American Indians: Pre-Colonial
5th Grade History Unit
Written By: Jackie Frey
SST 309-01
Winter 2014
Table of Contents
1. Overview/Rationale/GLCE introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
2. KUDs…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
3. Assesments…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
4. Lesson Plans
a. Vocabulary Lessons…………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
b. GLCE Lessons………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
5. Resource Attachments…………………………………………………………………………………………………27
6. Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30
Introduction/Overview: This unit teaches 5th grade students the historical, cultural, and regional aspects of American Indian life before European colonization. This is done through use of artifact inquiries, video clips, artwork studies, maps, informational texts, tribal legends, historic fiction texts, and group research. Students will demonstrate their understanding through foldables, group work projects, maps, and chart displays of research.
Rationale: It is important for students to learn where American Indian groups lived, how their societies, beliefs, and governmental structures compare and differ, and how they lived in, modified, and adapted to the environment they were in. this is to give students valuable insight into the lives of native peoples in North America and how the differing cultures of American Indians made for conflict with European explores in later units.
GLCE Introduction
This unit uses the following Grade Level Content Expectations for 5th grade History:
5- U1.1.1 Use maps to locate people in the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River (Eastern Woodland).
5- U1.1.2 Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest adapted to or modified the environment.
5- U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with respect to government and family structure, trade, and views on property ownership and land use.
KUDs
GLCE (coding and wording) and Verb underlined / 5- U1.1.1 Use maps to locate people in the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River (Eastern Woodland). (Skill verbs)Knowledge (K) / Understand (U) / DO:
Demonstration of Learning (DOL) / Vocabulary / I Can
Different American Indian groups live in different regions on North America. The regions include the desert Southwest which is located West of the Gulf of Mexico in the southern part of North America. There are many tribes and people groups who lived in these areas but the main large tribes of focus are the Pueblo, Mojave, Navajo, and Apache Indians.
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In the Pacific Northwest, which stretches northward along the Pacific Coast, tribes and people groups lived here with the largest focus tribes are the Chinook, Quinault, Haida, and Tillamook.
The Great Plains region is the area in North America west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky mountains. Major native groups include the Blackfoot, Dakota, Cheyenne, and Osage.
The Eastern Woodland region is in North American east of the Mississippi river stretching to the Atlantic Ocean. Major tribes in this region are the Creek, Cherokee, Shawnee, Illinois, and Powhatan, Iroquois. / Students will understand that American Indians lived in different regions throughout North America. / Each student will use a blank map of North America to shade different areas with different colors in the areas where Native peoples lived. The colors will match a color key that they make.
In the shaded areas they will name the tribes that are in each region and write 2-3 sentences about the unique aspects of the peoples in each region. / American Indians
Southwest
Pacific Northwest
Great Plains
Woodland Eastern Mississippi River
Nomadic
Tribes/Nations / I can use a map to locate areas where Native peoples lived in North America.
GLCE (coding and wording) and Verb underlined / 5- U1.1.2 Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest adapted to or modified the environment. (Skill)
Knowledge (K) / Understand (U) / DO:
Demonstration of Learning (DOL) / Vocabulary / I Can
The environment of the Pacific Northwest is of cooler temperature that is of mostly woodlands. The trees in this region gave the peoples in this area building materials to make longhouses where they lived. They also adapted to their environment of coastal by using fishing, whaling, and canoe making to thrive. Using cut trees for lumber, fuel, canoes, and totem poles modified their environment. The slightly cleared forests made room for living conditions, hunting, and agriculture.
The environment of the desert Southwest is a warmer, dry climate or desert which does not give much vegetation. Peoples in this region had to adapt to the environment such as build homes made of adobe clay into pueblos. They had to implement methods of dry farming which included irrigation systems to water crops. Which modified the environment around them / Students will understand that both the American Indians in the desert Southwest and Pacific Northwest adapted to and changed their environment in similar and different ways in order to thrive. / Each student will fill in a chart that compares different aspects of environment and living. They will then write how the people in each region adapted their environment or modified it.
SW / NW
Living conditions
Food
Animals
Building materials
agriculture
/ Desert
Southwest (desert)
Pacific
Pacific Northwest
Adapt
Modify
Change
Environment
Climate
vegetation
Lumber
hunting
Adobe
Pueblo
Longhouse
Canoe
Totem poles
Whaling
Agriculture
Dry farming
crops
Irrigation / I can tell how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest adapted to and modified their environments.
GLCE (coding and wording) and Verb underlined / 5- U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with respect to government and family structure, trade, and views on property ownership and land use.
Knowledge (K) / Understand (U) / DO:
Demonstration of Learning (DOL) / Vocabulary / I Can
The Eastern Woodland region is in North American east of the Mississippi river stretching to the Atlantic Ocean. Major tribes in this region are the Creek, Cherokee, Shawnee, Illinois, and Powhatan, Iroquois.
The different nations and tribes of American Indians lived in small to large villages throughout the Eastern Woodlands. Most were headed by a chief who served as the head of the government, laws, and war decisions for the village with his family as nobility and close council members.
Women in these tribes would take care of the home and children, gather and fish. The men would hunt, fish, and become warriors. Both men and women were responsible for and took care of the crops equally. Goods were spread equally throughout the village as a community. Items of trade with other friendly tribes and villages included crops: beans, wheat, corn, pelts and furs of animals: deer, beavers, bear, feathers, fish, baskets, and woven cloth. Wampum belts and necklaces were made from wampum beads. These beads were actually white and purple shells. Wampum was used as money between white man and Indians.
Shawman were types of doctors, both physically and spiritually
These tribes and nations had a spiritual connection to the land and believed the land and all the animals in it were alive with a spirit. They respected what they took from the land and animals to survive. Many celebrations were formed to thank the spirits for their contribution such as harvest dances, prayers for animals killed for food, and dedications to the spirits in their names. Since they believed that the land had a spirit they did not think that land could be owned but was to be respected and used with care.
Iroquois League of Nations-There were many woodland Indians, but the most powerful group were the Iroquois Nations - the Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga.
All the Iroquois people spoke the same language. They believed in the same gods. They had many similar customs. They believed in cooperation.
The Iroquois Indians had a unique form of representative central government. It was called the League of Nations. These were not tribes that joined together to form a nation. These were nations that joined together to form the League of Nations. Much later in their history, these five nations were joined by the Tuscaronra Nation, bringing the League to a total of six.
The League had a written constitution, a set of rights and agreements that all the people had to honor. The constitution was recorded on 114 wampums.
The League had a Council. Each Iroquois Nation had a set number of seats on the Council. The decisions of the Council were binding on every person in all Iroquois Nations.
The League's primary purpose was the Great Law of Peace. This law said that the Iroquois should not kill each other.
The League did not try to create rules for each tribe and village. That was the job of local government or regional government - the village council and the tribal councils. Only major issues were debated on the floor of the League of Nations.
Council speakers were eloquent and persuasive. Some members of the council were selected not because they were great warriors, but because they were great speakers.
There were groups inside the League that acted a great deal like today's political parties. The war-like Mohawk and Oneida often teamed up in the debates. The peaceful Seneca and Cayuga speakers would team up to oppose them. Fortunately, one of the League's constitutional rules was that the Chief of the League would always be selected from the Onondaga Nation. The peace loving Onondaga held 14 seats in the council. That was a lot of seats. The Onondaga were able to keep peace simply by reminding all representatives that their block of votes could swing either way.
Although each member's vote carried the same weight, there was a pecking order. The Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca were addressed as "elder brothers" and the Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora were addressed as "younger brothers".
If there was a weakness to this system, it was that all decisions had to be unanimous. By the 1600's, the Iroquois knew it was essential to present a united front to the colonists. Debates, although heated, nearly always led to a unanimous decision. The Nations stood together, and that made them strong.
When the early colonists began to design a system of government for what would become the United States of America, they borrowed many ideas from the League of Nations. It worked for Iroquois, and it worked for the new American government. The League of Nations government is still used today. / Students will understand that the Eastern Woodland American Indians have a unique government and family structure, trade systems, and views of property ownership and land use. / Each student will fill in a chart with a picture and a description of each concept in Eastern Woodland peoples’ lives: government, family, trade, property ownership, and land use. / American Indian
Eastern Woodland
Forest
Appalachian Mountains
Mississippi
Atlantic Ocean
Government
Tribe/tribal
Shawmen
Chief
Counsel
Trade
Wampum
Currency
Economy
Hunting
Agriculture
Property
Ownership
Land
Natural resources
Spiritual/spirits
Animals
Wampum
Nations
Voters
“elder brothers”
“younger brothers”
Unanimous / I can tell about Eastern Woodland peoples’ governments, families, how and what they traded, and their views of who owned land and how it should be used.
Assessment ideas:
Assessment 1- During the unit students will participate in research on different tribes in the Pacific Northwest, Desert Southwest, and the Eastern Woodland. During their research they will complete charts for each of their tribes as shown in Attachment A.
Assessment 1- Rubric
Student Name: ______CATEGORY / 10 / 8 / 5 / 1
Content / Each category is fully developed. The descriptions and information are all accurate. There is more than one example in each category. / Each category is mostly developed. The descriptions and information are mostly accurate. There is at least one example for each category. / Every category is not developed. The descriptions are not accurate or do not make sense. There are not examples for every category. / Almost none of the categories are developed. There are no descriptions or no factual information. There are no examples.
Grammar & Spelling (Conventions) / Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. All responses are in complete sentences. / Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. All responses are in complete sentences. / Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Most responses are in complete sentences / Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. No responses are in complete sentences.
Accuracy of Facts (Content) / All supportive facts are reported accurately. / Almost all supportive facts are reported accurately. / Most supportive facts are reported accurately. / NO facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported.
Focus on Topic (Content) / There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information. / Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general. / Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. / The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
Assessment 2- Students will demonstrate all that they have learned by completing a single flap expandable booklet foldable. There should be one section for each of the American Indian cultural regions with each section including the name of the region, map of the region, notable tribes/nations that lived in the region, physical characteristics of the environment, and how the natives used these resources.
Assessment 2- Rubric
CATEGORY / 10 / 8 / 5 / 1Graphics/Pictures / Graphics go well with the text and there is a good mix of text and graphics. / Graphics go well with the text, but there are so many that they distract from the text. / Graphics go well with the text, but there are too few and the brochure seems text-heavy / Graphics do not go with the accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen.
Attractiveness & Organization / The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information. / The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information. / The brochure has well-organized information. / The brochure\'s formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Knowledge Gained / All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.
Content - Accuracy / All facts in the brochure are accurate. / 99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. / 89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. / Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Spelling & Proofreading / No spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure. / No more than 1 spelling error remains after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure. / No more than 3 spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure. / Several spelling errors in the brochure.
Writing - Vocabulary / The authors correctly use several new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. / The authors correctly use a few new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. / The authors try to use some new vocabulary, but may use 1-2 words incorrectly. / The authors do not incorporate new vocabulary.
Example of a well done foldable: