Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
American Indians and their Environment
People could take a page in ingenuity and survival from the Powhatans. Deer skins became clothes, and the members of the Native American group farmed the rich Virginia soil and hunted in its forests for food. Using images of artifacts...
Curated OER
American Indians and Their Environment
Learners create a storyboard of the three American Indian language groups showing the geography of where they lived and how they adapted to the environment. They compare European and American Indian views of nature and explain how these...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: English-Indian Encounters
What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...
Curated OER
American Indians
Students research early Indian adaptations in this lesson. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to the...
Curated OER
Viriginan American Indians
Students complete a KWL chart about the American Indians using graphic organizers from websites. They read a teacher-selected book about the early Virginia American Indians and then read Becoming a Homeplace from the Virginia Historical...
Curated OER
The First North Americans
High schoolers identify and interpret the different North American Indian groups, by region, and the type and impact of their interaction with Europeans.
Then they complete an overview of one main Native American group during the age of...
Curated OER
Native American Village Days
Students research the tribes of American Indians in Virginia and settled, agricultural tribes in other regions of America. They explain how geography and climate influenced the way various Indian tribes lived, and evaluate the impact of...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Did Relations between Britain and the Colonies Change after the French and Indian War?
What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...
Curated OER
Learning about Native Americans through Artifact Analysis and Artwork
Sixth graders assess how a Native American's environment and the geographic region where they lived influenced their food, clothing, shelter and the overall culture of a tribe. They study the impact of conservation, family, rural life,...
Curated OER
The Mormon Trail and Native Americans
Fifth graders identify the American Indian tribes who lived in the lands that the Mormon Trail went through. They investigate and describe the impact of western expansion on the American Indians.
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The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the...
Curated OER
American Indians
Sixth graders review and study the major regions of Native Americans and how their cultures were influenced by geography, natural resources and religious beliefs. They utilize chronological thinking, historical analysis and historical...
Curated OER
State of Affairs Between the Native Americans and the European Settlers
Eleventh graders analyze multiple resources to explain the contacts between the American Indians and the European settlers during the Age of Discovery. In this American history instructional activity, 11th graders analyze a historical...
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Virginia Colony and England
Students identify how cultural landscapes reflect beliefs, customs, and architecture of people living in those areas. Then they identify that Virginia developed a unique culture different from that of England. Students also research...
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Cultural Lit. 19: Old Spanish Trail & Native Americans
Fifth graders name the American Indian people by tribe who lived in the lands which the Old Spanish Trail traversed. They investigate and describe some impacts of western expansion upon the American Indians.
Curated OER
Cultural Lit. 18: The Oregon Trail & Native Americans
Fifth graders name the American Indian people by tribe who lived in the lands which the Oregon Trail traversed. They investigate and describe some impacts of western expansion upon the American Indians.
Curated OER
English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia
Young scholars participate in a three part activity in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native...
Curated OER
Native American Storytelling
Eleventh graders examine the background of Native American myths and legends. In this American History lesson, 11th graders read a myth out loud to their classmates. Students compare and contrast their myths with other ones. Students...
Curated OER
The Displacement of the Native Americans
Seventh graders comprehend the interaction and conflict between Native Americans and white settlers in the years following the Civil War. They examine how those conflicts impacted the Native American way of life on the Great Plains.
Curated OER
California Trail and Native Americans
Fifth graders identify the American Indian tribes who lived on the lands in which the California Trail went through. They investigate and describe the impact of western expansion on the American Indians.
Curated OER
Evaluating the "Save the Indian" Reforms
High schoolers explore the policies of the "Save the Indian" reforms. Working in groups, they review the motives, methods, and effects of the "Save the Indian" campaign of the late 19th century. Through discussion and writing, they form...
Curated OER
Impact of Westward Expansion on Indigenous Populations
Students study the impact of westward expansion on Native American populations. They create a diorama of a Native American scene, write imaginary letters as a pioneer child reflecting on his/her experiences, and create story sticks that...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Making a Patriot Inquiry: Are Independence, Freedom, and Liberty the Same Thing?
As part of a study of the American Revolution, class members engage in an inquiry-based lesson that has them watch a scene from the play Slave Spy, examine multiple primary source documents, and then discuss the similarities and...
Smithsonian Institution
We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...