lifestyles. Students then learn more about Kentucky’s historic tribes (i.e. Shawnee, Cherokee,
and Chickasaw) through learning stations. Students continue to think about change over time in Kentucky.
Core Content for Assessment
SS-04-2.1.1
Students will identify early cultures (Native American, Appalachian, pioneers) in Kentucky and explain
their similarities and differences.
Duration
Six 45-minute lessons
SS-04-4.1.1 Students will use geographic tools (e.g., maps, charts, graphs) to identify and describe natural
resources and other physical characteristics (e.g., major landforms, major bodies of water, weather, climate,
roads, bridges) in regions of Kentucky and the United States.
SS-04-4.3.1 Students will describe patterns of human settlement in regions of Kentucky and explain how
these patterns were/are influenced by physical characteristics (e.g., climate, landforms, bodies of water).
SS-04-4.4.1 Students will explain and give examples of how people adapted to/modified the physical
environment (e.g., natural resources, physical geography, natural disasters) to meet their needs during the
history of Kentucky and explain its impact on the environment today.
Student Learning Targets
 I can identify groups of early Native Americans who first lived in Kentucky.
 I can explain similarities and differences of early Native Americans in Kentucky.
 I can use geographic tools (maps) to identify prehistoric Native-American sites in Kentucky.
 I can describe the patterns of early Native-American settlements in regions of Kentucky.
 I can explain how these patterns were/are influenced by physical characteristics (climate, landforms,
bodies of water) in Kentucky.
 I can give examples of how Native Americans in early settlements adapted to/modified their needs
during the history of Kentucky.
Materials
Lesson Content Vocabulary
 Rulers
 Paleoindian Period: the period of time
ranging nearly 12,000 years ago when the
 “Discovering Kentucky” notebook
first Native Americans lived in Kentucky
 Resource 4A Change Over Time: Native
(10,000 B.C.to 8,000 B.C.)
Americans
 Archaic Period: the longest period of
 Resource 4B Role Cards
Native-American life in Kentucky in which
Note: Print enough copies so that each
the climate became warmer and drier (8,000
student receives a card. There should be two
B.C. to 1,000 B.C.)
farmers in the class; all of the rest of the
 Woodland Period: the period of Nativestudents will be hunter-gatherers.
American life in which gardening increased
 Resource 4C Maps of Kentucky Prehistoric
and led to more sedentary lifestyle (1,000
Indian Sites and Kentucky Rivers and Lakes
B.C. to A.D. 1000)
(transparencies)
 Late Prehistoric Period: the period in which
 Resource 4D Native-American Learning
Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
Stations
corn-based farming flourished and led to an
increase in population, larger villages, and
 First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story by
trade (A.D. 1000 to 1750)
Joseph Bruchac
 KET Kentucky’s Story: Early Kentucky
http://www.ket.org/kentuckystory/program1. Note: Trade also took place in the Archaic and
Woodland Periods, not just the Late Prehistoric
htm
Period.
 Resource 4E Kentucky Before Boone Poster
and Background Reading
 United Streaming Video “Native Americans:
Native Americans Today”
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cf
m?guidAssetId=84BBCEC5-D058-46E18934B146E3C62B17&blnFromSearch=1&produc
tcode=US
 Additional resources are available in the
Lesson 4 Wikipage.
For additional background information on Native
Americans, see the following resources:
 Faces of Kentucky by James and Freda
Klotter, Chapter 1
 The Kentucky Adventure by Tracy Campbell,
Chapter 4
Assessment Evidence
1. Resource 4A Change Over Time: Native Americans
2. Resource 4D Native-American Learning Station Handouts
Formative
Formative
Classroom Instructional Framework
Establishing Engagement/Fostering Connections (entering activity/anticipatory set)
Day One
1. Have students create a Know Want Learn (KWL) chart in their “Discovering Kentucky” notebooks.
Have them record everything they know about Native Americans in the “K” column and everything
they want to learn in the “L” column. Invite students to share their ideas. Let students know they
will have the opportunity to revisit the KWL chart in a few days.
Deepening Understanding (guided practice)
2. Introduce the prefix paleo. Let students know that this prefix means “very old.” Next, write the
word Paleoindian on the board. Have students discuss what the word might mean. Record all
responses.
3. Let students know that the term Paleoindian refers to the original people who lived on the North
American continent a very long time ago. Ask students to consider when they might have lived.
They will do a quick activity to determine just how long ago the Paleoindians lived in Kentucky.
a) Give students a ruler and have them draw a line six inches long. Let them know that
each inch represents 2,000 years.
b) At the 0-inch mark, have students record 12,000 years ago.
c) At the 1-inch mark, 10,000 years ago.
d) Repeat until the 6-inch mark, indicating 0 thousand years ago.
Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
e) Have students record the “Present” at the 6-inch mark.
4. Let students know that Paleoindians came to Kentucky about 12,000 years ago (10,000 B.C. to 8,000
B.C.). Most of the northern United States was covered in ice during this time. Have students think
about how the life of Paleoindians was different from our lives today.
5. Have students realize that change occurs over time. Their time line symbolizes a 12,000-year time
span. Let students know that archeologists have divided those 12,000 years into four time periods:
a) Paleoindian Period—10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.
b) Archaic Period—8,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.
c) Woodland Period—1,000 B.C. to A.D. 1000
d) Late Prehistoric Period—A.D. 1000 to 1750
6.
Have students label the time periods on their timelines.
7. Give students a copy of Change Over Time: Native Americans (Resource 4A). Model the process of
thinking through each time period through the use of the graphic organizer and informational
passages (Resource 4A):
 Describe the geography and/or climate of Kentucky during this time.
 Describe the animals hunted and/or food planted by Native Americans during this time.
 Describe how the Native Americans lived (camps, shelter, customs, traditions, daily
life, etc.).
8. Have students with a partner read to learn about the remaining time periods, completing the graphic
organizers provided with Resource 4A, carefully thinking about how life for Native Americans
changed during each time period. Note: Students may need more time to complete the organizer
so they may continue with the reading the next day.
9. Review the completed graphic organizer as a class, emphasizing differences among time periods.
Day Two
Teacher note: Prior to the lesson prepare and hide a number of strawberry cards (found in Resource
B) around the room. Do not let students see where you have hidden the cards.
1. Remind students that they now have a better understanding of how the native people of Kentucky
differed in the various time periods. Have students participate in a quick simulation to deepen their
understanding of those differences.
2. Divide students into groups of four. Randomly distribute Role Cards (Resource 4B). (Note: Two
students will receive “farmer” role cards and two will receive “gardener” role cards. Make sure that
“farmers” and “gardeners” are not in the same group.)
3. Give the two students who have the farmer role cards a cup of strawberries (or a tangible product) to
share with their group. Tell the groups that contain a farmer to select any book and read silently, or
assign them a task (of your choice) to complete.
4. Tell the groups that do not have a farmer or gardener they must spend the next five minutes searching
the room for their food (strawberry cards). Let students know that they must collect five strawberry
cards before returning to their groups to enjoy the fruits of their labor. They should then select any
Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
book and read silently until all students have returned to their groups, or they can begin the
designated task (of your choice).
5. Ask students, after five minutes have passed and all students have returned to their groups, how many
pages they were able to read. Students should realize that the groups that had more time were able to
complete more tasks. In the simulation, students in the groups with the farmers and gardeners were
able to accomplish more than the groups without a farmer.
6. Pose the following questions to the students:
 What advantage did the Archaic, Woodland, and Late Prehistoric Natives have over the
Paleoindians? (They had more time to devote to other work and to specialize.)
 What kinds of specialized activities did the plant food-producing natives do? (pottery,
building homes for long-term shelter, etc.)
7. Ask students to consider this question: How does change occur over time? Record all responses
using an anchor chart–connecting student responses to the big idea of change over time. Now have
students share specific examples of change over time in Kentucky. Encourage students to continue to
share ideas, adding them to the anchor chart.
8. Have students choose one of the four time periods. Give each student a sticky note and have each
student record examples of Native-American life (i.e., geography, climate, hunting, food, NativeAmerican culture, etc.) during a chosen time period.
9. Synthesize students’ responses and add to the anchor chart.
Day Three
1. Remind students that yesterday they participated in a simulation to understand the different ways of
life for farmers/gardeners and hunter-gatherers. They also began anchoring their ideas around the big
idea of change over time. In today’s lesson, they will be using geographic tools (maps) to learn more
about how Kentucky has changed over time.
2. Divide students into small groups. Give each group a copy of Maps of Kentucky Prehistoric Indian
Sites and Rivers and Lake (Resource 4C). Note: Make student copies on transparency film so
they can overlay the map to see patterns in settlements.
3. Show students Maps of Kentucky Prehistoric Indian Sites and Rivers and Lakes (Resource 4C) and a
piece of white paper for background purposes. Have groups consider the following map-analysis
questions included in Resource 4C. Note:
Kentucky Prehistoric Indian Sites
 Which sites are the oldest? Describe their location in relative terms (north, south, east, west).
 What do the oldest sites have in common in regard to their location (i.e., physical
characteristics)?
 Which sites were closest to each other? Which sites were farthest from each other?
Kentucky Rivers and Lakes (used as overlay with first map)
 What physical resources (bodies of water) are located near each of the Prehistoric Indian
sites?
 Describe the patterns you notice of early Native-American sites in regions of Kentucky.
 Explain how these patterns of settlement were influenced by physical characteristics (bodies
of water, landforms, raw materials, springs, mountain gaps) in Kentucky.
Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
4. Project the maps and invite students to share their responses. Emphasize that the first map simply
showed location and they were able to describe the location of the Indian sites by using relative
location. The second overlay revealed more about the location and provided clues about why the
native peoples may have chosen the location to settle.
5. Remind students that the theme of geography, place, can be observed with the Kentucky Rivers and
Lakes map. To initiate thinking about the other themes of geography, ask students the following:
 In what ways do you think the native peoples adapted to/modified their environment to meet
their needs?
 How were people, goods, services, ideas, etc., exchanged?
 Have students draw lines on their map (using overhead markers) to indicate regions they
observe. Why do they think so?
6. Revisit the anchor chart. Have students share new information that can be added. In which period
did they notice the least number of sites? Most? Why do they think this is so?
Days Four and Five
1. Remind students that they have been exposed to the idea of change over time for Native-American
groups of Kentucky. They are going to continue to dig deeper to learn about native peoples who
lived in Kentucky during the Late Historic Period. Additionally, they will learn about the native
peoples who lived in Kentucky during the period after the Late Prehistoric Period, known as the
Historic Period.
2. Divide students into six groups. Have students work in small groups to rotate through the six NativeAmerican Learning Stations (Resource 4D), exploring the Native Americans of the Historic Period.
a) Have students read The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story by Joseph Bruchac.
Have students discuss aspects of Cherokee culture presented in the text (e.g., the
importance of friendship and respect).
b) Kentucky’s Story: Early Kentucky (14:05)
http://www.ket.org/kentuckystory/program1.htm and writing prompt
c) Kentucky Prehistoric Object Images and Analysis
d) Mapping Native-American Stories
e) Maps Tell a Story: Maps of Kentucky Sites by Period
f) Dig Articles: Comparing Artifacts
Man’s Best Prehistoric Friend by A. Gwynn Henderson
A Hairpin’s Tale by A. Gwynn Henderson
3. Have students share their findings from the learning stations. What new information have they
uncovered? How does it change their initial understanding?
4. Review the ideas collected on the anchor chart. After learning more about the different native groups
who called Kentucky home, ask students what evidence of change over time was observed.
 How were the Native-American cultures of the earlier time periods different from the NativeAmerican cultures of the Historic period?
 What additional information can be added to the anchor chart?
Grade 4, Kentucky Unit, Lesson 4
Day Six
1. Remind students that they have been learning about Native Americans who lived in Kentucky during
five distinct periods. Begin lesson by reviewing the anchor chart. Project Kentucky Before Boone
Poster (Resource 4E). Use the images and teacher background information for poster to help students
visually associate with each of the periods.
2. Have students continue to understand the influence and contributions of Native Americans on our
lives today by viewing the United Streaming Video Native Americans: Native Americans Today
(approximately 27 minutes). After viewing, pose the following questions:
 What is life like for Native Americans living in the U.S. today?
 How is life today different from how life over 400 years ago?
Constructing Meaning (closure/independent practice)
3. Now that students have explored many aspects of Native-American culture, have students revisit their
KWL charts and complete the “L” column. Invite students to share what they have learned.
 Based on what they have learned, have students explain how Native Americans have
impacted the environment today.