Along the American History Trail~Native Americans

This unit is written with four literature blocks, plus a fine arts block and a nature study block. Within each literature block are books for the whole family, for little kids, middle kids and big kids and then a book to read aloud to all. For our families, these lessons could easily take 6-8 weeks, particularly if time is taken to do the hands-on activities and each of the main lesson book pages. I'm planning two weeks for each block and a thorough immersion in each component.

First Literature Block
For Everyone
If you Lived with the Sioux
D is for Drum (A-F)

More than Moccasins

Littles
 Priscilla and the Hollyhocks

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale
Middles

Trail of Tears (Step Into Reading)
Bigs
Wait for Me, Watch for Me Eula Bee (Note: OOP)
Read Aloud
The Birch Bark House

 

Second Literature Block
For Everyone

If You Lived with the Hopi
D is for Drum (G-L)
More than Moscassins
Littles
The Star People
Gift Horse: A Lakota Story

How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend
Middles
Crazy Horse's Vision
Bigs
Sing Down the Moon
Read Aloud
Childhood of Young Americans: Crazy Horse

Third Literature Block
Everyone

If you Lived with the Iroquois

More than Moccasins
D is for Drum (M-R)

Littles
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

              Love Flute

              Rainbow Crow

Middles
 Childhood of Young Americans: Geronimo

Bigs
 Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

Read Aloud
 Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet 
 

 

Fourth Literature Block
Everyone

If You Lived with the Cherokee
 D is for Drum (S-Z)

More than Moccasins

Littles
 A Picture Book of Sitting Bull

Knots on a Counting Rope The Mud Pony

Middles
 A Boy Called Slow

Bigs
 Indian Captive

Read Aloud
 Childhood of Young Americans: Sitting Bull

Native American Nature Study

The Other Way to Listen
The Desert is Theirs
Everybody Needs A Rock

 

Fine Arts

Art: Come Look With Me:  American Indian Art with Children

Poetry: Native American Songs and Poems (Dover)

Music:  Authentic Music of the American Indian

 

Main Lesson Book instructions: Use a combination of art work and written narration to create a page for each letter rhyme in D is for Drum.  Your goal is to share the information you've learned and to create a page that is beautiful to look at.  Think about colors, symbols, shapes, and which medium you want to use to best express the thoughts you are recording.  Use things you are learning from the other books in this unit to add information and ideas to your page.  Work carefully, your goal is to create very best product you can.  Consider the illustrations in the books you're reading and the style of Native American art as you design your pages.  Use your supplies to fill all the white space on the page with color, the illustration, the written words, and the background should all be colored.

Here are ideas for each of your main lesson book pages. In parentheses, we correlated crafts and activities in More Than Moccasins (MTM) to the D is for Drum page being studied:

A Anasazi

• Create an illustration of the types of dwellings the Anasazi lived in.  In the illustration, include the item the Anasazi were known for creating, as well as indication of what might have happened to them.  Label important parts of your illustration.

B Bison

• On one page of your main lesson book, illustrate the mighty bison in his natural environment.  On the facing page, create a list of ways Native Americans used the bison they hunted.  Draw a border using symbols of those uses.

C Corn and Canoe
 (MTM Corncob doll 92, corn soup 142, hominy 143, corn and pumpkin stew 139)

• Choose a tribe mentioned in the text and find out what kind of wood they would have made their canoe from.  Divide your main lesson book page in half.  In one half, draw and name the tree used, in the other half, illustrate what a canoe made from tree might have looked like.  Label this drawing with the tribe's name.

D Drum
(MTM 83)

• Tell what you know about dancing in Native American culture?  How are drums used?
• From what materials are Native American drums made?
• Draw a drum and label the parts of the drum with the materials you would use to make the drum. Considering your drum and the materials you used and the symbols, to what tribe does that drum belong?

e earth lodge
 (Montessori for Everyone: free download on native American homes)

• Create an illustration of various earth dwellings.  Determine by the size and shape you've chosen what the use of each dweeling would be.  Label each.

f flute

• Illustrate your own Native American flute, labeling its symbols.  In the background of your picture, provide an indication of the typical use of the flute in Native American culture.

g gold

• On one page of your main lesson book, illustrate a native village of the Great Basin before the Gold Rush.  On the facing page, create an illustration of the same village after the gold rush.  Provide a written description of the changes.

h horse

• Look for examples of Native Americans on horses in Native American art or in the illustrations of the books you are using.  Use these as a guide to create your own illustration of a Native American and his/her horse.  Offer as much explanation as you can of what the person is doing with the horse and of their relationship.

i indigenous people

• Divide your main lesson page into four squares.  Draw a member of a different indigenous nation in each square and label it.  Around the person, include small symbols of that tribe's creation story.

j jewelry
 (MTM pg. 58-70)

• Create a piece of Native American jewelry paying close attention to using appropriate materials.  Create a written explanation of your piece of jewelry and the materials in it.

k kachina & kiva
 (MTM 97)

• Illustrate the inside of a kiva, labeling important parts and their use or symbolism.
• Illustrate the two items used to teach tribal members about the kacinas.  Write an explanation of what a kachina is.

L lacrosse
(MTM 123)

• From what Native American game did the sport of lacrosse evolve?

m medicine pouch

• Illustrate a Native American medicine pouch in the center of your page.  Design its decoration to look like items Native Americans would have used--beads, feathers, quills, bone, shells, etc....Around the illustration of the bag, draw and label some items it might have contained.

n native names

• Choose a particular tribe mentioned in the text and draw and name a baby from that tribe.  Write an explanation that explains that tribe's process for choosing a name.  Do some research to help you choose your baby's features, clothes, and other items that might be included in your explanation.
• What are some U.S. place names that come from Native American words?
• Draw a map of your own state and mark places named with Native Maerican words.  Create a border that illustrates the meaning of the names.

o osage orange tree

• Divide your page in half.  On one side, draw an osage orange tree.  On the other, draw the items the tree was made into by Native Americans.  Provide a narration of how bows and arrows might be considered art.

p potlatch

• Write an explanation of a potlatch.  Research the Chinook way of life and use the information you find to create an four square illustration of what items they might have given as gifts at potlatch celebrations.  Explain each item.

q quillwork

• Design an item that would have commonly been decorated with quillwork and create a pattern that reflects what quillwork adornment may have looked like.

r rattles
 (MTM 78-81)

• Design a Native American rattle.  Based on the materials you choose, explain what tribe would have used this rattle.  Where in the U.S. do they live?

s shaman

• Research the role of a shaman in a particular Native American tribe of your choice.  Learn about what they wore, where they lived, and the role they played in the tribe.  Create an illustration of your shaman and a written narration describing what you learned.

t totem poles
 (MTM 169-171)

• In the center of your page, create a totem pole that contains a representation of each member of your family.  Around the drawing, illustrate items that would have traditionally been used in the carving of totems.  On the facing page, write an explanation of the symbols you used in your totem.

u umiak
(MTM  27)

• Create an illustration of an Inuit umiak that includes paddlers and background true to the customs and geographical location of the Inuit people.  Provide an explanation of the details of your drawing.

v vision quest

• Choose and animal of symbol a young native might have found in his vision quest.  Create an explanation of what it might have meant for him.  Illustrate the symbol and write an explanation of its meaning.

w weavers 
(MTM 17)

• Create an illustration of a Navajo blanket using your materials to give it the look of a weaving as best you can.  Somewhere on the page, include the animal associated with the skill of weaving.

x xai xais

• Learn a bit more about the history of the Xai Xais.  Divide your page into four squares and illustrate and describe a different aspect of their lives in each square.

y yp'ik masks

• Find some pictures of real yup'ik masks.  Create a story you might like to tell using these masks as costumes.  You could create your own, or narrate one of the Native American stories you have read in this unit.  Write the story on one page of your main lesson book and use the facing page to illustrate a mask for each character in the story.  Try to use characters that would be common to Native American stories.

z zuni pottery
 (zuni mask MTM 72)

• Create a step by step outline of the process of creating Zuni pottery, either written or illustrated.  On the facing page, create an illustration of a piece of Zuni pottery, paying special attention to the geometric forms used.  Looking at some pictures of real Zuni pottery may help you better understand this art form before you begin.

 

Map Work

• On the back page of your main lesson book, trace or glue a double page of the U.S. with the states and major rivers outlined.  Shade in the entire map with colors that reflect the geography of certain areas.  Each time you come across a tribe name in D is for Drum, find out where in US that tribe lived.  In the correct area of your map, draw a small symbol of that tribe and label it with the tribal name.  Try also to label as many Native American place names on the map as you can.

 

For the Littles:

 Wild Republic Native American Tube

Powhatan Indian Toob

Supplies for your main lesson books:
Native American Scrapbooking paper
Lyra Pencils
Watercolors
Beeswax Crayons
bits of fabric
For a "Why?" on these supplies, and helpful links, please read here.