Academic Challenge

Laura Tabachnick

ANCIENT NATIVE AMERICANS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Learning Objectives:

Background:The unit will be called HUMANS. It will be a study about who, how and why various groups of human beings came to America. We will have already covered Paleo-Indians and their journey on foot to America. This challenge will deal with the ancient tribes that followed, some being direct descendents of the Paleo-Indians. These ancient Native Americans are grouped by researchers into culture areas, the geographic locations that influenced their societies.

Content:The influence of the environment on ancient Native American Tribes

The characteristics and traits of ancient Native American Tribes

Skill: Problem Solving

Collaboration

Time management

Grade Level: 8

Student Groupings: This challenge will be given at the beginning of the year just after the first few weeks. During these weeks the community classroom rules will be developed, along with multiple ice breaking activities, individual “get to know you” projects, many team building exercises and minilessons on the characteristics of a good collaboration. This team of seventh graders will have looped together so many of the children will already know one another in the class. Children will be asked to form their own groups with at least one person whom they didn’t hang out with during the summer or didn’t work with for our recent group discussions about the Paleo-Indians.

CHALLENGE

Introduction: Scientists believe the first human beings to arrive in America came around 50,000 and 10,000 B.C. Around 8,000 B.C. the Ice Age ended. This caused a huge temperature shift and caused America to become an environmentally diverse place. As you know, these people became known as Paleo-Indians. They adapted well and their survival was dependent, in part, upon these adaptations. As time went on, ancient Native American tribes emerged, some being direct descendents of the Paleo-Indians, and lived in various parts of America. Each tribe had a close relationship with the earth, yet each was very different. These Native American tribes are grouped by culture areas, the geographic locations that influenced their societies.

Product: Your challenge is for each group to become representatives from a different culture area in North America. You will need to exhibit two things:

  1. As a group, you will present to the class a clear and colorful visual aid that shows the geographic location of the area you are representing. The audience should have a sense of which tribes lived where in this area and geographically, what it was like there.
  2. As a group, you will also present to the class the influence the environment has had on your way of lifeas well astraits that are inherit to the tribes that you’re representing. Your presentation should display in a creative way, what it’s like to live a day in the life of someone in your chosen area. Think of the little things that we take for granted today. Compare and contrast the different ways of life within the tribes of North America and discuss opinions on why your group feels these similarities and differences exist. Create props and at leastone visual aid to make your presentation interesting and strong.

Process: You need to get yourselves into groups of four or five. Include at least one person you weren’t in a content discussion group with earlier this year or that you didn’t hang out with this summer. Research the ancient Native American tribes in North America. You can begin by using the first chapter of your textbook, section two. You are encouraged to seek out other resources for your research. You can use the internet, other trade books in the room, or any other resources you can get your hands on.

First decide on the elements that distinguish culture areas/groups from one another. Be prepared to present a graphic organizer that details elements distinguishing geographic areas/groups from one another by the end of Day 2. At that time, you will be asked to commit to a culture area from which you will become representatives. Hopefully, many of the areas will be represented.

Your group can use one visual aid to show your chosen geographic region, but to help support your individual part of the creative “day in the life” presentation, each representative needs their own visual aid/prop to describe what life in their civilization/society is like. Be prepared to answer additional questions about similarities/differences amongst the geographic regions/groups as well as your opinions about their way of life. The whole class will develop a scoring rubric on which the presentation will be scored.

We will come together on Day 5 to present our representations to the class. Make sure to contribute ideas, act respectfully, do your share and remember the characteristics of good collaboration!

At the end of the challenge you will be expected to have written a couple of paragraphs in your THINKING LOG that chronicle your thoughts about the essential question (Prior knowledge is great support for your reflections!):

How does environment influence the way of life for a group of people over time?

ASSESSMENT

Some form or combination of a checklist/scoring rubric will be developed with the students (see NOTES below) using the three critical areas with the following amendable set of criteria:

Understanding

Environment affects:

Transportation

Housing

Food

Traits:

Spirituality

Hierarchy/Stature within the tribe

Wealth

Death/Burial

Art

Map:

Geographic accuracy

Use of mapping skills (key, compass rose, etc.)

Labeling of tribes

Key to show what it was like in these geographic locations

Thinking Log:

Reflection

Process

Completed graphic organizer on day two

Group Dynamics (possibly peer review at end of challenge or teacher observation during challenge)

Product

Visual aid about geographic region

Clear

Colorful

Accurate

Labeled with tribes

Displays environmental qualities

Presentation

Environmental influences

Traits

Day in the life

Compare and Contrast

Opinions

Everyone playing a part

Creativity

Visual aids for Representation

Props - appropriate

Individual visual aid

NOTES

A quick Q & A will be available directly after the introduction of the challenge. A discussion will take place at the end of day one of the challenge. If necessary, we will quickly brainstorm ways that tribes could be different or similar. My hope is that through initial research, they will discover that transportation, houses and food (what kinds and how to get it) are not the only differences/similarities among regions. There are also displays of wealth and social standing, views on death/burial, different forms of art as well as spiritual or religious beliefs. At the end of day one, as we touch base as a whole group, if they did not move into wealth, spiritual beliefs, etc. I will prompt them so that their graphic organizers will include those comparisons also. Each whole group’s progress will determine the amount of guidance I will provide. At the beginning of day 2 we will review the challenge again and create a scoring rubric together focusing on the three essential areas with criteria areas mentioned above. I will also bring in some resources from the public library and schedule computer lab and library time.