ALEX Learning Activity

  

The First Americans: Learning About American Indian Heritage

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Elizabeth Hester
System:Vestavia Hills City
School:Vestavia Hills City Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 3001
Title:
The First Americans: Learning About American Indian Heritage
Digital Tool/Resource:
Gale in Context - Elementary, Pueblo
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

The teacher will share an article about the Pueblo Indians that includes the geography, economic, cultural, belief systems, and community organization of this tribe. After recognizing the elements of this tribe in the article, students will read a similar article on a tribe of their choosing. They will present information about this tribe in a slide show.

This learning activity was created as a result of the ALEX - Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 5
United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
3 ) Distinguish differences among major American Indian cultures in North America according to geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems.

•  Locating on a map American Indian nations according to geographic region
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe major American Indian cultures in North America according to:
    • geographic region
    • natural resources
    • community organization
    • economy
    • belief systems
  • Locate American Indian nations on a map according to geographic region.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • belief system
  • community organization
  • distinguish
  • economy
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The description of major American Indian cultures including geographic regions, the use of natural resources, community organization, economy and belief systems and locate these nations on a map.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Locate major American Indian nations on a map.
  • Distinguish American Indian cultural groups by examining the geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The major American Indian cultures can be distinguished from one another based on geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems.
Alabama Archives Resources:
Click below to access all Alabama Archives resources aligned to this standard.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.5.3- Recognize that there were many American Indian cultures in North America.
Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to describe the geographic region, natural resources, community, economy, and beliefs of one American Indian tribe.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

 

1. The teacher will start out by telling the students they are going to learn about American Indians. 

2. The teacher will display parts of the standard (geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems).

3. The teacher will ask for volunteer readers of the article on the Pueblo tribe. 

4. Students will look for the parts of the standard in the Pueblo article.

5. The teacher will tell students that they will research an additional tribe and work in groups with others to create a slideshow.

6. The teacher will provide a list of the elements of a tribe (geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems). The teacher will explain that for some articles not all of the information will be listed, and some articles will have additional information.

7. Students choose from Cherokee, Tlingit-Haida, Abenaki, Chickasaw, and other American Indian tribes under Gale in Context: Elementary, Social Studies, and Native American Tribes.

8. The teacher will assign each student one element of the tribe listed in the standard; one student can be assigned to look for additional information in the article that is not one of the elements listed in the standard.

9. The students will navigate to the Gale in Context Elementary, Social Studies, American Indian Tribes. After the student reaches the main page for the tribe, they should click "Keep Reading" to access the full article.

10. Students will create a slideshow on a shared document in groups. They may choose to use the following template:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-OqWcZdLYDPjJtLhHLWtuqsYfqFNcLi5zPdr6TYjRYg/edit?usp=sharing

 
Assessment Strategies:

 

The teacher will assess the student’s description of the geographic region, natural resources, community, economy, and beliefs of chosen American Indian tribe.

 
Advanced Preparation:

Duration: 46 - 60 minutes

Materials and links:

 

Links:

Cherokee:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ZTBFZG769431934/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=68914120


Tlingit-Haida:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BVIMIA374107849/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=429d7b3e


Abenaki:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BKMTDY460465883/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=55c5087b


Chickasaw:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/OVDNEP470654064/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=95bbd1b4


Pueblo:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/UJSTUD966453035/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=3ba22ba9

Teacher Preparation:

The teacher will need to read the articles in Gale in Context: Elementary, Social Studies, American Indian Tribes. Click on each of the tribe articles to read them: Cherokee, Tlingit-Haida, Abenaki, Chickasaw, and Pueblo Indians.  The teacher will also need an interactive whiteboard to share information with the students. The teacher will read the article "Pueblo" beforehand and compare it to the standard. The teacher will decide which elements of each tribe will be assigned to each group of students. The teacher needs to click "Keep Reading" to access the full article. The teacher will divide the students into groups.

The teacher may need to decide which slideshow platform the students will use and what should be included in the slideshow. 

Link to a Sample Template:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-OqWcZdLYDPjJtLhHLWtuqsYfqFNcLi5zPdr6TYjRYg/edit?usp=sharing

Student Preparation:  None

 

 
Variation Tips (optional):

Intervention: Struggling readers can choose the lower-level reading in the articles

Acceleration: Students can do additional research on American Indian tribes, especially on tribes that have not been researched.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

Pueblo Indians is just one of the tribes listed under Social Studies and American Indian Tribes and can be used to point out the information in the Standard, such as geography, early history, homes, food, and clothing. Much of the information can be found under the headings in the article.

This activity is preceded by Beyond Stereotypes: A Journey Into American Indian Culture and Heritage and is followed by Sharing American Indian Knowledge.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: American Indian, Native American