Day 1: Powhatan Indians Objectives: The students will be able to locate where the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands lived by shading in the area on a map. The students will be able to identify and describe the purpose of Powhatan Indian artifacts. VA SOLS: 2.2 The student will compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present, with emphasis on the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, the Lakota of the Plains, and the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. 2.4 The student will develop map skills by c) Locating the regions of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians on United States maps; d) Understanding the relationship between the environment and the culture of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians Essential Understandings American Indian peoples have lived in Virginia and in other regions of America for thousands of years. American Indians developed different cultures because they live in different environments in North America. American Indians have made contributions to life America and continue to make contributions in the present day. Essential Questions In what ways were past American Indian lifestyles in Virginia similar to and different from those of the Lakota and Pueblo? What are some contributions of American Indian culture to modern-day life? Essential Knowledge Terms to know culture: The beliefs, customs, and way of life of a group of people region: Places that have common (the same) characteristics environment: Surroundings Comparison of three American Indian cultures of the past
Region Indians Homes Occupations Transportation Eastern Woodland s Powhatan Wood frame houses with bark/reed covering Fishermen, hunters, farmers Walked, paddled canoes Plains Lakota Teepees Hunters, horsemen Walked, used horses Contributions of American Indians Arts (pottery, weaving, carving) Knowledge of the environment Respect for nature Farming of corn and tobacco Changes in American Indian cultures American Indian cultures have changed over time. Today, American Indians live and work in Virginia and the United States. Materials: Can You Canoe? Reader s Theater Bag of artifacts for each group Powhatan Assessment Map of U.S./Virginia showing Eastern Woodlands Instruction and Activities Introduction To begin the lesson students will get into pairs and take turns reading their part in the Reader s Theatre, Can You Canoe? This reader s theater will serve as an introduction to Powhatan culture and will help students realize that things were different in the past. Once students are finished reading the Reader s Theater, student s will be asked how we can learn about the cultures and lifestyles of people who lived long ago. Student s prior knowledge of artifacts will be activated as they describe how we can use them to make inferences about past cultures. To further engage prior knowledge and motivate student learning, students will be asked what artifacts they would leave behind for someone of the future to find and learn about the way they lived. Activity
Students will work in small groups of three to four students as they explore artifact bags that each contain 17 artifacts taken from the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo cultures. Students will have time to study these artifacts and will discuss the observations they made about them with their group members. After having time to explore the artifacts, students will be asked to pick out the artifacts that they believe belong to the Powhatan American Indians. Since students do not yet know about the Powhatan culture, this activity will be an exploration activity in which students are encouraged to make inferences about what the artifacts were used for, who used the artifacts, and what they could say about the way the those people lived. Once students have had a chance to pull out the artifacts that they believe the Powhatan Indians used, students will be engaged in a whole class discussion of their findings. A slide showing all 17 artifacts will be shown to the class, and students will be asked to share which artifacts they picked and why. Once the students have shared, another slide displaying only the ten artifacts that belong to the Powhatan Indians will be displayed. During a student-led discussion, the different uses of the artifacts will be described. The teacher should lead the students into discussing where the Powhatan Indians lived based on the artifacts. Before the students agree on a location, the teacher will give a hint, stating that they are also called the Eastern Woodland Indians. With this, the students should know where the east is located on the map of the United States. The teacher will then tell students that the Powhatan Indians lived on the east coast of Virginia. Closure The teacher will ask the students why the Indians lived in the houses that they did and ate what they ate based on their location. The discussion should be about the resources and tools available to the Indians during that time.the students will then head back to their seats to fill out the assessment worksheet below: Assessment Rubric: Student was able to list three foods that the Native American tribe ate. (1 point for each food) Student was able to correctly locate the area in which the Native American tribe lived. Student was able to include home, transportation, two food items, one tool, and clothing in their drawing. (one point for each) Total: 0 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 /10 Assessment: List three foods the Woodland Indians ate.
1. 2. 3. Shade in the states or areas where you think the Woodland Indians lived. On the back, draw a picture of a Powhatan s home. Make sure to include: Home Transportation At least two food items One tool How they dressed
Day 2: Lakota Indians Objectives: The students will be able to locate where the Lakota of the Plains lived by shading in the area on a map. The students will be able to identify and describe the purpose of Lakota Indian artifacts. VA SOLS: 2.2 The student will compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present, with emphasis on the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, the Lakota of the Plains, and the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. 2.4 The student will develop map skills by c) Locating the regions of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians on United States maps; d) Understanding the relationship between the environment and the culture of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians Essential Understandings American Indian peoples have lived in Virginia and in other regions of America for thousands of years. American Indians developed different cultures because they live in different environments in North America. American Indians have made contributions to life America and continue to make contributions in the present day. Essential Questions In what ways were past American Indian lifestyles in Virginia similar to and different from those of the Lakota? What are some contributions of American Indian culture to modern-day life? Essential Knowledge Terms to know culture: The beliefs, customs, and way of life of a group of people region: Places that have common (the same) characteristics environment: Surroundings
Comparison of three American Indian cultures of the past Region Indians Homes Occupations Transportation Eastern Woodlands Powhatan Wood frame houses with bark/reed covering Fishermen, hunters, farmers Walked, paddled canoes Plains Lakota Teepees Hunters, horsemen Walked, used horses Contributions of American Indians Arts (pottery, weaving, carving) Knowledge of the environment Respect for nature Farming of corn and tobacco Changes in American Indian cultures American Indian cultures have changed over time. Today, American Indians live and work in Virginia and the United States. Materials Lakota Reader s Theatre Lakota Worksheet Bag of artifacts for each group Lakota Assessment Map of U.S./Plains Native Americans by Jay Miller Instruction and Activities Introduction To introduce this lesson, students will be asked to recall what they discovered in the previous day s lesson about Powhatan culture. Students will be asked to share something they learned, and then told that they are going to explore another American Indian tribe called the Lakota. Before doing the main activity for this lesson, students will read another reader s theater. This reader s theater introduces students to the Lakota Indian culture.
Activity For Day 2, students will follow the same procedures as the lesson for Day 1. The small groups will once again be given a chance to explore artifacts from a bag, only this time picking out artifacts that belong to the Lakota culture. As a class, we will discuss the uses of the Lakota artifacts and what we can infer about where these people lived. Students should be able to infer that the Lakota Indians lived in the Plains region of the United States. As a class, we will identify this region on a map of the United States. Closure: The teacher will then read the book, Native Americans and will note differences and similarities among the two tribes we have talked about. During the reading of the book, the students will be asked questions as to why certain Indian tribes traveled and how they lived differently than those who stayed in one place. The students will then complete an assessment about the Lakota Tribe. In addition to the assessment, the students will fill out a venn-diagram for the Powhatan and Lakota tribes. Assessment Rubric: Student was able to list three foods that the Native American tribe ate. (1 point for each food) Student was able to correctly locate the area in which the Native American tribe lived. Student was able to include home, transportation, two food items, one tool, and clothing in their drawing. (one point for each) Total: 0 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 /10
Assessment: List three foods the Plains Indians ate. 1. 2. 3. Shade in the states or areas where you think the Plains Indians lived. On the back, draw a picture of a Lakota s home. Make sure to include: Home Transportation At least two food items One tool How they dressed
Similarities and Differences Powhatan Indians Lakota Indians