Defining US: The American Experience
FCPS Teaching American History Grant
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
Subject: American Indians
Grade: 6th
Prepared by: Tina Hayes
School:
Mt. Eagle ES
Timesha Hunt
Bernard Jones
Title or Topic: The Story of the American Indians
Instructional Time: Seven class periods
PART I.-CONTEXT
1. Essential Learning: (Big picture/concept to be learned.)
This lesson introduces the concept that Indians adapted to the areas of the American continents in which
they were located. The students will study and compare the different American Indians tribes, their
rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to the continent.
2. Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL): (Identify by number and descriptor.)
USI.3- The student will demonstrate knowledge of how early cultures developed in North America by:
a. locating where the American Indians (First Americans) settled, with emphasis on Arctic (Inuit),
Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plains (Sioux), Southwest (Pueblo), and Eastern Woodland (Iroquois)
b. describing how the American Indians (First Americans) used their environment to obtain food,
clothing, and shelter.
3. Fairfax County Program of Studies (POS): (Identify by number and descriptor.)
Standard 1
Students acquire historical knowledge and understanding that result from a comprehensive study of
American History, World History, and Western Civilization.
Benchmark 6.1.3: Students examine contributions and achievements of individuals who had a
significant impact of the development of the United States. (USI.1)
Standard 6
Students acquire a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of facts, concepts, theories, and
terminology of physical and human geography.
Benchmark 6.6.2: Students identify the relationship between the location of various groups of humans
and exploration, migration, and settlement in North America and Africa, and factors that influenced
them.
4. National History Standard (Historical Thinking Standard)
(See handouts from January 12 seminar)
4. Identify the authors of source of historical documents or narratives
-Reconstruct literal meaning of historical passage.
-Identify central questions of historical passage.
-Read historical narratives imaginatively.
-Draw upon data in historical maps.
-Use visual and mathematical data in graphs.
-Use visual data from photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings.
5. Historical Analysis and Interpretation
7. Historical Research Capabilities
5.
Learning Strategy(s) Objectives:
(See handouts from January 12 seminar)
6. Connection to TAH grant:
Content: (explain)
The content of this lesson plan is connected to the Visit to the American Indians Research Center in
Suitland, Maryland. Being able to handle and see artifacts from various tribes throughout the United
States.
Pedagogy: (explain)
Primary sources include all the traces left by the human past -- present ideals, present social
customs and institutions, language, literature, material products and the physical remains of men.
Primary sources allow students to "get involved" with the learning process and explore the questions
that naturally arise. The real "stuff" that students can see effectively engage the young learner in active
learning.
PART II.
1. Assessment: (Describe here. Attach a copy of student instructions or assessment instrument.)
If applicable, include student self-assessment.
Assessment:
After all the presentations are over, give the students a quick assessment to see if the are able to use the
information that the got to analyze, interpret and communicate what is going on the pictures that they
previously viewed,
“How can you use these pictures to determine what American Indians group each of the people belong
to?”
Using the same pictures that we used you are going to determine what American Indians group each
picture belongs to. (See Attachment F)
2. Instructional Strategies: (Describe step by step procedure. Include opener, teacher presentation
and student activities.)
Day One
Introduction to American Indians
1. Introduce students to American Indians through a read-aloud of a American Indians legend, with
American Indians music and artifacts.
Suggested reading: The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin
2. Ask students to tell you what they noticed about the American Indians in the story and what they
learned about their way of life and begin a discussion about what you noticed while reading
aloud.
3. Explain to students that they will begin to read a variety of legends on their own, taking note of
what they are learning about their way of life (D.E.A.R responses). Provide students with at least
30 uninterrupted minutes to read a variety of legends to silently read. In their reading journals,
they should be responding by drawing conclusions and making inferences about the way of life
of American Indians.
4. Bring students back to whole group and ask them to share the legends that they have read and
what they learned. Create a class K-W-L chart.
5. Explain to students that throughout the week, they will be learning about 5 American Indian
groups, which region they lived, and study their way of life.
Homework assignment:
Meet with small groups of students, and provide them with an American Indian novel and homework
sheet. They will read a section of their novel each night, answer discussion questions, and prepare a
question of their own to discuss in the literature circle over the next week. See Expanding
Expectations: Reading, pgs 38 – 42.
Day Two
Intro Lesson
“I WILL SURVIVE!”
Students will be put into small groups. Give each group a bag with three items in it. The
students will need a few minutes to investigate the objects and why they think they are in the bag. Give
the students this scenario: “Your group is stranded in the wilderness and you are at least 1000 miles
from civilization. It will take at least three weeks for the search team to find you. Think about how you
can use these things to survive for the next couple of weeks until the search team gets to you. Students
will record their ideas and then share with the entire class.
Objects that can be put inside the bag:
(students may imagine that items are larger or smaller than they appear.)
pieces of small clay
rocks
a bone
piece of animal hide
a berry
small basket
a leaf
tree limb
Give the students 30 minutes to complete the I will Survivor worksheet
(see attachment A)
Once they are finished have the students share out their responses.
Closure:
“What are some of the resources that you think the American Indians may have needed to survive in the
Americas?”
Have the students respond in their journals or notebooks. This can be a homework assignment that will
be share the next day.
Day Three
Go over the previous day’s assignment.
Review new task to the entire class:
Use the overhead provided (See Attachment B) to do a picture analysis:
Look at picture one:
 What do you think is going on in this picture?
 What time of year do you think this picture was taken? What clues does the picture give you?
 Who do you think these men (or women) are? What role do you think these people played in their
society? (ie. doctor, teacher, hunter, etc.)
 Where do you think this picture was taken?
 When do you think this picture was taken?
Repeat for pictures two, three, four, and five.
Note: Picture three is two women.
Closure:
“How did the American Indians environment influence their way of life?”
Have the students respond in their journals or notebooks. This can be a homework assignment that will
be share the next day.
Day four, five, and six
Opener:
“One thing I noticed about the pictures yesterday is the way the people were dressed in each of the
pictures. How can I use that information?”
“Let me ask you this:
“When it is summer time how do we dress?” Chart or discuss student responses.
“Why is that we dress that way?” Have a discussion about summer wear.
“In the winter how do we dress?” Chart or discuss student responses.
“Why is it that we dress differently in the summer and in the winter?” Talk about the reason why.
Have a similar discussion about the types of foods that you eat in the different seasons.
 Soup in the winter because it is cold.
 In the summer you may it cold foods because the oven may make the house too warm.
 You may eat more of certain foods because they are in season.
Introduce Project:
“Over the next several days we are going to be doing some research projects. You will work in five
small groups to research and report on one of the American Indians groups that have been looking at. I
am interested in learning more about how the American Indians used their environment to obtain food,
clothing and shelter. I would also be interested in any information that you may find on the cultural
interactions between the Europeans and the American Indians that led to cooperation and conflict”
This project will involve group research, visual & oral presentation.
1.
2.
3.
Then, assign small cooperative groups an American Indian tribe to research the way of life of
American Indians, using the data retrieval chart as their guide.
As student groups are working, meet with the Literature Circle groups to discuss their
homework and model how to lead the group discussion, with the teacher acting as a
facilitator.
Provide students with a blank map of Indian Cultural Areas. (See attachment C)Together,
complete the map by filling in which American Indian groups lived in which area. Using an
atlas or Social Studies textbook (climate maps, physical maps, etc.), allow students to infer
the type of land and how the group might have lived.
Using the map that has been provided locate where the American Indian settled.
(See attachment C)





Use blue to indicate Inuit settlements
Use yellow to indicate Kwakiutl settlements
Use orange to indicate Sioux settlements
Use purple to indicate Pueblo settlements
Use green to indicate Iroquois settlements
4.
5.
6.
Model how to locate important information using a variety of resources (atlases, textbook,
trade books, encyclopedias, internet, etc.) and the information organizer using an Indian tribe
that we are not studying (ex. the Shoshone tribe).
(See Attachment D Information Organizer)
Then, assign small cooperative groups an American Indian tribe to research the way of life of
American Indians, using the data information as their guide.
As student groups are working, meet with the Literature Circle groups to discuss their
homework and model how to lead the group discussion, with the teacher acting as a
facilitator.
Day six
Presentations of American Indians Cultural Groups
1.
2.
3.
Provide an overhead of the Data Retrieval Chart. (See Attachment E)
Ask each group to come up and fill in the Data Retrieval Chart, leading the discussion
for the rest of the students.
Discuss with whole group, once the chart is complete for each tribe, what similarities
and differences they have found.
4.
Day seven
Assessment:
See Assessments
3. Materials/Resources to be used:
NATIVE AMERICA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA edited by Mary
B. Davis with assistant editors Joan Berman, Mary E. Graham, and Lisa A. Mitten (Mohawk) (Garland,
1994). -A vast collection of articles, forty percent of which are by Native people, address a variety of
topics such as BIA schools, art, health, individual Native Nations, supplemented by bibliographies,
maps, and photographs.
AMERICAN INDIANS TODAY: RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS
GRADES 4-8 by Arlene Hirschfelder and Yvonne Beamer-Wakim (Cherokee-Arab) (Libraries
Unlimited, 2000). – A resource full of activities.
Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Slapin, Beverly, and Seale,
Doris. 1992. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers.
4. Differentiation: (Include strategies for reteaching and special populations such as GT, ESOL and
special education.)
Differentiation: ESOL/Special Education
Students will be provided with trade books at their appropriate level. Students will be required to read
about the various tribes and find specific information about each tribe which includes; shelter,
food/natural resources and transportation. Students will fill in the data retrieval chart and draw a picture
to match.
5. Attachments: (Include copies of assessments, rubrics, handouts that support this lesson.)
See attachment A,B,C,D,E,F
6. Annotated Bibliography: (Include information so that others are able to access the same
resources.)
Annotated Bibliography
http://www.anthro.mankato.msus.edu/prehistory/settlements/index.shtml
“American Indians Shelters”- identify differences in American Indians shelters depending on their
location.
http://kativik.qc.ca/ulluriaq/Nunavik/inuitlife/
-a day in the life of an Inuit child.
http://ccins.camosun.bc.ca/~conklin/pages/martin/html/inuit.htm
-information on dress, clothing, food, location, religion, housing and language.
www.nps.gov/fola/indians.htm
-information on Plains Indians and Sioux heritage.
www.indianpueblo.org/
-history and information about the culture of the Pueblo tribe.
http://kancrn.kckps.k12kks.us/huyck/pueblo.html
-information on dress, clothing, food, location, religion, housing, and language.
http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_pueblo.html
-Contains basic facts about the Pueblo Indians
http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/intro.html
-Compares tribes from different regions in North America.
http://www.littlesioux.org/index.html
-A visit to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
American Indians: A New True Book: Jay Miller, Childrens Press, 1993.
This book describes the culture, leadership, and structure of various tribes of Native Americans
Life in a Longhouse Village . Kalman, Bobbie (2001).. New York; Crabtree Publishing Co (T)
This book talks about the people who lived in the northeastern woodlands belonged to many nations and
spoke many languages including Iroquoian and Algonkian. Life in a Longhouse Village was a way of
life all of the nations shared. Children will learn about the fascinating lifestyle of these hunters and
farmers and discover what life was like in a longhouse clan.
Life in a Plains Camp . Kalman, Bobbie (2001).. New York; Crabtree Publishing Co (T)
The plains region was home to many native nations. For hundreds of years, these peoples followed the
giant, wandering herds of buffalo upon which they were dependent. Clear, informative text and beautiful
illustrations help describe the cultures and the ways of life of the different native nations who called the
plains their home.
Eskimo Boy: Life in an Inupiaq Eskimo Village. Kendall, Russ (1992). Photographs by Russ Kendall.
New York; Scholastic Inc. (T )
This book chronicles a year in the life of a seven-year-old Inupiaq boy and his family in Shishmaref,
Alaska.
The Earliest Americans. Sattler, Helen Roney (1993). Illustrated by Jean Day Zallinger. New York;
Clarion Books (T/I)
This book presents the scientific evidence for the origins of the earliest people in the Americas and
describes the accomplishments of their culturally diverse descendants prior to the arrival of Europeans in
1492.
Houses of Bark: Tipi, Wigwam and Longhouse: Native Dwellings: Woodland Indians. Shemie,
Bonnie (1990 Plattsburgh, New York; Tundra Books (T)
From the Northwest Territories of Canada as far southeast as Virginia in the United States, tree bark
became indispensable to the everyday life of Native peoples. Simple to cut, light to carry, easy to work
with, it was used for food, containers, clothing, and canoes. But nothing showed their skill, ingenuity,
and inventiveness as the way bark was used to make shelters.
Houses of Hide and Earth: Native Dwellings: Plains Indians. Shemie, Bonnie (1991). Plattsburgh,
New York; Tundra Books (T)
This book is about The Plains Indians who built their houses with the only materials they had: the skins
of the buffalo they hunted or the soil dug from the earth around them. Homes grew larger and more
varied with the arrival of the horse. The earthlodge, dating from AD 700, was larger than the tipi of
buffalo hide. Both were laid out according to religious beliefs and symbols, as were arbors, burial
platforms, sweatlodges, and the impressive structure for the Sun Dance.
Indians of the Northeast Woodlands. Siegel, Beatrice (1995). Illustrated by William Sauts Boch. New
York; Walker & Co. (T/I)
This book describes the way of life of the Woodland Indians of the Northeast before the arrival of the
white man. Also discusses what happened to these Indians and where they are today.
Indians of the Northeast: Traditions, History, Legends and Life . Sita, Lisa (2000). Milwaukee,
Wisconsin; Gareth Stevens Publishing (T)
This book deals with the tribes of the Northeast Woodlands region of the U.S. which stretches from the
Atlantic coast to the Mississippi valley and from southern Canada to Kentucky. The introduction offers
three main sources for information about this culture: archaeological records, oral tradition and written
records of early European explorers. The region's land, climate, vegetation and animals are described.
How the people used the resources, languages, early life during the last Ice Age, earthworks, grave
goods, farming, ceremonies and community life.
Children of Clay: a Family of Pueblo Potters. Swentzell, Rina (1992). Photographs by Bill Steen.
Minneapolis, MN; Lerner Publications (T)
This book is about the members of a Tewa Indian family living in Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico
follow the ages-old traditions of their people as they create various objects of clay.
Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village, 1868. Terry, Michael Bad Hand (1999). New York; Clarion
Books (T)
Meet the Real Bird and his family, part of a Northern Cheyenne tribe in southeastern Montana. Each
member has an important role: Men prepare to become warriors and hunters, while women learn to raise
crops and build a home-a tipi-from poles and buffalo hides. The clothes the family wears, from elaborate
ceremonial headdresses to colorful beaded moccasins; the foods they eat; the games they play; the crafts
and jewelry they make; and the spiritual rituals they perform are among the many topics included.
Who Were the First North Americans? Wigate, Philippa & Reid, Struan (1995). Illustrated by David
Cuzik. Tulsa, Oklahoma; EDC Publishing Co. (T)
This book is full of facts about everyday life for the Native American.
Attachment A
Name _______________________________________
I WILL SURVIVE
Response: Look carefully at your objects and record ways that the object
can be used to help you survive in the wilderness.
Object:___________________________________________
Idea:_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
Object:___________________________________________
Idea:_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
Object:___________________________________________
Idea:_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
Object:___________________________________________
Idea:_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
Picture #1
Picture # 2
American
Indians
Picture # 3
Picture # 4
Attachment B
Picture #5
Attachment C
Picture # 4
Picture #5
Attachment D
Culture Group
Region
Climate and
Evironmental
conditions
Shelter
Food (F)
Natural
Resources (NR
Transportation
Attachment E
Information Organizer
Directions:Once you have completed your research, organize your information in the following format:
Land
(Include information about region, climate and environmental conditions)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Shelter
(Include reasons for and materials used)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Food
(Include how they hunted and gathered)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Transportation
(Include where and why they might have traveled the way they did)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
History
(Include how they survived against other tribes and European settlement, information
about their ancestors, etc.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Other information
(Clothing, tribal symbols, beliefs, etc.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________
Attachment F
Name ________________________________________________________________
American Indians Picture Analysis
Directions: Look at the picture, analyze what you see, guess which of the American
Indians groups the people in the picture belong to. Once you have made your decision
give two reasons to support your answer.
Picture One
American Indian Group:
________________________________
Two Reasons to support your analysis:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Picture Two
American Indian Group:
__________________________________________
Two Reasons to support your analysis:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Picture Three
American Indian Group:
________________________________
Two Reasons to support your analysis:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Picture # 4
American Indian Group:
________________________________
Two Reasons to support your analysis:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Picture # 5
American Indian Group:
________________________________
Two Reasons to support your analysis:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________