Native Americans

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Native Americans
By Elise

Hi Alyssa!

My second graders also study Native Americans. We focus mainly on Eastern Woodlands Indians (since we're from NJ), and I break the kids up according to their interests. The groups come up with questions according
to their interests, and then do modified "research" by reading books. The students write down a few facts that help in answering their questions, and then they build a "museum exhibit" to bring their research to life.
For example,
if a group studied HOMES, and asked, "How did families live without modern houses?" the children would research (in our area) wigwams and longhouses.

The students would learn about the structure, functions, and living arrangements, then build a mini longhouse for their exhibit. This sounds complicated and over their heads, but in all actuality, it can be made very simple. Students who find only two or three facts are proud of themselves, and inspired to search harder.

If you'd like, feel free to e-mail me so we can chat more. It's hard to explain in one message!

Here are some other topics my students were interested in last year:

-housing
-responsibilities of Native American Children
-games and toys made by the children (to be taught at the "museum")
-food (what was eaten, how it was preserved, etc.)
-medicine and health (medicine men & women, how medicines were made, beliefs about spirits working through the medicine)
-vision quests
-clothing (what it was made of, what babies used for diapers, etc.)
-art (tough topic to find info on)
-education
-hunting (use of animals, techniques for hunting, who hunted, etc.)