American Indians- Pacific Northwest

Introduction

Archaeologists suggest that people arrived in several groups or tribes to America, from at least 15,000 years ago. The first Americans came from Asia and followed herds of grazing animals across a land bridge formed during the Ice Age. When the Earth began to warm, this land bridge disappeared and became the Bering Strait. The people journeyed on foot slowly southward into North America through a harsh landscape. They were excellent hunters and speared huge animals such as woolly mammoths and long-horned bison.

The earliest inhabitants of America were hunters who migrated from the Asian mainland across the Bering Straits land bridge between 40,000 and 25,000 B.C.E. They adapted quickly to their environment.

Taken from:  http://www.kidport.com/reflib/socialstudies/nativeamericans/Introductio…

Copyright © 1998-2012 Kidport

Task

You need to learn about Native Americans in one region of the United States. 

Each person will be assigned one topic to become an expert on. You will create something to share what you have learned about the tribes in your topic.

There are certain areas that you will need to research in order to gain a thorough understanding of your region and how Native Americans adapted to and survived in their surroundings.

The region is: The Pacific Northwest 

Each historian will become an expert in one research area.

The areas of research are:

tribes and famous leaders

geographical features

food and hunting

shelter and transportation

clothing and technology 

customs and traditions

roles of men, women and children.

Click each topic for a research questions to guide you

After researching all 4 regions each historian will create an artifact. This might be a totem pole, clothing, symbol story, shelter, jewelry, artwork, or anything else that relates to your favorite topic.  You must be prepared to explain the importance of the artifact and how it relates to your region. Be creative!! 

We will share information after each research day so that all historians learn about each topic.

Process

Each day you will be assigned a topic to research about a region.  You will have research questions to guide you.  You will need to be prepared to share your research with the rest of the class.

Step 1: Open you research questions or get a paper copy from your teacher. 

tribes and famous leaders

geographical features

food and hunting

shelter and transportation

clothing and technology 

customs and traditions

roles of men, women and children.

Use the research questions to guide your research.

Step 2: Use the links to websites below to help you in your research. Organize the information obtained from your research using the graphic organizers for notes.  You may choose the method that works best for you.

Step 3: You will be working independently while doing the research portion. Each historian should have his or her own computer.

Step 4: When everyone on your team has completed their research, We will meet as a team to fill in our class graphic organizer.

Step 5: Each historian is responsible for completing their expert area on each region for the project (e.g. clothing expert produces the "clothing" part of the project). Remember your individual project (artifact) can be a totem pole, piece of clothing, symbol story, shelter, example of weaving, jewelry, artwork, or anything that relates to your tribe. Be creative!! 

Step 6: Create your artifact to be shared at the Academic, Arts, and Music Fest.

Links for Research

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/tribes.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/holidays.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northwest/potlatch.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/powwow.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northwest/totempoles.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/religion.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/stories/medicineman.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/canoes.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/homes.html

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northwest.html

http://native-american-indian-facts.com/Northwest-Coast-American-Indian-Facts/Northwest-Coast-American-Indian-Facts.shtml

https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-indians/

http://native-american-indian-facts.com/index.shtml

Evaluation

Evaluation Rubric
  Low Nearly Meets Meets Exceeds Score
Researches the assigned topic for each region. Shows knowlegde of assigned aspect of Native Americans in your region by completing your section of the project. Inclomplete section of project. Does not include example or picture. Gathers and summarizes some relevant information and completes project section. Uses bullets rather than paragraphs and has some convention errors. Includes 1 example or picture. Gathers and summarizes relevant information and completes project section. Uses complete sentences, paragraphs, and has few convention errors. Includes 1 example OR picture. Gathers and summarizes relevant information and completes project section. Uses complete sentences, paragraphs, and has no convention errors. Includes 1 example AND picture. 20
Produces an artifact that relates to Native Americans in their researched region. Artifact is incomplete OR does not relate to a tribe in reseached region. Creates original artifact using little creativity and neatness. Difficult to relate to a tribe in researched region. Creates original artifact using creativity and neatness. Artifact relates to a tribe in researched region. Creates more than 1 orignial artifact using creativity and neatness. Both artifacts relate to a tribe in researched region. 20
Presents research to the class demonstrating knowledge of researched topic. Does not present project. May or may not present artifact. Presents project demonstrating some knowledge of Native Americans in region. Uses limited facts and details. Explains artifact but does not explain its significance. Demonstrates knowledge of Native Americans in region by using relevant facts and details. Explains artifact and its significance. Demonstrates extensive knowledge of Native Americans in region by using relevant facts and descriptive details. Explains artifact and its significance. 20
Works cooperatively while completing project. Uses class time effectivley  Does not manage time without constant re-direction from teacher. Does not work cooperatively with team. Somewhat manages time while working independently on research, working on project.Often needs re-direction from teacher. Effectively manages time while working independently on research, manages time working on project. Needs little re-direction from teacher. Effectively manages time while working independently on research, manages time working on project. Needs NO re-direction from teacher. 20
Total Score: 80

Conclusion

Congratulations!! You have successfully completed your first research project. You and your fellow historians are now "experts" on different Native American Regions in the United States. You have worked independently and as a team to gain your knowledge.  How were the Native American tribes different from each other and how did they survive in their environments?