Presenters: Patricia Huck, Katie McGlynn, Tina Cortese, and Deia Capella.
Intended Audience: Fourth Grade, can be modified for Second Grade
Teaching Point: From Mannahatta to Manhattan. Native American’s history on their island.
Purpose: To understand the early history of New York City.
Common Core Learning Standards
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific,
or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g.,
in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and
explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Materials/Resources:
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Sound clip of Mannahatta Island
Transparency Map of Mannahatta 1609
Ariel view of Manhattan today
Wet erase markers
Native American Artifacts
Artifact analysis worksheet
Manhattan Island painting
Purchase of Manhattan painting
Painting analysis worksheet
Chief Ninham Forgotten Hero by Eva Jean Bowman
Lesson 1
Model: Say, right now we are going to close our eyes and listen to all the sounds that we hear. Next,
turn and talk to your partner and describe the sounds you heard. Share out your responses. Ask, where
do you think these sounds took place. Explain to students that the sounds were taken from Manhattan
when the Native Americans lived on the land.
Guided Practice: Next, introduce a picture of Mannahatta Island. Hand out transparency and wet erase
markers. Tell the students to color in landforms with the red marker and water in black marker. Discuss
what they color and why they think that it is important. After the students colored in the important land
and water forms, hand out the picture of Manhattan Island today. Have students place the
transparency on top of the picture of Manhattan. Discuss which land and water forms are the same
today. Why do the students think some things have changed but others haven’t? How does this
indicate how the land may have been used in the 1600s.
Independent Practice/ Differentiated Instruction: Students will work as pairs to list different ways that
the landforms of Mannahatta were used by the Native Americans who lived at that time.
Lesson 2
Model: Show a picture of the Manhattan Island painting on the Smart Board. Explain that the picture is
of Manhattan in the 1600s. Ask:
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Who is in the picture?
What do you think of the clothes the people are wearing?
What time of year do you think this is?
What do you think the man in the front is thinking?
What have you learned about the daily life of the people in the picture?
Explain that students will work on their own to analyze their own picture.
Guided Practice: Give students the picture of the Purchase of Manhattan. Students will use a painting
analysis worksheet to guide their ideas about the timeframe and what was happening in the picture.
Discuss the need to focus specifically on the individuals in the painting. Ask students what they think is
happening in the picture and the significance of the two groups meeting. After students fill out their
worksheets, have them share out about their ideas and discuss that the painting is of the Native
Americans selling Manhattan to the Dutch settlers.
Lesson 3
Model: Begin with a discussion of the word artifact. Write the word on the Smart Board and elicit
definitions. Write down the definitions. Ask the students does the word remind them of other words.
Ask the students if they can find any artifacts in the classroom. What do these artifacts tell people
about our class or school? Use an example of one of the school artifacts. What is it made of? What is it
used for? Who uses it? Why do they use it?
Guided Practice: Hand out artifacts to each table. Bring out prior knowledge of Native Americans. Have
students look at the artifact and think about the following questions:
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Who used it?
Where was it used?
What was it used for?
What was it made of?
Does the artifact tell you anything about Native Americans?
Do you use anything like this today?
Hand out the artifact analysis worksheet to each student and give them time to complete the questions
and have a whole class discussion about their answers.
Students should be able to understand how an artifact gives us clues about a time, a place and people.
Understanding artifacts is understanding our history.
Follow Up: Introduce the story Chief Ninham Forgotten Hero by Eva Jean Bowman. Next, pair the
students accordingly. Students will write their own story from a Native American point of view about the
sale of Manhattan Island to the Dutch.
Assessment: Teacher checklist, informal observations, and rubric for the story.
References
Manhattan Island before the Dutch. Date: 1905-1914 from http://collections.mcny.org/
Purchase of Manhattan Island from the Indians, 1626: The First Big Real Estate Deal
Date: 1926 http://collections.mcny.org/
Chief Ninham Forgotten Hero by Eva Jean Bowman
Meadowlark Morning sounds from http://naturesound.org/
http://welikia.org/