American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Ohio Standards
Connection
Technology
Nature of Technology
Benchmark A
Compare and discuss the
characteristics of
technology in our
community.
Indicator 3
Describe ways creative
thinking, economics, and
culture influence
technological development
(e.g., Wright Brothers,
powered flight, air
commerce).
Indicator 4
Recognize that creative
thinking, economics and
culture influence
technological development
(e.g., a city may need to
design a mass transit
system for transportation
while a small town may
use personal vehicles).
Benchmark B
Identify, describe, and
discuss the core concepts
of technology.
Indicator 3
Cite examples of how tools
and machines extend
human capabilities (e.g.,
automobiles are more
efficient than walking great
distances).
Lesson Summary:
This lesson explores the technologies used by various Ohio
American Indian nations. Students learn how technology:
 extended the tribe’s capabilities;
 demonstrated the tribe’s creativity;
 effected their development;
 impacted the tribe’s cultural development.
Groups of five students research particular Ohio American
Indian tribes. Each student within each group takes on the
role of cultural storyteller or historian, and is responsible
for researching and communicating the skills, knowledge
and artifacts of one of five facets of technology used by that
tribe - communication, construction, manufacturing,
clothing or agriculture and food production. Each of the
five people studying a particular culture produces a written
and oral report discussing the following four aspects of the
technology researched:
 How the technology extended the tribe’s capabilities;
 How the tribe creatively used the technology;
 What effect the tribe’s economy had on the technology it
used and developed;
 What effect the tribe’s cultural beliefs and customs had
on the development of that technology.
In addition, each student creates a physical model of the
technology to illustrate its use by that tribe.
This lesson brings together technology and social studies
and is designed for the elementary school classroom. It can
be taught individually by the classroom teacher or in
collaboration with the social studies specialist.
Estimated Duration: Four hours over five days
Commentary:
Most studies of American Indian culture in the elementary
grades look at the technology used by that culture, including
methods of communication, construction, clothing,
manufacturing, agriculture and food technology. Studying a
culture’s technology though interesting is rarely seen as a
way to understand a particular culture’s way of life.
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Technology and Society
Interaction
Benchmark C
Explain and demonstrate
the influence of technology
throughout history.
Indicator 1
Describe the advantages
that resulted from people
making and using tools
(e.g., importance of the
gristmill, sawmill, carding
mill to early Ohio
settlements).
Social Studies
People in Societies
Benchmark A
Compare practices and
products of North
American cultural groups.
Indicator 1
Describe the cultural
practices and products of
various groups who have
settled in Ohio over time.
a. The Paleo Indians,
Archaic Indians,
Woodland Indians
(Adena and Hopewell)
and Late Prehistoric
Indians (Fort Ancient);
b. Historic Indians of Ohio
(Ottawa, Wyandot,
Mingo, Miami, Shawnee
and Delaware);
c. European immigrants;
d. Amish and Appalachian
populations;
e. African-Americans;
f. Recent immigrants from
Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
By studying a particular Ohio American Indian culture from a
technological perspective, students gain new insight as to how
that culture used technology creatively, how its economy
influenced the use of technology and how its cultural customs
and beliefs affected the technological development.
By studying technology’s impact on an early culture, students
find it easier to understand how creative thinking, economics,
and culture influence technology today.
Pre-Assessment:
 Show pictures of various artifacts of a North American
culture not found in Ohio. Be sure to include a picture of an
artifact from each of the technology types. Students write
the name of the artifact, the technology type it belongs
under and a brief description of its purpose on Attachment
A, American Indian Technologies Worksheet. Students with
writing difficulty could orally describe the artifact and its
technology type, or paste the picture of the artifact under
the correct heading and have someone write the
information for them.

After students complete the worksheet, have them check
their sheets with partners for differences in their answers
and discuss them. Allow time for the class to discuss the
differences and how they resolved them. Make sure
students understand the type of technology they are to
research.
Scoring Guidelines:
Examine student answers on Attachment A, American Indian
Technologies Worksheet. Identify any students who were not
competent in defining types and help students improve in this
area. Give students more examples of American Indian
artifacts. Reinforce the purpose of the example and identify
under which type the example should be placed.



Communication (wampum belts, totem pole, drum, war
paint, smoke signals, rock carvings, tent decorations,
weaving patterns, trail markers, storytellers)
Construction (tipis, wigwams, igloos, longhouse, cliff
houses)
Clothing (headdress, beads, jewelry, moccasins, leggings)
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson


Manufacturing (blankets, bowls, baskets, weapons, canoes, trading goods)
Agriculture and Food Production (corn and other crops, hunting, fishing, smoked
meats and fish, wild fruits and berries, medicinal plants)
Post-Assessment:
Students present the results of their research to the class. Students are assessed on how well
they understand these four topics:
1. How this technology extended the tribe’s capabilities;
2. The creative ways the culture used this technology;
3. The role their technology type played in the culture’s economic needs;
4. The impact of the tribe’s culture on the development of this technology.
Scoring Guidelines:
See Attachment B, Post-Assessment Rubric.
Instructional Procedures:
Day One
1. Conduct pre-assessment activities:
 Have students complete pre-assessment worksheet (Attachment A, American Indian
Technologies Worksheet).
 Discuss student answers. Review technology types.
Day Two
2. Consider asking the School Library Media Specialist (SLMS) to discuss the role of a
storyteller (to explain the physical world as interpreted by the tribe, to keep track of the
tribe’s history and to help members of the tribe learn cultural beliefs and ways of doing
things) with students. Ask the SLMS to provide examples so that students get a feel for
the narrative-storytelling style of writing.
3. Ask students why it is important to record or remember a tribe’s history and customs, and
why others need to know it. Explain that history and customs define each tribe and make
it distinct from other tribes. Knowledge of history and customs help people make sense of
their world, instructs them on how to function socially within the culture and perform
important cultural functions and ceremonies.
4. Assign students the role of the storytellers for various Ohio American Indian tribes,
notably the Ottawa, Wyandot, Mingo, Miami, Shawnee and Delaware. Choose teams of
five students. Each team member studies a type of technology. Students research and
present information on how the culture developed and used one of the five types of
technology. Ask the library media specialist for available resources, print and nonprint.
The five types of technology are:
 Communication – ways of gathering and sharing information through drawings, designs,
clothing worn for ceremonies, war, or to signify people of importance in the tribe,
pictographs, dance and storytellers;
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson




Construction – building shelters and other structures;
Manufacturing – making things to use or trade;
Clothing – creating things to wear to protect them from nature, for decoration, to signify
an individual’s position of power or importance in the tribe, like a chief or medicine man;
Agriculture and food production – gathering, growing, preparing, distributing and storing
food.
Instructional Tip:
Group students in one of these ways:
 Assign them randomly to a tribe;
 Allow each student to choose a technology, then assign him or her to a tribe;
 Allow each student to choose a tribe, and then distribute the technologies within the
group.
5. Ask students to describe each topic using the discussion list.
6. Have students in each group list tools or materials used by Ohio American Indians that
would fit under their technology types.
7. With the class, discuss the examples listed under each topic. Have the class verify that the
tools or materials listed fit under those topics. Have them determine when the tools or
materials might have been used by an American Indian in Ohio (in the 18th or early 19th
centuries). See if they can offer more examples.
Days Three and Four
Instructional Tip:
See Attachment D, Apache Technology, which shows how the Apache used technology
creatively, how technology impacted their economy and how the Apache culture created and
modified technology to suit its needs. This chart can be used to help students better
understand how to cover discussion points in their narratives.
8. Remind students to research and answer the following four points concerning their
technology types for their tribes’ culture:
 How did this technology extend the tribe’s capabilities?
 What were some of the creative ways the culture used this technology?
 What role did your technology type play in meeting the culture’s economic needs?
 What impact did the tribe’s culture have on the development of this technology?
9. Have students begin research on the technology types. Require that they use print and
electronic resources to find information on their tribes’ technology types. See the
Materials and Resources section for keywords for Web searches. Ask the SLMS to help.
10. Ask students to use the Attachment C, Information Organizer, to organize the
information found on the four points of their technologies.
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
11. Once the research phase is complete, help students organize the information into written
narratives, using storyteller’s style, describing how their tribes used the technology. The
narrative must address the four points.
Instructional Tip:
Give the students a feel for a narrative-storyteller style of writing by providing a model, such
as Circle of Stories, by the Public Broadcasting System. See the Materials and Resources
section for the Web site.
For homework, students make models of examples of the technology researched. They
create a three-dimensional model out of either natural materials (sticks, clay, plant material,
stones), resources at school or home (paper, cloth, cardboard) or a combination of both (a
longhouse made of sticks and bark held together with glue or clay). The model is to be a
scale model of a historically accurate artifact or process used by that tribe. It is to look as
realistic as possible, but does not need to be a working model. In the presentation, the student
will need to explain what the model represents and describe how that technology was
developed and used by the tribe.
NOTE: Students may be interested in creating a weapon replica. The classroom teacher
should be prepared to address this issue according to school policy.
Day Five
12. Students present their narratives as written and oral reports to the class.
Instructional Tip:
Have materials available for students to make their models. (See the Materials section for
suggestions on things to have on hand.)
Differentiated Instructional Support:
Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs, to help all learners either meet the
intent of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the
specified indicator(s).
 Allow students having difficulty researching or writing their narratives to work with a
teacher or students to help them find the information or do the writing. Students could
record their narratives onto a tape recorder to present them as a spoken narrative in the
tradition of many American Indian storytellers.
 Students who remember information better by making things to represent that
information could create more detailed physical models such as dioramas and use them as
visual “notes” when they give their oral narratives.
 Visual learners could use pictures they create to illustrate their oral descriptions of the
tribe's use and development of the technology type. Physical or kinesthetic learners could
act as storytellers when giving their narratives.
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Extensions:
 Investigate the impact of European settlements on American Indians in Ohio. Compare
the technology of the tribe in Ohio to the technology of the same tribe after it moved out
of the state;
 Compare the Ohio tribe’s technology to another tribe that lived outside Ohio such as the
Sioux, Seminole, Inuit or other tribes;
 Visit the Ohio Historical Society or other American Indian resources in Ohio. See
Materials and Resources for other suggestions including real-life and online points of
interest.
Home Connections:
 Have students find places or things in their community or in the state that use American
Indian names and create lists to share with their classmates.
 Have students investigate how modern culture uses and modifies technology related to
their topic to suit its needs or how that technology impacts the economy. How does
modern culture use the technology differently than the Ohio American Indian tribe? How
has the technology changed since the Ohio tribe used it?
Materials and Resources:
The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of
its contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does
not endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site's main
page; therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information
required for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes
over time; therefore, the links provided may no longer contain the specific information
related to a given lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with
students.
Note: Some Web sites contain material that is protected by copyright. Teachers should
ensure that any use of material from the Web does not infringe upon the content owner's
copyright.
For the teacher: blackboard or chart paper, chalk or marker, pictures of artifacts of nonOhio American Indians (communication, construction, clothing,
manufacturing, and food technology), books and Web sites on American
Indian cultures, materials for physical models (clay, paper, scissors, tape,
craft sticks, recycled material, glue, twigs, grass, cloth and pipe cleaners)
For the student:
materials for physical models, one computer per student for Internet
searches and word processing, library resources on American Indians
(print and nonprint)
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Web sites:
American Indian Culture
www.native-languages.org/home.htm
American Indian Art from the Smithsonian Institute
www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/first_american_art/firstamericanart.html
Circle of Stories (American Indian storytellers)
www.pbs.org/circleofstories/index.html
Native Basket making
www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/baskets/
Ohio American Indians (click the tribe name, or the choices on left of the page)
www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/tribes/index.shtml
Ohio Historical Society
www.ohiohistory.org
 click on Ohio Pix for pictures
 click on Ohio History Teachers for education resources
o click on Teacher Resources
o click on top bar, Case Histories, for artifacts
o click on top bar, Ohio Information, for research
Key words for Internet searches:
native languages of the Americas: Facts for kids (many tribes listed)
American Indians of Ohio
native technology
Delaware Indians Web sites
Delaware American Indians
Lenni Lenape
Lenape Indians
Miami tribe
Miami Indians
Miami American Indians
Miami Indian culture
Ottawa culture
Algonquian culture
Ojibwa culture
Ottawa nation
Wyandot nation of Kansas
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Vocabulary:
 agriculture – the practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock
 clothing – garments that are worn
 communication – exchanging information between individuals
 construction – the act of building structures
 Delaware – a member of an American Indian people originally of the Delaware River
valley
 economy – the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
 manufacturing – the making of raw materials into a finished product
 Miami – a member of an American Indian people originally of Wisconsin and Indiana
 Mingo – a small group of natives related to the Iroquois Indians.
 Ottawa – a member of an American Indian people of Michigan and southern Ontario
 Shawnee – an Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribe whose first known
home was the central Ohio River Valley.
 storyteller – a member of a American Indian tribe who told the history and legends
concerning the tribe
 Wyandot – a member of an American Indian group formed in the 17th century
Library Connections:
In 2003, the State Board of Education and the Ohio Department of Education established
library guidelines that represent a standards-based education approach to school library
programs. Entitled Academic Content Standards K-12 Guidelines Library, Ohio’s library
guidelines provide a variety of content-specific, grade-level indicators describing
information literacy, literacy linked to library-based technologies, and media literacy
experiences for students. Featured on pages 204-219 are sample activities for making library
connections across academic content standards and disciplines. Also included are gradeband models for student research and specific information concerning copyright and fair use
of materials laws. K-12 teachers are encouraged to utilize the library guidelines and
collaborate with the SLMS whenever possible. Ohio’s library guidelines can be found under
the heading of Library at www.ode.state.oh.us, keyword search Library.
Library
Literacy and Reading Support
Benchmark C
Tell stories and facilitate multidisciplinary reading experiences.
Benchmark H
Share multicultural children's books in culturally conscious ways.
Information Literacy
Benchmark C
Explore and use various forms of literature for schoolwork and personal enjoyment.
Indicator 1
Listen to stories read by library media center staff.
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Media Literacy
Benchmark A
Explain the intended effect of media communications and messages when delivered and
received by various audiences and for various purposes.
Indicator 2
List and label the various ways in which people are presented and represented through
costume and setting in a variety of media communications delivered and received.
Indicator 3
Recognize what topic of information is delivered through a specific media message and
chosen format (e.g., informational, recreational, personal greeting).
SLMS will introduce the role of storyteller using examples and library resources. Print
materials such as Magic Moccasins by Jane Barks Ross are specific to Ohio tribes.
SLMS may serve as an intervention specialist for struggling or gifted students.
Research Connections:
Marzano, R. et al. Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for
Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 2001.
1. Identifying similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to
use knowledge. This process includes comparing, classifying, creating metaphors and
creating analogies and may involve the following:
 Presenting students with explicit guidance in identifying similarities and differences
 Asking students to independently identify similarities and differences
 Representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form
2. Summarizing and note taking are two of the most powerful skills to help students identify
and understand the most important aspects of what they are learning.
3. Nonlinguistic representations help students think about and recall knowledge. This
includes the following:
 Creating graphic representations (organizers),
 Making physical models,
 Generating mental pictures
 Drawing pictures and pictographs, and
 Engaging in kinesthetic activity
Technology for All Americans Project, Measuring Progress: A Guide to Assessing Students
for Technological Literacy, Reston, VA: International Technology Education Association,
2004.
Standards-based student assessment supports the systematic, multi-step process of
collecting evidence on student learning, understanding and abilities and using that
information to inform instruction and provide feedback to the learner, thereby enhancing
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
learning. Students should be assessed often using a variety of tools and methods. The
design of student assessments should follow set principles, such as utilizing authentic
assessment that provides students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and
abilities in real-world situations. (Note: the complete publication and other resource
materials are available online at the Ohio page of the ITEA Center to Advance the
Teaching of Technology and Science [CATTS] web link:
http://www.iteaconnect.org/EbD/CATTSresources/CATTSresourcesOH01.htm
Attachments:
Attachment A, American Indian Technologies Worksheet
Attachment B, Post-Assessment Rubric
Attachment C, Information Organizer
Attachment D, Apache Technology
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Attachment A
American Indian Technologies Worksheet
Write the name of the artifact or action being shown in each picture. Circle the correct
technology type the artifact or action represents. In the space provided, write a one-sentence
description telling what the artifact or action was used for by an American Indian culture.
Picture One: Name of Artifact or Action: __________________________________
Circle the correct technology type:
communication, construction, clothing, manufacturing, agriculture and food production
Use:
Picture Two: Name of Artifact or Action: _________________________________
Circle the correct technology type:
communication, construction, manufacturing, clothing, agriculture and food production
Use:
Picture Three: Name of Artifact or Action: ________________________________
Circle the correct technology type:
communication, construction, manufacturing, clothing, agriculture and food production
Use:
Picture Four: Name of Artifact or Action: _________________________________
Circle the correct technology type:
communication, construction, manufacturing, clothing, agriculture and food production
Use:
Picture Five: Name of Artifact or Action: _________________________________
Circle the correct technology type:
communication, construction, manufacturing, clothing, agriculture and food production
Use:
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
Interdisciplinary Lesson
Attachment B
Post-Assessment Rubric
Skills,
Understandings,
and Performances
4
3
2
1
Correctly identifies
many artifacts and
procedures related to
the technology and
successfully explains
for all how they
extend the culture’s
capabilities
Identifies several
artifacts and
procedures related
to the technology
and explains for
many how they
extended the
culture’s
capabilities
Identifies a few
artifacts and
procedures related
to the technology
and explains for a
few how they
extended the
culture’s
capabilities
Identifies two or
fewer artifacts and
procedures related
to the technology
but fails to explain
how they extended
the culture’s
capabilities
Understands
creative thinking,
economics, and
culture that impact
technological
development
Shows incisive
understanding of an
American Indian
tribe's creative
thinking, economics
and culture impacting
its technological
development
Shows solid
understanding of
an American
Indian tribe's
creative thinking,
economics and
culture impacting
its technological
development
Shows basic
understanding of
an American
Indian tribe's
creative thinking,
economics and
culture impacting
its technological
development
Shows little
understanding of
an American
Indian tribe's
creative thinking,
economics and
culture impacting
its technological
development
Models a tribe’s
technological
artifact
Historically and
accurately recreates a
technological artifact
created or used by
selected tribe
Recreates an
artifact probably
created or used by
selected tribe
Creates an artifact
model representing
one possibly
created or used by
selected tribe
Creates an artifact
model which fails
to represent one
created or used by
selected tribe
Presents welldesigned written
report, oral
presentation and
physical model,
demonstrating an indepth understanding
of how the group
used and developed
technology,
communicating well
to peers and teachers
Presents effective
written report, oral
presentation and
physical model,
demonstrating a
competent
understanding of
how the group used
and developed
technology,
communicating
well to peers and
teachers
Presents written
report, oral
presentation and
physical model
with some
evidence of preplanning,
demonstrating
satisfactory
understanding of
how the group used
and developed
technology,
communicating
with some
effectiveness to
peers and teachers
Presents unplanned
written report, oral
presentation and
physical model,
demonstrating a
poor understanding
of how the group
used and developed
technology without
clearly
communicating to
peers and teachers
Recognizes tools
and procedures of
technology that
extend human
capabilities
Demonstrates
presentation and
communication
skills
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
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American Indian Technologies - Grade Four
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Attachment C
Information Organizer
Your Name __________________________ Your Tribe ________________
Your Technology Type (Circle one):
Communication
Construction
Clothing
Manufacturing Food
List tools, materials, objects and activities that your tribe used or created that would belong
under your topic:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How did these things help make your tribe's work easier or improve their lives?
In what ways did your tribe use these things that were different than the way they were used
by other people?
How were these things used or traded by your tribe to obtain other things the tribe needed?
How did your tribe create these things or improve them?
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Attachment D
Apache Technology
Technology Type
Communication
Construction
Clothing
Manufacturing
Agriculture or Food
Preparation
Creative use of technology
 Art work on pottery, baskets, blankets,
deerskins told story, expressed ideas
 Danced for religious ceremonies
 Clothing and makeup were symbols of war
or social position in tribe
Technology's effect on economy
Cultural influence on technology
 Apache baskets were large and fit on the
back to enable a person to carry almost
all of his possessions at once
 Many designs are unique or are
trademarked art works of the Apache
 Wickiup for shelter (dome shape from wood
poles covered in bush, grass, reeds)
 Some used Pueblo adobe huts
 Some made grass huts
 Some Plains Apache used buffalo tipis
 Used deerskin for clothing, blankets, robes
 Fancy dress for ceremonies included kilts,
masks, wooden or feather headdresses, body
paint
 Ability and willingness to travel to find
food enabled Apache to meet and trade
with other tribes, or, in some cases, to
raid another village and leave quickly
 Used simple structures that were quick to
erect and made of local materials.
Shelter fit the nomadic hunting style of
most of the Apache tribes
 Apache raided other settlements* for
goods when they needed them
 Apache clothing items made from
deerskin have unique designs decorated
with symbols and patterns meaningful to
their culture
 Made baskets and pottery for storage and
rapid movement of possessions
 Made knives, axes, arrows, spears, clubs and
slingshots for hunting, food preparation, and
war
 Traded buffalo hides, tallow, meat,
bones (for needles and punches), salt
from desert for Pueblo cotton, blankets,
turquoise, corn
 Apache baskets and clothing were
popular items that were sold or traded
with other tribes and tourists
 Traded buffalo, deer, desert salt with
Pueblo or Navajo for corn, blankets
 Raided other settlements* for food or
goods if needed
 Apache used many ideas from other
tribes with whom they traded or
conquered
 Most Apache hunted buffalo or deer for
food, or traded with Pueblo for food (corn)
 Hunted with arrows, spears, slingshots,
clubs
 Some lived off land (berries, roots, small
game)
 Some Apache farmed beans, corn, squash
 Used stone lined fire pits to steam wild
yucca and mescal plants
 After the Spanish invasion, Apaches used
horses for hunting
 Collected and prepared pine nuts for
carbohydrates and fats
 Roasted agave fruit
 Gathered chia seeds
(*Includes American Indian and EuroAmerican settlements)
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