On the Trail of Discovery: Native Americans

   A WebQuest

          for

     3rd Grade

          on

Native Americans

Designed by Jan Wolfgramm

jwolfgra@tempeschools.org

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion| Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction

Your research team will travel into the past to learn about a Native American tribe, their homes, foods, and clothing.  Be prepared to teach the rest of the class about the tribe you study.

Task

Your research team will study a Native American tribe from one of eight regions.  The regions are: Northeastern Woodlands, Southeastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Plateau, California, Northwest, and Far Northwest.  Your team will gather information on their food, clothing, and homes by researching on the Internet and reading books.  Each person on the team will be assigned one topic area to research.  If there is time you may also want to gather information on famous people, tools, art, or customs from the tribe.  Team members will write a paragraph on their topic, i.e., food, clothing, or homes.  Your team will then prepare a PowerPoint presentation that includes graphics on the tribe you have investigated.  As a final project your team will make a diorama representing your tribe’s village.  Your diorama and PowerPoint presentation will be presented to your peers and parents.  You will also read a legend from the region you have studied and act it out for our class.

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Process

A.

1.First, you will be assigned to a team of three students; then, your team will be assigned a region to study.

2. Each member of your team will choose a topic for study: food, clothing, or homes.  Your teacher will give you a research guide to help you know what information to include in your report.  Research for information in the books available in the classroom and on the websites listed here.  Use your journal to record the information you have gathered.

3. Once you have gathered the information on your topic write a paragraph describing the topic.  Be sure your paragraph has a topic sentence, sentences with supporting details, and a concluding sentence.  Type this paragraph using Microsoft Word.

4. When your team has gathered the information use it to prepare a slideshow in PowerPoint about the Native Americans you studied. Be sure you use storyboards to plan your slides. Don’t forget to include graphics in your presentation.

5. Present your PowerPoint presentation to the members of our class.

B.

1. Read a legend from a Native American tribe from the region you have researched.  See your teacher for copies of legends or use a legend found on the websites listed under Legends. 

2. Your team should write a brief summary of the legend then you will act out the legend in front of the class.

3. As a class we will compare and contrast the legends from the different regions.

C.

Working together your team will build a diorama representing a typical village of the tribe you have studied.  The diorama should show the homes, food, and clothing used by the Native Americans you have studied. Your team will present and explain your diorama to the members of the class.

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Areas of Study

| General | Northeast | Southeast  | Plains | Southwest | California | Plateau | Northwest | Far Northwest | Legends

Northeast:

The Iroquois of the Northeast

http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/iroquois/index.html

A good site by the Carnegie Museum.

Iroquois Indians

http://ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/tribes/iroquois.shtml

Information about the confederacy of the Iroquois.

Tribe Index

http://ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/tribes/index.shtml

Identifies the tribes once found in the Ohio region.  Click on a tribe to find about them.

Mohawk Nation

http://www.crystalinks.com/mohawk2.html

The life of a Mohawk Indian.

Scenes from the Eastern Woodlands

http://nativetech.org/scenes/

This is a virtual tour of the daily life of the Woodlands Indians.

Northeast Wigwam

http://www.newigwam.com/TRIBES.html

This site links to information on many of the Northeast tribes.  This site also includes information on The Three Sisters, legends, and a trivia quiz.

Wampanoag History

http://www.tolatsga.org/wampa.html

This site lists information related to the history of the Wampanoag tribe.  The vocabulary may be difficult for some students.

The Stockbridge Munsee Tribe of Mohican Indians

http://unr.edu/homepage/shubinsk/mohican.html

This site gives background information on the Mohicans.  There is also an area with Mohican words with their English equivalents.

Narragansett Bay: A Friends Perspective

http://www.providenceri.com/narragansettbay/indians_and_colonists.html

This site contains original source material, but the reading level may be to difficult for most third graders.

Iroquois Legends Page

http://www.oneida-nation.net/irolegends.html

Shako:wi Cutural Center

http://oneida-nation.net/shakowi

Go on a virtual tour.

Oneida Language

http://www.oneida-nation.net/language.html

Listen to the Onedia language

Two Row wampum Belt

http://www.oneida-nation.net/wampum.html

Eastern Woodlands Culture

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/woodland2.html

Southeast:

The Seminole Tribe of Florida

http://www.seminoletribe.com/

An in depth look at the Seminole Tribe. Go to the History and Culture segments.

Cherokee

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/woodland2.html

A brief introduction to the Cherokee Indians.

Creek

http://www.ngeorgia.com/history/creek.html

A brief introduction to the Creek Indians.

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Plains:

Native Americans of the Plains

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/NativeAmerhome.html/Cheyenne/cheyenne.html

A Day in the Life of an Indian Boy

http://pbskids.org/stantonanthony/nativeam_boy.html

Through a question/answer process the typical day of a Sioux boy is discovered.

Missouri Indians

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/idx_mis.html

Information on the Missouri Indians, a tribe of the Sioux Nation.

Plains Indian Culture

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8962/nainfo.html

A good general site on the Native Americans of the Plains.

Stories from a Buffalo Hide Painting

http://americanhistory.si.edu/hohr/buffalo/index.html

This activity explores the role of the buffalo in the lives of the American Indians of the northern plains.  This is on a site by the Smithsonian Museum.

The Lakota of the Plains

http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/lakota/index.html

A good site by the Carnegie Museum.

The Great Sioux Nation

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/sioux

A Powwow

http://www.ecb.org/wisconsin/powwow/visit.htm

Slide show of a PowWow.

Crazy Horse

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crazyhorse.htm

A brief biography of Crazy Horse.

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Southwest:

Southwest Culture

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/southwest.html

The Hopis of the Southwest

http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/hopi/index.html

An excellent site by the Carnegie Museum

Southwestern United States Rock Art Gallery

http://net.indra.com/~dheyser/rockart.html

This page is devoted to Native American Rock Art of the Southwestern United States. Currently, most images on this page are from Utah. This will change as time permits.

Adobe Building Game

http://www.humanities-interactive.org/onate/adobegame/game.html

Build an adobe building.

Hogans

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/hogan.html

Pueblos

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/pueblo.html

Pueblo People

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761577338

Rock Art Pages by James Q. Jacobs

http://www.jqjacobs.net/rock_art/

This site contains links to some of the best rock art from the desert West and Southwest. Most of the pages contain numerous graphics.

When studying the art of Native Americans students may view these pages to learn about rock art.  This would be a good introduction into rock art prior to an art project of rock art.

Native Americans of the Southwest

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/NativeAmerhome.html/Navajo.html/Navajo_Home_Page.html

Textiles of the North American Southwest

http://smithsonianeducation.org/textiles/english/gallery/index.htm

Anasazi Community

http://sipapu.gsu.edu/html/kiva.html

A virtual tour of a kiva.

California:

California Culture

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/California.html

California Indian Tribal Groups

http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/cilc_images/bibs/maps/tribemap.gif

A map of California with all the tribes marked on the map.

Alternate Names and/or Spellings for Tribal Groups

http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/cilc/bibs/alternates.html

A listing of the tribes and the other names by which they may be known.

Shapes and Uses of California Indian Basketry

http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/cilc/basket.html

This site shows various baskets and there uses of the California tribes.

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Plateau:

Ute Mountain Tribal Park

http://www.neartime.com/ruins/southern.htm

A look at Cliff Dwellings.

Nez Perce

http://www.nezperce.com/npphoto.html

Archival photos of the Nez Perce.

History and Culture of the Nez Perce

http://www.nezperce.com/npedu13.html

Farewell Address by Chief Joesph

http://www.nezperce.com/npedu11.html

Nez Perce

http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/oregon/nphistory.html

Brief history of the Nez Perce

Nez Perce and Jackson Sundown

http://www.nezperce.org/History/JacksonSundown.htm

A brief history of this famous member of the Nez Perce tribe.

Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.nezperce.org/History/FrequentlyAskedQ.htm

Questions answered regarding shelter, food, clothing, etc of the Nez Perce

Chief Joseph

http://www.powersource.com/gallery/people/joseph.html

A short biography of Chief Joseph.

Chief Joseph

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chiefjoseph.htm

A picture and biography.

A Native American Perspective

http://idahoptv.org/lc/perspective.html

The  Native American Perspective of the  Lewis and Clark trip.

Lewis and Clark in Idaho

http://idptv.state.id.us/lc/index.html

Information on the Lewis and Clark trip and the Indian perspective.

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Northwest:

Peoples of the Northwest

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/wow/Northwest%20Cultures/northwest.htm

The Northwest Culture

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/northwest.html

The First Totem Pole

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Haida/java/english/totem/index.html

Read an illustrated story based on the Haida legend of the very first totem pole.

Totem Poles

http://users.imag.net/~sry.jkramer/nativetotems/default.html

Find out about totem pole symbols and myths, what the phrase "low man on the totem pole" means, and places you can go to find them.

A History of the Northwest Coast

http://www.hallman.org/indian/.www.html

The Tlingit of the Northwest Coast

http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/tlingit/index.html

A good site by the Carnegie Museum.

Far Northwest:

The Inuit

http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/ps/Inuit/Maininuit.htm

A site concerning the Inuit culture.

The Arctic

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/NativeAmerhome.html/ARCTIC.html/ARCTIC.HOMEPAGE.html

The Hall of the People

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/croads/people.html

Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwitch'in

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/old_crow/

The Vuntut Gwitch'in have made a homepage about their land "to share our deep concerns about the possible threats to our culture and lifestyle, which would result from development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the birthing grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd" which they still hunt. The pages were written by children, parents and elders and they "want the people of the world to know about the many challenges we face in order to continue our lifestyle, which was lived for many generations in harmony with the ecosystem."

Legends:

Legends

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/legends.html

Native American Legends

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/Indian/stories.html

The Native American Bedtime Story Collection

http://www.the-office.com/bedtime-story/indians.htm

A collection of Native American stories students may read. Students may read specific stories for a tribe that they are researching.  It would be a good resource for a story to dramatize.

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General:

Indian Cultures

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/culture.html

Native American History and Culture

http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmai/start.htm

This site has several sites that a student may visit to learn about different aspects of Native American life.

Native American Shelters

http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/settlements/index.shtml

This is an easy to use site explaining the various types of homes built by Native Americans.

The First Americans

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/intro.html

This site has information on tribes from several regions.

First Americans

http://www.u.arizona.edu/ic/kmartin/School

This site covers the Dine, Muscogee, Tlingit, Lakota, and Iroquois.

Marilee's Native Americans Resource

http://marilee.us/nativeamericans.html

This site contains links to many sites about several Native American tribes.

Comparison of the First Nations Peoples of Canada

http://ccins.camosun.bc.ca/~conklin/pages/martin/index.htm

This site compares the Iroquois, Inuit, Haida, and Blackfoot tribes.

History, Legends & Other Info

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8962/nainfo.html

This site includes facts (on most tribes) that cover language, housing, daily life pre- and post- white man's appearance, historical data----and it all comes from objective records or from interviews of a Native American person.

Indian Shelters

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/homes.html

A brief overview of the basic types of shelters.

Native American Website for Children

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/ALVE/NativeAmerhome.html/nativeamhome.html

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Evaluation

                           PowerPoint Rubric

Each student’s PowerPoint slides will be scored using the following scores:

1(Beginning),  2(Developing), or 3(Exemplary).