Cultural_Environment

Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Cultural Environment
Native American Peoples in North America
Erin Boydston

Grade Level: Upper Elementary

Curricular Area: Social Studies

Time: One to two class periods

Purpose: This lesson will begin a unit on Native American regions in North America.

Objective: Students will use pictures to compare and contrast the cultural environment of Native Americans in their regions.

Geography Standards:
Element #2: Places and Regions

Standard #4: The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standard #5: That people create regions to interpret Earths complexity.

Element #5: Environment and Society

Standard #15: How physical systems affect human systems.

Geographic Themes:
Location
Region
Human Environment Interaction
Movement
Place

Materials:

A variety of pictures showing Native American homes, transportation, and people in varying regions. The source I chose was Macmillan Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes by Michael Johnson (ISBN 0-00-286349-9). Be sure to get the publishers permission before copying.
Similarities and Differences recording sheet (see attached)
Map of Native American tribes (see attached)
Hoven, Leigh. Native Americans. Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1990.

Procedure:

Introduce the new unit - Native Americans. Place a picture of a teepee on the overhead. Lead a class discussion on who lives in the teepee and what it is made of Brainstorm where a Native American lives if they dont have buffalo hides to make a teepee.
Place the U.S. map with Indian tribes on the overhead. Explain that each tribe has a separate culture. Not all Native Americans live in a teepee. Not all Native Americans carve totem poles.
Explain that students will be viewing pictures of Native Americans and their environment.
Show students an example. Read aloud each caption.
Ask students to brainstorm how the two pictures are similar and different. What do the pictures show about the Native Americans environment? What type of resources do they have around them?
Divide students into groups of three. Each student will receive one piece of construction paper with two pictures mounted on it.
Distribute photos, one per group. Create a "passing" order where one photo will be handed to the next group after 3-5 minutes. Students view one photo at a time and complete their data recording sheet.
After each picture has been to every group, finish the lesson with a discussion. Discuss the environment of each of the pictures. Which pictures show a picture from a cold environment? Which picture shows an environment with a lack of trees? Which has an abundance of trees?
Allow students to brainstorm with region of the United States each picture goes into based on the environment.

Assessment:
Have students write a paragraph describing which region they predict each picture fits with and why.

Extension Activities:

Continue the lesson with pictures of environments from around the world. Compare and contrast those environments and predict which continent each picture came from.
Have students take on the role of one of the Native Americans in the pictures. Write a dialogue or journal entry about their environment. What were some benefits? Hardships?
Create models of Native American houses.

Cultural Environment
Native American Peoples in North America