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Overview
Two
Cultures
Meet
Native American
and European
By Ann Rossi
Summary
Background Information
By the 1400s, Native
The different Native American
Americans had been living
in the Americas for more
than 10,000 years. Europeans
came in search of wealth.
These two cultures exchanged
many things that brought
positive change, such as
farming techniques and
animals, including the horse.
Native Americans began
trading with the French,
Dutch, English, and Spanish.
And, while the Native
Americans traded furs, fish,
baskets, pottery, and other
such goods for iron, axes,
knives, pots, and guns, the
contact with Europeans also
brought diseases, which
sometimes wiped out entire
villages. The greatest clash
between the Europeans and
the Native Americans was
over land use. Eventually,
most Native Americans were
forced to give up their way
of life and were moved onto
reservations.
groups living in the Americas
had one thing in common: they
all depended upon and respected
Earth and the creatures that lived
here. In their view, the land
could not be owned. Europeans
came to the Americas in search
of wealth, and their goals often
conflicted with the way of life of
the Native Americans. For
Europeans, owning land was a
sign of wealth and freedom. The
arrival of Christopher Columbus
in the Americas in 1492 signaled
the beginning of an ongoing
encounter and exchange
between two diverse cultural
groups. As more Europeans came
to the Americas to establish
permanent settlements, conflicts
over land ownership intensified.
Today, people are trying to learn
from the past. Many people
realize that nature must be cared
for and cultural diversity
respected.
Learning Objectives
Genre/Text Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
expository
photographs/art and
captions
chapter titles and
subheads
maps
sidebars
contents, glossary,
and index
224
Reading Skills
Writing Skills
Social Studies Skills
Skill Focus
• compare and contrast
• use word origins
Supporting Skills
• summarize
• generalize
• recognize cause/effect
• make judgments
• use images
Writing Focus
• write a journal entry
(descriptive)
Supporting Skills
• prewrite
• conduct research
Speaking and Listening
• give oral presentation
•
•
•
•
•
•
compare and contrast European and Native
American cultures
describe how art helps preserve culture
describe different cultural perspectives on land use
give examples of information and products
Europeans and Native Americans traded
describe the influence of horses on Native
American life
create diagrams
Two Cultures Meet: Native American and European
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Focus on Reading
Activate Prior Knowledge
Direct students’ attention to the
cover of the student book. Read
the title and point out the
illustration. Ask volunteers to
suggest what makes up a
person’s culture.You might ask
leading questions such as:
Draw a web on the board and
write Culture in the center.
Then have students copy the
web into their notebooks and
complete it by adding aspects
of culture, including examples
for each.
Preview
Give students time to preview
the book. Ask:
What differences between the
European and Native American
cultures can you see in this
illustration?
Write students’ ideas on the
board. Then have a volunteer
use the glossary to check the
definition of culture.
Will you be reading about the
present or a time in the past?
What clues tell you this?
From the chapter titles and
subheads, what are some topics
we’ll be reading about?
Talk about the map on page 7.
Ask:
What information does the
map provide?
Culture
clothing
ways of
life
Set Purpose
Ask students whether this book
reminds them of other books
they have read. Ask:
What would you like to
find out?
Model your own purpose for
reading, if necessary.
Vocabulary Strategy:
Word origins
Activity Master, Page 228
Explain to students that
language is an aspect of
culture, and when cultures
meet, language is shared. The
English language, for example,
is rich with words from other
languages. Explain that the
meanings of some of these
words can be figured out from
the meaning of the original
word. Students can use the
Activity Master on page 228
to match vocabulary words
with each word’s origin.
Students will use these words:
adobe
convert
maize
beliefs
mesa
stockade
tipi
Correlation to National Standards
Language Arts
•
•
•
•
•
read to build an understanding of
the cultures of the United States
use spoken and written language to
communicate effectively
use the writing process
conduct research
develop understanding and respect
for diversity in language use across
cultures
Social Studies
Geography
culture
time, continuity,
and change
• people, places,
and environment
•
•
•
State/Local
places and
regions (4, 6)
• human systems
(9, 11, 13)
• uses of geography
(16, 17)
See Standards Chart
on pages 282–287.
Two Cultures Meet: Native American and European
225
Seeds of Change in American History
Before Reading
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Focus on Reading (continued)
During Reading
After Reading
Read Strategically:
Compare and contrast
Activity Master, Page 229
Assign each chapter of the book
as independent reading. As
students read Two Cultures Meet,
they can compare and contrast
Native American and European
cultures by completing the
Activity Master.You might
want to walk through part of
the chart with students. (See
below.) Use the information
from the chart to generalize
about the two cultures.
Strategy Tip: Use images
to aid comprehension
Encourage students to use the
illustrations to clarify what
they read. For example,
students can look at the
illustration on page 6 to better
understand, “did not need
much clothing.” Encourage
students to make use of each
illustration. They can ask:
What part of the text does this
help explain? What is the purpose
of the picture (map, diagram)?
Meeting
Individual Needs
For specific strategies on
meeting individual needs,
see pages 264–269.
Responding
Initiate a class discussion to
assess reading comprehension
with such questions as:
Culture includes art, customs,
and beliefs. How were these two
cultures—the European and the
Native American—similar and
different? (compare and contrast)
Why did Europeans explore the
Americas? (generalize)
References they might use in
addition to Two Cultures
Meet include library books,
encyclopedias, and the Internet.
Communicating: Speaking/listening
Give oral presentation
In small groups, students can
read their journal entries aloud.
Students reading aloud should
✓ speak clearly
✓ make eye contact with the listeners
✓ adapt speech as appropriate
What did each culture share
with the other? (summarize)
Listeners should
What conflicts occurred between
these two cultures? How were
they resolved? (summarize)
between cultures
✓ identify goals described
✓ listen politely
✓ ask questions to clarify
understanding
✓ identify comparisons and contrasts
How did life change for Native
Americans when Europeans
arrived? (cause and effect)
What can people today learn
from the events described in this
book? (make judgments)
Writing and Research:
Write a journal entry
Activity Master, Page 230
Explain to students that
European explorers frequently
kept journals as a record of
their experiences. Students can
use the Activity Master to plan
a journal entry of their own.
Topic
Europeans
Native Americans
Clothing
• wore clothing that completely covered them
• wore shoes
• wore metal helmets and armor
• wore little clothing
• wore no shoes or shoes of soft leather
• wore feathers and beads as decoration
226
Two Cultures Meet: Native American and European
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Extend and Assess
Research a Native American group
Organize students into small
groups to research a Native
American group. Students can
use references and library
materials to find out where and
how the group lived and what
eventually happened to the
group. Does this Native American
group exist today? What is their
relationship to the past?
Students can present their
information in a variety of
ways: an oral report, models, a
poster, or a set of illustrations.
Provide time for groups
to share their information.
Create a
Diagram
Activity Master, Page 231
Direct attention to the diagram
on page 17. Talk about what
it shows (the stops along
the “slave triangle”). Explain
that a diagram can provide
information with few words.
Challenge students to select an
event from Two Cultures Meet
and create a diagram for it.
Possible topics are trade routes,
planting, games, and hunting.
Provide time to share diagrams.
answers independently in their
notebooks:
1 Why did Europeans come to the
Americas?
2 Describe one way the two cultures
were similar and two ways they
were different.
3 What role did horses play in the lives
of the Native Americans?
4 How did Europeans view the land?
5 Were there more similarities or
differences between the two cultures?
6 What ultimately happened to the
Native American cultures?
Assessment Activity
Ask students to create a simple
diagram showing two things
Native Americans gave to
Europeans and two things
Europeans gave Native
Americans. Students can use
words or illustrations to
describe the items exchanged.
Provide students with a model
to complete. (See below.)
Diagrams should
✓ be accurate
✓ be carefully prepared
Multiple-Choice Test
Use the multiple-choice test in
the Assessment Booklet.
Cross-Curricular Connection
Science
At the time of Two Cultures
Meet, Europeans had little
understanding that natural
resources should be conserved.
Students can conduct research
on a topic of their choice related
to conservation of natural
resources. Students can present
what they learn on a poster, in
a report, or in some other
format. In addition to questions
of their own, they should
answer such questions as:
Why is this resource important?
Has this resource been
threatened? How?
What conservation efforts are
in place?
Home-School Connection
Students and parents can make a
list of ten items in the home
that have been shared by other
cultures. Students can investigate
foods, music, books, art pieces,
and clothing. Students can list
each item and the culture they
believe it came from.
Europeans
Items Exchanged
Assessment Options
1
2
Use the following assessment
options.
Native Americans
Questions
Items Exchanged
Ask the following questions
during individual conferences
or have students write the
1
2
Two Cultures Meet: Native American and European
227
Seeds of Change in American History
Focus on Social Studies
NG_TG_6_pg224-263.qrk_FNL 6/26/01 11:14 AM Page 228
Two Cultures Meet
Name
Vocabulary: Word Origins
The English language contains words from other languages. The meanings of
some of these words can be figured out using the meanings of the original words.
Read the original word and its definition. Then write the definition of the English
word. Write a sentence for each word. Use the glossary, the index, and
a dictionary.
Original Words and Definitions
Al toba
Vocabulary Words and Definitions
adobe
means “the brick” (Spanish).
mesa
Mesa
means “table” (Spanish).
tipi
Ti pi
means “a dwelling for more
than one person” (Dakota).
Vertere
convert
© 2001 National Geographic Society
means “to turn around”
(Latin).
maize
Maíz
means “Indian corn”
(Spanish from Taino mahiz).
Estaca
stockade
means “stake” (Spanish).
228
Activity Master
Vocabulary
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Two Cultures Meet
Name
Reading: Compare and Contrast
When Europeans came to the Americas beginning in the 1400s, they met
Native Americans who had been living there for centuries. As you read Two
Cultures Meet, think about how the European cultures were similar to and
different from Native American cultures. For each topic below, compare and
contrast these two cultures.
Topic
Europeans
Native Americans
Clothing
Food
Houses
© 2001 National Geographic Society
Use of animals
Use of land
Trade
Reading Strategies
Activity Master
229
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Two Cultures Meet
Name
Writing: Prewriting
Journal Entry
You are a European settler. Write a journal entry describing your experiences.
Since your journal is your record of what has happened, you will want to
include major events as well as how you feel about your experiences.
Use information, maps, pictures in Two Cultures Meet, and other references
to write your journal entry. Organize your ideas below.
My Goals
What I’ve Learned
Native Americans
Conflicts
My Experience
in America
The Land
© 2001 National Geographic Society
Year
Date
Dear Journal,
230
Activity Master
Writing
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Name
Two Cultures Meet
Social Studies: Create a Diagram
© 2001 National Geographic Society
Create a diagram that shows how something happened or was done during
the time period covered in Two Cultures Meet. Use the Triangular Trade
diagram as a guide.You might diagram how crops were planted, how a game
was played, how buffalo were hunted, or how the horse changed the way of
life for Native Americans.
Social Studies Skills
Activity Master
231