I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Adaptation

Essential Question:

How significant was the environment to the development of the Native American community?

Bridge:

Predictions

Content:

Native American communities are influenced by environmental factors

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Experience and create a lifestyle that is dependent upon the environment.

Activity: The teacher will take the class on an imaginary trip where they will become stranded for "one week." The entire class will spend 20 minutes in the outdoor courtyard split up into groups of five. Each group must brainstorm ways to survive in this environment using only natural things found in the courtyard for shelter, food, clothing and tools.

Assessment: Students will be able to discuss orally the types of choices they made in the environment.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Reflect upon the experience of depending on the environment to survive.

Activity: The students will write in their journal how it would really feel to live in the courtyard for one week. The students will discuss their feelings about this and include successes and challenges.

Assessment: The students will orally share their journals. Each entry will reflect feeling and examples that relate to realistic examples of shelter, food, etc.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Develop concept that lifestyle is dependent on environment and may change with the seasons. This change will effect lifestyle in regard to shelter, clothing, food and tools.

Activity: Provide guided imagery with audio cassette of "spring sounds." Students will imagine they had to spend 6 months in the courtyard with their family. They will illustrate a picture describing the changes in shelter, food, clothing and tools.

Assessment: Students will be able to illustrate realistic illustrations noting a change in shelter, food, etc. caused by seasonal differences.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Understand Native American communities and lifestyles are influenced and changed by their environment.

Activity: Several activities will develop concept of Native American communities and lifestyles influenced by the environment of the Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, and Arctic. Literature: The Sign of the Beaver, Gift of the Sacred Dog, Annie and the Old One, Snow Dog.
1. As each novel is read, the students will identify the environment and determine how the environment influenced the shelter, clothing, food and tools of the Native American community. The examples will be written on chart paper and displayed for future additions and reference. 2. National Geographic Filmstrips and videos appropriate for the region and the Native American community are available for whole class instruction or learning centers.
3. The students will paint watercolor murals of each region. In teams, students will carousel to each mural and add a typical shelter, clothing, food or tool to the Native American community.

Assessment: Students will identify each Native American community in it's appropriate region and give three examples in writing of shelter, food, clothing, and tools that are determined by the environment.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will be able to identify Woodland, Plains, Southwestern, and Arctic Indians' shelter, food, clothing and tools/weapons from picture book illustrations and give one reason why these are dependent upon the environment.

Activity: Teacher will model identifying shelter, clothing, food and tools/weapons of a regional N.A. community and model reasoning skills before cooperative activity. Teacher will model with a picture book illustration on an overhead. Students will orally identify examples of shelter, etc. that are dependent upon environment. Students will give reasons why they are dependent, e.g. Deer hides are made for shirts and leggings. Deers live in the environment and are a resource for Native Americans. Weather changes also necessitates thickness of hide and fur. Students will work in trios analyzing illustrations in picture books depicting Eastern Woodland communities. They will find examples of food, shelter, etc. and write them on color coded poster boards. On back, they will write reasons why these are dependent upon the environment. Trios will use Send-A-Problem technique and exchange book and cards. Trios will review illustration and card to write additional examples or reasons. Trios will return materials to original group to evaluate. Students will use Stand And Share technique to orally review all findings. All members reporting "food" will stand. As member reads card, all others will sit if they have no new info to add. Members continue reporting until all examples are discussed. Cards will be placed in packets with picture books in Learning Center for future activities, e.g. Flash Card Directed Inside-Outside Circle. Closure: Teacher will summarize objective of lesson and congratulate all students on reasoning and cooperating skills. Students will have an opportunity to use critical thinking skills to illustrate an original picture of a Native American community.

Assessment: Teacher will use informal observation and questioning to check for understanding of concept. Students will illustrate their own picture of Woodland, Plains, Southwest and Arctic communities showing examples of food, shelter, etc. that are realistically appropriate. These will be reviewed and compiled as class book of NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES DEPEND ON THEIR ENVIRONMENT for class library.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students will examine museum artifacts from the following Native American regions: Woodlands, Plains, Southwest and Arctic. Students will identify and classify artifacts.

Activity: In cooperative teams, students will examine ten museum artifacts mixed randomly among the Native American regions of Woodlands, Plains, Desert and Arctic. The teams will identify the artifact as tool, clothing, shelter, etc. The group will also determine the materials it was made from and it's possible use. The team must use all this information to classify the artifacts according to region. The teams will record their findings on colored index cards and post them on the watercolor murals made in a previous lesson. The entire class will read all the examinations, may re-examine the artifacts, and may re-classify a piece if they so choose. The items will be discussed individually and the true region will be exposed.

Assessment: The purpose of this activity is for the students to examine, classify and re-examine their choices based on additional information. Here the students must show a knowledge of each region and have internalized the concept of the environment affecting aspects of a community. The knowledge base is being applied to a more complex experience.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students will create a unique tool that reflects the environment of a specific region in Native American communities.

Activity: Students will choose one of the following Native American regions studied: Woodlands, Southwest, Arctic and Plains. In dyads, students will decide what resources are available in the environment and what type of tool could be made from those resources. Students will also decide what tool would be necessary to live in that environment, design a model for that tool and create it with real materials. Teams must be prepared to defend in writing the name of the tool and it's proper use.

Assessment: Students will create a tool that accurately reflects the particular resources and needs of a Native American community in a specific region. The students will write an appropriate description of the tool including it's name and use.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students will share their unique tool from a Native American region with the entire class and place the tool in the classroom Native American Museum. The Museum will be toured by other classes and opened to the community during multicultural week.

Activity: Students in dyads will orally share their creation. The team will present their tool and follow the guideline questions in the evaluation section. When presentations are completed, all tools will be placed in the classroom Native American Museum. The teams will become tour guides for class visits and for a community walk-through during multicultural week.

Assessment: Teacher and classmates will evaluate the tool on the following criteria:
1) Is the tool made from resources found in the environment of the region?
2) Is the tool of practical value?
3) Is the team able to share effectively what they learned about the environment influencing the way Native American communities live?

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: