Description:
This activity may be included as part of a social studies unit on Native Americans or study of early settlers in America. Students will research and identify information about Native Americans and compare and contrast characteristics of different tribes. This lesson encourages students to explore and compare a variety of Native American tribes and examine many facets of their early life. This unit will help establish the relevance of the learning content for students as it builds confidence in their ability to access information using a variety of formats.
Goals & Objectives:
LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES
The students will:
-use a variety of sources, including electronic resources such as CD-ROM encyclopedias and the Internet, to gather information.
-use the card catalog or online catalog.
-use the communication skills of reading, notetaking, writing, speaking, reporting, script writing, editing, and listening.
-use a computer and presentation software (or hypermedia software) to produce an audio-visual report.
MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
The student will:
-become interested in the research process.
-experience increased confidence in research ability.
-understand the value of information skills.
-achieve satisfaction in research accomplishments.
Materials & Sources:
Resource List
Tribe Information Sheet
Presentation Checklist
Tribe Comparision Sheet
| Credits: |
Katherin T. Bucher, JoAnne Fravel, and Mark Fravel
Adapted by Kori Gerbig, School of Information Studies
Syracuse University |
| Sources: |
School Library Media Activities Monthly
October 1996; 13(2); 26-31
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com |
Procedures:
INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:
-The classroom teacher introduces the unit and distributes the initial information-gathering sheets. The students then complete their research in the library media center under the direction of the teacher and library media specialist while the art, music, and physical education teachers focus on activities representing a variety of native American tribes. If there is a computer resource teacher available, he or she may assist in the planning and development of the computer presentation. The culminating activity is presented in the classroom. As each group reports on a specific tribe, other students may complete the tribe comparison chart. Following the student reports, the teacher can lead a discussion of the differences and similarities among the tribes.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION
-Planning together, the teacher and library media specialist choose the Native American tribes to be researched (to ensure that the library media center has information on the tribe). Possible tribes to include are: Blackfeet, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Chumash, Comanche, Cree, Crow, Dine, Iroquois, Hidast, Hochunk, Hopi, Inuit, Mandan, Menominee, Narraganset, Navajo, Ojibway, Oneida, Powhatan, Seminole, Sious, Shoshoni, Wampanoag, Yakima, and Zuni.
-The teacher and library media specialist must also decide what form the final project will take. While the project can be a simple group oral report, it can also be a computer slide presentation or even a hypermedia presentation. If you select a simple oral report format, students should be encouraged to illustrate it with drawings or overhead transparencies. Another alternative is for students to produce a short video on a specific tribe.
-In the classroom, after a general discussion by the teacher about the variety of Native Americans who peopled America before colonial times, students are divided into cooperative learning groups and given "Tribe Information Sheets" and the name of the specific tribe that they are to research. The information sheets can be modified to fit the abilities of an individual class, with more information being requried for advanced classes. Additional questions can be asked about the social structure, legends, and tales of the tribe. If you need more information than can be found locally, use 'Indian American' to contact the present-day headquarters of the tribe.
-If necessary, the library media specialist reviews card catalog or online catalog skills and the use of the CD-ROM encyclopedias. Students are encouraged to summarize, rather than copy, information and to note sources of visuals for possible inclusion in their final reports. If there is a computer resources teacher available, he or she should help in the planning and development of the computer slide presentation. Exactly what can be done will depend on the facilities available in the individual school. The checklist for a computer slide presentation can be modified for charts and transparencies.
-As the library research is going on, the art, music, and physical education teachers can begin their exploration of the Native American culture. In art, students can be encouraged to select a Native American craft to make or to explore the ways in which the culture of a tribe is represented in their art. Dances and games of a variety of Native American tribes can be the focus of physical education classes and students can sing or perform Native American songs with the help of the music specialist.
FOLLOW-UP
-The students may visit a Native American village or invite to class a Native American speaker who will discuss his or her tribe in the present-day United States and how it compares with the early tribes that the students researched.
Assessment:
-In the classroom, students present the information about each tribe in the form of an oral report with visuals or as a computer presentation. As each report is given, the other students in the class complete their "Tribe Comparison" sheets. The teacher leads a discussion of similiarities and differences among the tribes and the influence that place has on the life of a people.
Sources:
School Library Media Activities Monthly
October 1996; 13(2); 26-31
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com
