Representations of Native Americans
Materials:
· Morning on the Lake by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
· Bird Talk by Lenore Keeshing-Tobias
· Crayons
· Paper
Goals of Lesson:
· Students Will Learn That…
o Stereotypes of Native Americans exist
o The terms Native American, American Indian, and Indian describe one cultural group
o Native Americans are diverse within their own culture
o There are many different tribes of Native Americans and tribes differ from one another
MMSD Standards Addressed
· Describe and explain the history, culture, and contributions of the American Indian tribes and bands in Wisconsin
NCSS standards Addressed:
· Culture and Culturally Diversity
Activities:
Instead of starting out the unit with a lesson that directly teaches the students about Native Americans, we are going to start by seeing what the students think they know about Native American cultures. The first activity in this lesson is to find out what the students already know about Native Americans. The teacher can introduce the three different terms “Native American,” “Indian,” and “American Indian.” The teacher can ask the children what they know about the group of people and record their ideas on the board. The teacher will not correct the students information. That isn’t the point. The point is to find out what information they have, and then to develop their knowledge base through this lesson and the following lessons. Kt may be a good idea for the teacher to make a statement about how some of the things we know are stereotypes and that some things that are said could potentially offend other in the classroom. If there are students who are offended, they should be able to voice their feelings and state why the things that were said are offensive to them.
Once the students are done offering information the teacher can explain to the class that the three terms (Native American, American Indian, and Indian) all describe a very diverse group of peoples who lived for centuries across the lands that Europeans claimed later to have "discovered," which are now called the Americas -- the Caribbean islands, Canada, the United States, Mexico, the countries of Central and South America. The teacher will then point out that this state (Wisconsin) is a very special place of interest when talking about the Natives of this land and that they will learn much more about them throughout the following weeks of school. The teacher will then read two books entitled “The Birchbark House,” and “The Pawnee: Farmers and Hunters of the Central Plains.”
The two books show two different tribes of Native Americans and allows the children to see that there are differences within the culture and that you can’t generalize what all Native Americans are the same. Once the teacher is done reading these books, the teacher will ask the students what they noticed in the book. The teacher will ask them to describe the characters they got to know in the book. The teacher will then ask the students how these desriptions were different from the original descriptions they gave at the beginning of the lesson. How did it challenge what they thought they knew about Native Americans?
After this discussion, the teacher will hand out a piece of paper to each student and ask them to draw two pictures. The first picture will be of a Native American and the second will be of a European American. Once they are done, the students will do a gallery walk to look at eachothers pictures so they can see differences and similarities between their pictures and their classmates. Once they are done with this gallery walk, the students will split off into groups of four and talk about their picture with one another. The teacher will guide this discussion by asking the students to think about the following questions:
· What do you see in each other’s pictures? Similarities? Differences?
· Are the pictures of the two different groups the same? What’s different? What’s the same?
· If you see differences between the two groups of people, why were they different?
· Why did you draw what you drew?
· Where did your information come from?
After this final activity, the teacher will conclude the lesson by having the students do an exit ticket. The students will have to answer the following questions:
· How were your views of Native Americans changed? If they didn’t change, why not?
· What were three new things you learned today about the Native Americans and the many cultures that are within it?
· What is one thing you would like to know about Native Americans after this lesson?
Assessment:
In order to assess the students, the teacher will make observations throughout the lesson and document what they observe. The teacher will compare the initial ideas about native Americans with what the students thought at the end of the lesson to provide the teacher with an understanding of student growth from beginning to end. The exit ticket will serve as an assessment tool in and of itself.
· Morning on the Lake by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
· Bird Talk by Lenore Keeshing-Tobias
· Crayons
· Paper
Goals of Lesson:
· Students Will Learn That…
o Stereotypes of Native Americans exist
o The terms Native American, American Indian, and Indian describe one cultural group
o Native Americans are diverse within their own culture
o There are many different tribes of Native Americans and tribes differ from one another
MMSD Standards Addressed
· Describe and explain the history, culture, and contributions of the American Indian tribes and bands in Wisconsin
NCSS standards Addressed:
· Culture and Culturally Diversity
Activities:
Instead of starting out the unit with a lesson that directly teaches the students about Native Americans, we are going to start by seeing what the students think they know about Native American cultures. The first activity in this lesson is to find out what the students already know about Native Americans. The teacher can introduce the three different terms “Native American,” “Indian,” and “American Indian.” The teacher can ask the children what they know about the group of people and record their ideas on the board. The teacher will not correct the students information. That isn’t the point. The point is to find out what information they have, and then to develop their knowledge base through this lesson and the following lessons. Kt may be a good idea for the teacher to make a statement about how some of the things we know are stereotypes and that some things that are said could potentially offend other in the classroom. If there are students who are offended, they should be able to voice their feelings and state why the things that were said are offensive to them.
Once the students are done offering information the teacher can explain to the class that the three terms (Native American, American Indian, and Indian) all describe a very diverse group of peoples who lived for centuries across the lands that Europeans claimed later to have "discovered," which are now called the Americas -- the Caribbean islands, Canada, the United States, Mexico, the countries of Central and South America. The teacher will then point out that this state (Wisconsin) is a very special place of interest when talking about the Natives of this land and that they will learn much more about them throughout the following weeks of school. The teacher will then read two books entitled “The Birchbark House,” and “The Pawnee: Farmers and Hunters of the Central Plains.”
The two books show two different tribes of Native Americans and allows the children to see that there are differences within the culture and that you can’t generalize what all Native Americans are the same. Once the teacher is done reading these books, the teacher will ask the students what they noticed in the book. The teacher will ask them to describe the characters they got to know in the book. The teacher will then ask the students how these desriptions were different from the original descriptions they gave at the beginning of the lesson. How did it challenge what they thought they knew about Native Americans?
After this discussion, the teacher will hand out a piece of paper to each student and ask them to draw two pictures. The first picture will be of a Native American and the second will be of a European American. Once they are done, the students will do a gallery walk to look at eachothers pictures so they can see differences and similarities between their pictures and their classmates. Once they are done with this gallery walk, the students will split off into groups of four and talk about their picture with one another. The teacher will guide this discussion by asking the students to think about the following questions:
· What do you see in each other’s pictures? Similarities? Differences?
· Are the pictures of the two different groups the same? What’s different? What’s the same?
· If you see differences between the two groups of people, why were they different?
· Why did you draw what you drew?
· Where did your information come from?
After this final activity, the teacher will conclude the lesson by having the students do an exit ticket. The students will have to answer the following questions:
· How were your views of Native Americans changed? If they didn’t change, why not?
· What were three new things you learned today about the Native Americans and the many cultures that are within it?
· What is one thing you would like to know about Native Americans after this lesson?
Assessment:
In order to assess the students, the teacher will make observations throughout the lesson and document what they observe. The teacher will compare the initial ideas about native Americans with what the students thought at the end of the lesson to provide the teacher with an understanding of student growth from beginning to end. The exit ticket will serve as an assessment tool in and of itself.
