Native Americans
Table of Contents
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History
People
Geography
Economics
Government
Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
Social Studies Skills and Methods
Native Americans
• First Grade
• Social Studies
Lesson
• Author: Tara
Geegan
HISTORY
Websites
Lesson Plans for U.S. History
http://members.aol.com/MrDonnHistory/Am
erican.html
National Museum of the American Indian
http://www.nmai.si.edu
Native American Religion
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/ei
ghteen/ekeyinfo/natrel.htm
HISTORY
Websites
Lewis and Clark Lesson
http://www.oklatravelnet.com/#
Making a Tepee
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/na
/teepee/
History: Activities
Activity 1:
• Students will learn about tepees and how
Native Americans used them for shelter.
Afterwards, the students will make tepees
out of paper bags.
Activity 2:
• Students will create a time line of
important events in Native American
history.
History: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will compare and contrast how
we get our food today with the methods of
food that Native Americans previously
used.
Activity 4:
• Read Annie and the Old One by Miska
Miles and compare Annie’s world to
Native American’s life long ago.
History: Activities
Activity 5:
• Students will discuss the practices of
different tribes and create a Venn
Diagram to display the differences and
similarities of two (Example: Cherokee
and Seminole)
PEOPLE IN SOCIETIES
Websites
Native American Baskets
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/baskets.
html
Dream Catchers
http://www.mrdonn.org/nativeamericans.ht
ml#dreamcatchers
PEOPLE IN SOCIETIES
Websites
Making a Rain Stick
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org
Types of Canoes
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/canoes.
html
Collaborative Thematic Units
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/native.htm
People in Societies: Activities
Activity 1:
• Students will design and draw a basket
after exploring the patterns and various
techniques of basket weaving that Native
Americans used.
People in Societies: Activities
Activity 2:
• Students will make a dream
catcher using twine, thin wire,
beads and feathers.
Activity 3:
• Students will learn about rain
sticks that Native Americans
used as instruments. Afterward,
they will create a poem about
their feelings and thoughts of
rain.
People in Societies: Activities
Activity 4:
• Read Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola and
discuss Native American art. Give students
time to paint or draw a scene that connects to
the story.
Activity 5:
• Read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie
dePaola and discuss Native American
spirituality and nature.
GEOGRAPHY
Websites
Native American Tribes by Region
http://www.proteacher.com/090018.shtml
Native American Wall Maps
www.maps4u.com
Northeast Iroquois Nation
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/iroquois.
html
GEOGRAPHY
Websites
Wise Owl: An Iroquois Creation Myth
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/wiseowl.
html
Lessons for Specific Regions and Nations
http://www.mrdonn.org/nativeamericans.ht
ml#Lessons
Geography: Activities
Activity 1:
• Read Wise Owl: An Iroquois Creation Myth.
Have students complete a graphic organizer of
the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Activity 2:
• As a class, locate several tribes in the Midwest
region and have the students make a list of five
tribes in Ohio.
Geography: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will learn
about the term
populations and
explore various
populations of
Native American
tribes throughout
the United States.
Geography: Activities
Activity 4:
• Students will create a map of an Native
American village and include a map
legend and compass rose.
Activity 5:
• Students will explore transportation used
by Native Americans and compare and
contrast it to transportation used today.
ECONOMICS
Websites
Making a Wampum Belt
http://artsedge.kennedycenter.org/content/2117/
Traditional Economy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N
ative_Americans_in_the_U
nited_States#Traditional_e
conomy
ECONOMICS
Websites
Fur Trade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_trade
Native American Artifacts
http://www.nativeamericantrade.com/
First Contacts: Expanding Trade
www.nebraskastudies.org
Economics: Activities
Activity 1:
• Students will learn about the Native
American barter system and explore
wampum as a form of exchange.
Activity 2:
• Students will explore negotiating and
trading by mocking a trade market where
goods and services can be exchanged.
Economics: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will compare and contrast our
currency today with the currency Native
Americans used with European settlers.
Activity 4:
• Students will discuss how weather and nature
impact economics. Teachers can tie in
spirituality, rain dances and sticks, and the
impact weather had on agriculture for Native
Americans.
Economics: Activities
Activity 5:
• Students will explore Native American
jewelry and discuss the use of jewelry in
the Native American trade market. Also,
different tribes artifacts can be explored
and compared.
GOVERNMENT
Websites
Native American Chiefs
http://web.telia.com/~u15508742/chi
efs.htm
Treaties Between US and Native
Americans
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/
ntreaty/ntreaty.htm
GOVERNMENT
Websites
Native American Indian Treaties and Agreements
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-HtmlTreaties/Treaties.html
The Great Chiefs
http://nativeamericanrhymes.com/chiefs/chiefs.ht
m
The Trial of Standing Bear
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/standingbear/
Government: Activities
Activity 1:
• Make a Venn Diagram comparing the
roles of the President of the United States
and the roles of a Native American chief.
Activity 2:
• Students will compare two tribes and the
differences in the chiefs ideas and
actions.
Government: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will discuss the qualities that a person
needs to be a leader. Then, students will write
a story about someone they know that has
those qualities.
Activity 4:
• Choose two stories and tell the children about
each of them. Then, let the children vote by
writing the story name on a piece of paper.
Students will see the importance of voting and
decision making.
Government: Activities
Activity 5:
• Teachers will discuss the Indian Removal
Act and the impacts it had on different
tribes.
CITIZNESHIP RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Websites
The Nez Perce Indians
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/feb99/mcculloug
h/Nez_per_cam.htm
The Sioux Nation
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/sioux.html
Some Principal Tribes of the Plains People
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/plains.html#tri
bes
CITIZNESHIP RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Websites
Chart of Native Americans
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/navigatio
n/native_american_chart.htm
Native Americans and the Environment
http://cnie.org/NAE/index.html
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities: Activities
Activity 1:
• Students will discuss the primary roles of
men and women in Native American
tribes.
Activity 2:
• Students will learn about responsibilities
Native American children had while
growing up, along with different customs
they practiced.
Citizenship Rights and
Responsibilities: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will discuss the term equality and what they
know about it. Next, they will brainstorm ideas for
helping one another and respecting differences.
Activity 4:
• Students will choose names for themselves based on
Native American traditions.
Activity 5:
• Students will discuss the seven tribes of the Sioux and
how they worked together to keep peaceful
relationships. Then, the teacher will discuss classroom
communities and student responsibilities in the room.
SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
AND METHODS
Websites
Videos and Maps
http://www.oklatravelnet.com/#
Native American Lesson Plans
http://www.teachnology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/history/nativ
e/
Native American Symbol Stories
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/symbols.html
SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
AND METHODS
Websites
Free Native American Clip Art
http://www.mrdonn.org/nativeamericans.ht
ml#clipart
Native Tech: Native American Technology
and Art
http://www.nativetech.org/games/index.php
Social Studies Skills and
Methods: Activities
Activity 1:
• Students will watch Pocahontas and
identify the setting, main characters, and
the beginning, middle, and end.
Activity 2:
• Students will visit Native Tech’s website
and participate in an online interactive
game.
Social Studies Skills and
Methods: Activities
Activity 3:
• Students will create a thematic word wall based
on the vocabulary they learned about Native
American culture, practices, art, music, and tribes.
Activity 4:
• Students will listen to different Native American
tribal music and explore Native American tribal
dances.
Social Studies Skills and
Methods: Activities
Activity 5:
• Read Navajo: At The Rainbow's End and
have students use technology to create a
short summary of the story. Students can
use clip art and word processor to retell
the story.