Inspiration and resources to empower creative and meaningful home learning.
©2020 The Drawing Class
Native American history is a stunning example of human ingenuity and strength. Honestly, as I was preparing this study for my students, I was captivated by the rich culture and deeply-rooted traditions that are evident in every single area of Native American life. They are amazing people.
When my students and I took 6 weeks to focus on Native Americans, we discovered just HOW MUCH information and interesting rabbit trails of information there were to follow! (and if you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE rabbit trails - I think the best learning happens down a good rabbit trail.). But we managed to summarize and learn all we could in the 6 weeks, and it was a-mazing.
The best part was we organized all the information and seat work into a giant lapbook, complete with art, games, and TONS of pop-out surprises. It was super fun. And something the kids looked forward to adding to each week. I mean, look at this thing!! Its as wide as I am tall!
Your students will love this in-depth study. It wont matter what age your student is, because you can tailor the information, activities, and reading materials to fit their learning level. All the handouts are here for you, week by week, plus each week's lesson plan that lays out all the activities and ideas to get you started.
You'll began week one by setting up your lapbooks. If you follow the directions here, you'll find it's fairly straight forward... just large. *haha*
Then your students will color the map of the different general areas of tribe groups, It's great cognitive thinking skills to discus what we knew of the weather, land, vegetation, waterways, etc, and trying to deduct just from your own knowledge what kind of housing, food, and clothing the natives in each area might use.
Start a timeline and discover the ancient history of how the original people came to arrive on the American continent. There's so much to discover!
I've got all 6 weeks of materials here for you. Each week you'll focus on a few different subjects, diving into the diversity between tribes and discovering much about how Native Americans lived pre-European influence.
Here's the break down:
Week 1: Culture areas, Timeline, and Origin
Week 2: Clothing and Food
Week 3: Storytelling, Music, and Art
Week 4: Languages, Symbols, and Sacred Objects
Week 5: Housing, Living style, Traditions
Week 6: Transportation, Tools, and Wrap Up
And the icing on the cake? It all fits into this AMAZING giant lapbook that will be something your students will remember forever.
So grab some poster board, markers, and the Week One resource kit below to get started!