Exploring Native Americans

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Designed by

Joanne Ouellette and Amy Bisson

Introduction     Task    Resources     Process    Advice     Conclusion    Evaluation

Introduction

Your friends have joined you for a walk along the Nashua River (or Nashaway) in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  As you walk by the clear, flowing stream, a huge bald eagle lands in a towering tree nearby.

"Look around, boys and girls," announces the Eagle.  "The River, known as the River With the Pebbled Bottom, has changed over the past 600 years.  I have seen this forest when the Nashaway or Nipmuc Tribe called this home."

"Wow," your excited friends respond.  "Could you bring us back to that time so that we can see what it was like for our Native Americans?"

"Hop onto my back," invites the Eagle, "and hold on tightly.   We will travel around the United States, and I will help you learn about some of the Native Americans who lived in our country.  You will learn the ways of the First People."

The Task

Your team of second graders have been selected to become the "Eagle Eye" news team from Station WCOC-TV. Your team's job will be to interview a tribe of Native Americans for our program, "Dateline: COC".  People on your interview team include the following:

• The Producer:  This member is responsible for seeing that everyone on the team has a job and that everyone completes their work on time.

• The Associate Producer:  This member of the time is responsible for seeing that all the materials needed (books, pencils, paper, folders, etc.) are in place.

• The On-Air Talent:  This team member is responsible for speaking for the group when the group's interview is presented.

• The Writer:  This person is responsible for recording all the group's findings on the data sheets.

The Station Manager (your classroom teacher) has selected your team's interview assignment.   Please check to see that the Associate Producer has received the sealed envelop with your team's assignment.  The color code on the envelop tell you which tribe of Native Americans you need to report on. After your group has gathered information using both the Internet resources and print resources within the classroom, you will need to complete an Research Guide for your findings. 

You and your team will fly across the country with Eagle to visit and interview a tribe of Native Americans.  Your team make pick out the specific tribe you will interview, but the Station Manager has chosen the area of the country for you already. Your jobs are to interview the members of the tribe and report back to the Station Managers and other Eagle Eye teams at WCOC-TV.

Your Eagle Eye Team will complete the Research Guide during your travel.   Each team member will need to search for the answers to the questions on the Research Guide and give complete sentence answers. On your travels, you may come across other information that you think is interesting and important.  Be sure to record that, too! 

Finally, your Eagle Eye Team needs to tell about what it was like to grow up in a Native American tribe. The Team will tape a 3 to 5 minute TV segment. The Research Guide will help your team collect data for the taping.

Resources

Web-related resources:

Print resources:

• The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose.

• The Hopi by Ann Heinrichs Tomchek.

• The Abenaki by Elaine Landau.

• A True Book: The Wampanoags by Alice K. Flanagan.

• The Wampanoags by Katherine M. & Craig A. Doherty.

• The Algonquians by Patricia Ryon Quiri.

• American Indian Foods by Jay Miller.

Process

1.    Select a tribe from the color coded map.  From now on, your Eagle Eye Team will be known by this tribal name.  Be sure that the Producer lets the Station Manager know your new name.

2.    Use the table of Native American Resources to select Internet information about your assigned tribe.  Complete the Research Guide Sheet provided for your research. 

3.    Use print resources in our classroom to learn more about your assigned tribe.

4.    Now that you have all the information, you and your Eagle Eye team will create a dialog.  The On-Air Talent member will interview the other members of your group who now will role-play the part of the Native American boys and girls.  The On-Air Talent will ask the questions from your Research Guide and the other team members will answer them - this is an INTERVIEW.

You should practice the questions and answers like a play. Use the Taping Guide to help you practice good presentation skills. When your Eagle Eye team is ready, let your Station Manager know so that your group can be taped.

5.    At your taping, your team will need to bring the completed project board.  All squares on the project board need to be completed.

Advice

• Working in a group can be tricky!  Be sure that everyone understands what jobs have to be completed and be sure that everyone gets a fair turn.  Everyone needs to contribute!

• Your Internet chauffers or drivers will be close by as you look over the web site information.  Always ask questions if something doesn't look right to you.

• Also, check out the Internet resources in the first column of the Resources Table FIRST.  You may find exactly what you need in those web sites -- they usually have a lot of different tribes and nations gathered in the same place.

• It is a good idea to write out your team interview as if it were a play -- and PRACTICE IT!  Being shy in front of a camera could also be a problem -- be sure you know what you want to say ahead of time.

Evaluation

The Station Managers will judge your Eagle Eye team's work and award points.  We call this a rubric.  The more complete your Research Guide is, the more points your team can earn.

Conclusion

Native Americans customs and traditions were influenced by the world around them -- they were excellent adaptors to their environment.  How do you suppose we have adapted to our environment?  What influences the way we live?