Curated OER
Celebration Scene
Art often captures an event or emotion from a specific time and place in history. Explore Painting of Bear and Sun Dances with your class to study how dance and celebrations were important aspects of Native American life. After...
National Museum of the American Indian
The Kwakwaka'Wakw: A Study of a North Pacific Coast People and the Potlatch
Discover the cultural practices and unique value systems of a group of native peoples from Canada called the Kwakwaka'wakw. Your young historians will discuss how conceptions of wealth can vary and how these native people utilized...
Curated OER
Maskmaking
Students examine masks from various cultures focusing on the Native Americans. Using the internet, they research the purpose of the masks and various designs. They create their own mask showing their own culture and personality and...
Curated OER
Math and Native Americans
Students explore how math is relevant to Native Americans. Students investigate Indian culture through geometry. They describe and create geometric polygons and patterns. Students problem solve with tangram patterns to make Indian...
Curated OER
Native American Friendship Dance
Students demonstrate the proper steps in sequence to the Native American Friendship Dance.
Curated OER
What's Behind that Mask?
Students use a "spider web" graphic organizer to record information about different types of masks they are familiar with. They write a paragraph about masks. Students read about Native American cultures and compare/contrast the...
American Documentary
American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai'i
In this lesson, students will examine Hawaii's issues of colonization, authority, authenticity and cultural identity, and understand the distinction between native and non-native Hawaiians. This lesson includes links to videos, links to...
Curated OER
Eagle Boy: A Pacific Northwest Native Tale
Students read the story of the Eagle Boy. In this Native American Tale lesson, students discover the respect a boy has for wildlife. Students discuss eagles and what they symbolize. Students create song lyrics for the story and describe...
Curated OER
Forced Assimilation
Students identify ways that a society promotes assimilation and examine areas where it still occurs in our present culture. They assess the value of assimilation.
Curated OER
Native American Friendship Dance
The performing arts offer artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context and aesthetic valuing. This dance helps students understand dance history and develops cultural awareness. Students are given the...
Curated OER
Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture
Students explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
Curated OER
Children of the Earth and Sky
Fourth graders explore the culture and traditions of Native Americans. After reading "Children of the Earth and Sky," students discuss the lives of Native American children in relation to their own. They create replicas of Hopi...
Curated OER
POWWOW
Students investigate the significance of the Powwow to the Native Americans. They write a story about a special tradition or custom from their own family, play Native American children's games, prepare Indian fry bread, and participate...
Curated OER
Looking at Ritual and Ceremony
Learners explore Edward Curtis' photos of a Native American ritual and practice documenting their own religious rituals. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze an Native American ritual in Curtis' photo. Learners discuss...
Curated OER
Native American Song and Dance
Students examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the lesson.
Curated OER
The State Of Wisconsin
Students investigate the state of Wisconsin and use sound to experience the concept differently. They listen to Native American songs of a tribe in the state. Also they listen to the frogs that live there in the classroom or out in the...
Curated OER
Music: Dancing a Jig
Students Watch a video to observe Celtic dancers prior to playing a game called, "Irish Jig Tag." When students are tagged with a Shamrock wand, they mimic an Irish jig. The game can be adapted to celebrate other nationalities or...
Curated OER
We Can Dance
Fourth graders research the different kinds of dances Texans participate in. They try to dance the dances they have researched.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Guided Reading with Fancy Dance
Young scholars participate in a guided reading of Leslie Johnson's, Fancy Dance and discover how to sequence events. This lesson plan stresses word recognition, suffixes and prefixes, and sentence structure. Cross-curricular activities...
Curated OER
Aztec Dance
Seventh graders study Aztec dance to learn about their culture and civilization. In this Aztec study lesson plan, 7th graders watch a video of Aztec dancers and describe the dance on an index card. Students visit a website to learn the...
Curated OER
Navajo Weaving
Students explore the Navajo culture. In this Navajo Indians lesson, students gain information about their weaving and dancing. Students note the patterns in the weaving. Students create a dance that corresponds with the patterns they see...
Curated OER
The Story of Sitting Bull
Learners complete activities with the book The Story of Sitting Bull by Jeffrey A. Rucker. In this literature instructional activity, students review new vocabulary and practice finding capital letters. They read the story, answer...
Curated OER
Selling of the West, or The Portrayal of Emigrant Travel on the Oregon Trail
Students compare and contrast the realistic and romantic art and literature about experiences on the Oregon Trail. Using this information, they compare their viewpoints and write messages on what they believe it was like on a trip down...
Curated OER
Role Models - Grade 8
Eighth graders research Elders as role models. In this native studies lesson, 8th graders select Elders of the First Nations and research their contributions to society. Students create posters featuring the their findings and present...