Exploring other Cultures: Indigenous Peoples in the Americas
Tent and Canoe Projects (Projects can follow on consecutive weeks)
A group project that inspires sharing and team building
Pre-school through elementary school age appropriate
Vocabulary: Pattern, pictographs, diorama, landscape, cone shape
Materials: Indigenous Peoples in the Americas Plains tribes pictograph handout (for homes reference), manila paper, paper scrap construction paper, stapler, glue, marker/colored pencils/crayons, scissors
Tent Directions:
- Students build cut tent shape
- Use pictographs (images that represent words) to decorate tent or draw bark lines
- Roll and staple
- Fold entrance door flap open
- Put onto brown or green paper
- Add people, campfires, stream, and other elements to make a 3- dimensional scene
Canoe Directions:
- Cut from template or precut for smaller youth and staple either end of canoe
- Fold and glue seats for canoe
- Add figures and paddles in boat
- Add nets, rods, and spears for boat and fish, turtles, oysters, clams, and shellfish in water.
- Additional camps can be made adding separate pieces of paper
Opportunity for Discussion and play:
- Students discuss the homes they created
- Students research local Lenape tribe (they did not use tents but instead lived in wigwams) http://www.native-languages.org/children-books.htm
- Students discuss what it might have been like for them to live versus western Indigenous Peoples in the Americas
See also: Wampum Bead Project and Paper Bear Projects
Read Lenape legends: http://www.native-languages.org/lenape-legends.htm
Preschool level books to read aloud: Pushing up the Sky, Native American History for Kids: With 21 Activities, The Rough Face Girl, The Legend of Bluebonnet, All Our Relatives: Traditional Native American Thoughts about Nature
The Lenape (or Delaware) are considered by other Indian cultures the eldest of the eastern tribes. Learn more http://www.bigorrin.org/lenape_kids.htm
More Books on Indigenous Peoples in the Americas culture referenced here by grade
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/17-18/research-project-life-native-american/
Indigenous Peoples in the Americas Culture Web Sites:
Smithsonian Institution: National Museum of the American Indian: The Smithsonian’s NMAI site provides an in-depth overview of their collection, including teaching resources, materials, and links to other sites.
NativeCulture.com: A comprehensive portal site for Indigenous Peoples in the Americas resources on the Internet.
The Anasazi Heritage Center, Dolores, Colorado: Provides teacher resources on the Ancestral Puebloan (or Anasazi) culture and other Native cultures in the Four Corners region.
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA: Features an exhibit, resources, traveling study collections and Teacher Guide on Indigenous Peoples in the Americas Basketry and Indigenous Peoples in the Americas cultures of the Pacific Northwest region
Internet Public Library: Includes lessons on Pueblo pottery
Indigenous Peoples in the Americas Toys and Games: Interactive games from Indigenous Peoples in the American cultures
Indigenous Peoples in the Americas Book List (PDF): Reading list on present-day Indigenous Peoples in the Americas developed by the International Reading Association.
Indian Country Today: Online version of leading Indigenous Peoples in the Americas publication in the United States. Includes topics of current interest or concern to Native peoples.
Boston Children’s Museum: Includes guidelines and 10 basic questions for evaluating books, activities, materials on Indigenous in the Americas
Map of American Indian Reservations (PDF): Map from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Pics4Learning: Native Americans: This site makes over 400 images of Indigenous Peoples in the Americas culture available for students and teachers, including images of Indigenous Peoples in the Americas dress, art, artifacts, and more. The site has given teachers and students permission to use all of the images in their work.