Introduction
Have you tried to survive without electricity, running water, or shelter? What would you do if you have to go search for food instead of buying it at the grocery store? Humans need to think about ways to survive in order to fulfull their basic needs. Are you a survivor?
In the United States, the first dwellers were the native people of this country. They are now known as Native Americans, who were the original survivors. These original dwellers relied on their survival skills to obtain food, shelter, and protect their group. Anthropologists classify tribes and nations into groups with strong geographic and cultural similarities. These classifications are referred to as cultural areas or cultural groups: The Eastern Woodlands, the Great Plains, the Southwest Dessert, and the Northwest Coast all survived very different climates and environments.
Task
Your task with your team is to travel back in time and learn how the environment determined how the Native Americans survived. You and your team have been assigned to travel back to a specific region. You will observe the climate and environment of your assigned region. You will be asked to share facts about the shelter, clothing, food and culture of the Native Americans who lived in your assigned region. Upon your return to the present day and location, you will need to report through a power point presentation on the survival skills of Native Americans, focusing particularly on how the environment helped determine the way of life.
Team Assignments
Team 1: Eastern Woodlands
http://whitewolve.com/native_americans/indexblok.woodland.htm
Team 2: The Great Plains
Team 3: Southwest Desert
Team 4: Northwest Coast
Each team is responsible for gathering information on the following key areas for their region:
1. Climate and Environment
2. Shelter
3. Clothing
4. Food
5. Culture (customs and tradition)
6. Tools and weapons
7. Art and technology
Process
Team Process Steps:
1. Gather data from the Internet (see links provided) and books (school library time will be used).
2. Create a graphic organizer of your choosing (list, web, chart, etc.) to help separate the information that you are collecting. Please be sure to document where you got all information (for example: write down the addresses of websites, the publishing information of books).
3. Create a PowerPoint presentation on your region that focuses on the 5 key areas above and answers the key questions above aan oral presentation to accompany your team's power point presentation. Your group must be practiced, speak clearly and loudly, and maintain eye contact.
Evaluation
Your team will be assessed using the following rubric:
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 | |
| Graphic Organizer | Organizer is not complete | Organizer is completed including 2 or less details under each heading | Organizer is completed including at least 3 details under each heading | Organizer is completed including at least 5 details under each heading |
| Format of Power point Show | Slide show includes less than 4 slides | Slide show includes 5 slides with out illustrations or text on each slide | Slide show includes six slides without illustrations or text on each slide | Slide Show includes six or more slides with illustrations and text on each slide |
| Content of Power point Show | Facts are not accurate or illustrations are unappealing | Facts are sometimes accurate and illustrations are fair | Facts are mostly accurate and illustrations are appealing | Facts are accurate. Illustrations are pertinent, accurate and appealing |
| Teamwork | Team did not work together or demonstrate good effort | Team worked together with some members demonstrating good effort | Team worked together with most members demonstrating good effort | Team worked together fairly with all members demonstrating good effort |
Conclusion
Native Americans were truly the first survivors. They created everything needed to survive in the regions where they lived. They only used materials that they needed. They adapted to their environment by building shelters to suit the climate. Food was grown or hunted dependent on the climate and region. Clothes were created from materials and animals from their environment. Every tribe had different cultures and impacted their region in different ways.