OHIO SOCIAL STUDIES
STRANDS POWERPOINT
The First Global Age:
The Characteristics of
the Mississippian
Civilization
Grade Six
Matt Crapo
Jon Hutman
Ellen Rampelt
Table of Contents
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Strand One: History
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Strand Two: People In Societies
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Information: Slide 6
Activities: Slide 7
Strand Three: Geography
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Information: Slide 4
Activities: Slide 5
Information: Slide 8
Activities: Slide 9
Strand Four: Economics
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Information: Slide 10
Activities: Slide 11
Table of Contents Continued
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Strand Five: Government
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Strand Six: Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
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Information: Slide 17
Activities: Slide 18
Strand Eight: Science Technology and Society
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Information: Slide 14
Activities: Slide 15
Strand Seven: Social Studies Skills and Methods
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Information: Slide 12
Activities: Slide 13
Activities: Slide 19
Annotated Websites
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Slides 20-22
STRAND ONE: HISTORY
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The term Mississippian refers to an
urban civilization that flourished in
eastern North America between the
years c. 900 and 1400.
It was the last major prehistoric cultural
development in North America
In the early 1400s, before the arrival of
Europeans, the civilization mysteriously
vanished.
ACTIVITIES

Strand One: History
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students will go through a National Geographic and find
pictures of artifacts. They will paste them on a poster
board.
Students will create a time line of major events that took
place in 1000 AD.
Students will create a family tree of their family. They will
be expected to go back at least four generations but an
incentive will be given to the furthest tree.
Students will write a story about how they would fight a
battle if they were an Indian.
How did the tribes communicate? Come up with your own
language and trade with a partner.
STRAND TWO: PEOPLE IN
SOCIETIES
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The culture spread along the rivers to many parts of what
is now the central and eastern United States.
The Mississippian culture was the only known preColumbian urban civilization to develop in the Americas
north of what is now Mexico.
They made human sacrifices remain unclear, said it
appears the deaths were part of a theatrical ritual, and the
roles seem to be mythical, possibly a retelling of the story
of creation.
Population centers were found in river basins, as their
culture was sustained by the cultivation of crops. Towns
were subordinate to other towns with more powerful Chief
Priests; thus confederacies were established
ACTIVITIES
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Strand Two: People in societies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We will have a tribe day. We will dress up as if we
were Indians, discuss what they ate as well.
A guest speaker will come to the class. He will discuss
the life of an Indian of that time.
What did they wear? You draw it on poster board!
If you were their medicine man, what would you give
a guy with the flu?
Vegetation patterns were not like they are today. If
you had to plant a field what would you put where?
STRAND THREE: GEOGRAPHY
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The Mississippians are also known as
the Mound Builders, due to the
enormous flat-topped temple mounds
they constructed in the centers of their
large, well-organized cities.
Among the most important centers of
Mississippian culture were Cahokia,
Illinois; Moundville, Alabama; and
Ocmulgee, Georgia
The Mississippian Culture spanned
from Wisconsin and Minnesota in the
north, through Georgia to the south,
and westward into the Great Plains
ACTIVITIES

Strand Three: Geography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The students will build mounds with play doe. They
will look similar to what the tribes would build.
The students will map their territory. It will be done
on a worksheet.
Draw plants that are unique now but at that time they
were very plentiful.
The students will watch a movie on how they traveled
from place to place.
Pretend you are a weather man, what was the average
weather in each season. Chart this on a poster.
STRAND FOUR: ECONOMICS
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The civilization engaged in trade
with surrounding peoples as far
away as the Rocky Mountains and
the Atlantic coast.
It was based on intensive
cultivation of corn, beans, squash,
and other crops.
Craftwork was executed in copper,
shell, stone, wood, and clay.
The Mississippian typically lived
along the banks of large rivers for
both food, transportation and
protection.
These areas provided diversity in
plant and animal life, fertile soil,
and fresh water.
ACTIVITIES
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Strand Four: Economics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students will create posters of different food that was
grown and sold for other goods.
Students will use a barter system to trade with other
classmates basic necessities. This is to show the
importance of a plentiful crop.
Did they get along with their neighboring tribes? Find
out some economic contributions and chart them.
If you lived in 1200 AD, what would you have if you
were considered rich.
There were no manufacturers at this time. Were did
they get their necessities from, label this on a poster
STRAND FIVE: GOVERNMENT
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It is now generally believed that a
form of chiefdom government
operated within the Mississippian
period.
These chiefdoms, operating out of
temple mound complexes, such as
Moundville or Etowah, apparently
controlled specific territories usually
associated with a defined floodplain
environment.
Chiefs were responsible for the
redistribution of food between
outlying communities and the major
community.
In all probability, Mississippian
chiefdoms controlled only small
geographical areas and were in
constant states of change because
their power rested on fragile
agricultural adaptations.
ACTIVITIES
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Strand Five: Government
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We live in a democracy. Create a venn diagram that
compares and contrast our government and theirs.
Women can vote in Americas, cold the always vote? What
role did women play in society?
Were all men hunters? Create a chart that shows the
various jobs of men in the tribe.
We know they were mound builders. Why did they create
these large piles of earth? This will be done in groups and
you will have to give a 4min speech.
Have a debate over who killed the deer. You and another
tribe member both shot at the same time. You have to act
out a debate that could have taken place during those time
periods.
STRAND SIX: CITIZENSHIP
RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES
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Each large town dominated a group
of satellite villages.
Monks Mound was a large building
that once stood atop the mound
and is believed to have been the
ceremonial home of the city’s ruler
or an elite clan.
A social hierarchy was present in
the Mississippian culture.
Common people were simply buried
while people of importance such as
chiefs or gods were buried in great
mounds.
ACTIVITIES
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Strand Six: Citizenship rights and
responsibilities.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What were the jobs of children? Compare them to the
jobs you do.
How did they get ready for winter, summer? Show on
a poster the work that was needed.
You cannot consume alcohol until you are 21. It was
not always like this. What role did alcohol play for the
tribes? Show on poster board.
Many games were played. Re-create one for the class.
Dress up like a chief, tell characteristics of a chief.
STRAND SEVEN: SOCIAL STUDIES
SKILLS and METHODS
Students learn from various methods. It is
our jobs as educators to make sure we
reach every student.
 Throughout this presentation we have hit
every learner style and incorporated
exciting activities for each and every
student.
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ACTIVITIES
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Strand Seven: Social studies skills and
methods
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lecture- I tell the students facts.
Field trip- we all go to an Indian cite, they get hands
on information.
Group presentations- the group will teach the class
Dress up day- we learn their culture and heritage
through their dress.
Movie day- we learn through the movie
representations and on cite viewing.
STRAND EIGHT: SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY and SOCIETY
Technology should be incorporated in
every classroom. It is our job as educators
to teach the students the importance of
technology in the every day world.
 Our activities used different formats of
technology while keeping it interesting for
the students.
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ACTIVITIES
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Strand Eight: Science technology and
society
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students will create a Power Point over
mound formations.
Students will copy and paste pictures of
artifacts.
Students will create a bibliography for
educational websites based on Mississippian
Civilizations.
Students will create a group video, choosing
one part of the civilization to recreate.
Students will tape record a Native American.
ANNOTATED WEBSITES
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Title: Mississippian Civilization (900-1750
A.D.) Southern region

http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/up/upj.h
tml
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This website provided great pictures and information
on artifacts from the civilization. It could be used for
useful research in the classroom.
Title: Definition of Mississippian civilization
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http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Mississippian_civiliz
ation
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This website provides great information about the
history of the civilization. It is a great website to
start the students learning about the Mississippians.
ANNOTATED WEBSITES
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Title: Workin' on a mound gang
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http://whyfiles.org/135salv_arch/3.html
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This website provides great descriptions and visual
representations of how the different mounds looked like
during the Mississippian era. The students can use this
website to help them create their own mounds.
Title: The Mississippian Culture: The Mound
builders at Ocmulgee

http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/amtours/oc
mulgee400X200/400X200S/ocmwciv.htm
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This website provides virtual tours of the mounds, while
also providing great details about each different type of
mound.
ANNOTATED WEBSITE
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Title: Webquest for the Mississippian
Civilization
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http://www.webinstituteforteachers.org/~jlore
do/web_quest.html
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This website offers numerous resources and links for
students to research about this culture.