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...
Reed Novel Studies
The Light in the Forest: Novel Study
"Make new friends but keep the old" is a wise saying. However, True Son, a main character in The Light in the Forest, struggles doing just that. Once living among the white people, he was taken into an Indian tribe for several years....
Curated OER
The Old North Trail
Young scholars engage in a lesson to find information about the old trails of North America that were used by Native Americans. Specifically, they conduct research to find the history of The Old North Trail. The teacher shares several...
Curated OER
Indian Heroes And Role Models
Fourth graders investigate the concept of heroes and role models within the Native American community. They use primary and secondary resources to answer specific questions intended to bring the students to a definition of Native...
Curated OER
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.
PBS
Myth of the West: The Battle of the Washita
Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Maps and Homelands
You are never too young to learn about maps. To better understand the concept of a homeland, students work together to construct a map of their local area out of paper puzzle pieces. They'll put the maps together and then add details by...
Curated OER
Native American Culture
Students examine the links between culture and geography. In this Native American cultures lesson, students research the cultural traditions of selected Native American groups. Students compare and contrast their findings.
Curated OER
The Power of Maps & Native American Cultures
Sixth graders discover where and how five Native American cultures lived in North America in what is currently the United States. They examine their way of life and the regions they inhabited. Additionally, 6th graders will understand...
Curated OER
Native Americans: Origins
In this Native Americans instructional activity, students read about the origins of the Native Americans and the discovery of North America. Students also read about the arrival of the Europeans to the continent and the Plains Indians.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hopi Poetry
The Hopi refer to corn as their children, demonstrating its importance to the Native American group. Class members consider the role of literal and figurative language by examining poetry from this indigenous group. The resource includes...
Curated OER
Indian Removal: The Cherokees, Jackson, and the “Trail of Tears”
Young scholars examine executive power. In this Indian Removal lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the "Trail of Tears". Young scholars respond to discussion questions regarding the lecture.
Curated OER
English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia
High schoolers participate in a three part lesson 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 Americans 1700s-1800s
Eighth graders investigate and explain major Native American groups, events, individuals and conflicts from the 1700s through the 1800s in the early American colonies and the United States.
Curated OER
Third Grade Social Studies- Quiz
In this social studies worksheet, students complete a 25 question multiple choice quiz about early American colonial life and the Cherokee and other Native American tribes.
Curated OER
The Reservations
Third graders investigate the concept of a reservation and how it effects the lives of Native American indian tribes. They conduct research with the help of guiding questions to find the correct type of information. Students take notes...
Curated OER
A Look at Life of the Plains Indians through artists like George Catlin
Learners identify and interpret the life of the Indians on the Plains during the 1800's through artworks of George Catlin and others during this time period. Students examine life of the Pawnee Indians and interpret conditions that...
Curated OER
Western Expansion and Native Americans
Fifth graders research the Oregon, Old Spanish, California, and Mormon trails, and the impact western expansion had on the Native Americans living on those lands.
Curated OER
The Great American Desert
In this American deserts activity, students study the images and read the passages to learn about the 6 divisions in the American landscape: the Eastern lowlands, the Flood Plain, the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific...
Curated OER
Like Comparing Bison and Fish
Fourth graders examine the cultures of early American Indians in North America and how geographic characteristics impacted the development of American Indian cultures. Students discuss Lewis and Clark, their journey, the Plains Indians,...
Curated OER
Wattle and Daub Using Natural Resources to Survive
Seventh graders create list of materials that family of four would need to live and survive in the forest, identify four natural resources used by Cherokee Indians to build shelter, create poster that depicts Cherokee hamlet in summer or...
Curated OER
Early Native Americans
Fourth graders locate on a globe where the land bridge was. They describe the progression of nomadic people into North America.
Curated OER
Social Studies: How Did Native Americans Live?
Fifth graders examine Edward Curtis' photographs and Robert Griffing's paintings to analyze Native American culture. They present research information on specific tribes, using the photos and paintings to uncover information about the...