The Trail of Discovery:
Native Americans
A WebQuest
for
3rd Grade
on
Native Americans
Designed by Jan Wolfgramm
Introduction | Learners | Standards | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Credits | Student Page
Students will learn about Native Americans as they research facts from the Internet. The students will work in cooperative groups to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and design a diorama of a Native American village. Each cooperative group will read a legend from the tribe they are studying and then act it out. These projects will be presented to the student’s peers and parents.
This lesson is designed for third graders and involves skills in reading, writing, technology, and social studies. Students will be working independently and in small cooperative groups. This lesson could easily be used at 4th or 5th grade by increasing the complexity of the PowerPoint presentation and requiring each student to complete a research paper.
Social Studies:
-
1SS-F2. Describe everyday life in the past and recognize that some aspects change and others stay the same, with emphasis on:
PO 1. using primary source materials, including photographs, artifacts, interviews, and documents to trace the history of a family from long ago
PO 2. the economies, symbols, customs, and oral traditions of an Indian community of Arizona, including the significance of the Eagle Feather, trade networks, decorative arts, housing, songs, and dances
PO 3. how past cultural exchanges influence present-day life, including food, art, shelter, and language
- 1SS-F3. Use stories to describe past events, people, and places, with emphasis on:
PO 1. contributions from past events and cultures
PO 2. examples of individual action, character, and values
PO 3. descriptions of daily life in past time and different places, including the various roles of men, women, and children
· 3SS-F2. Identify natural and human characteristics of places and how people interact with and modify their environment, with emphasis on:
PO 3. the relationship between the physical features and the
location of human activities.
PO 4. how people depend on the physical environment and its
natural resources to satisfy their basic needs
Technology:
· 1T-F2. Demonstrate functional operation of technology
components.
PO 2. Use multimedia resources (e.g., interactive books,
educational software, elementary multimedia encyclopedias)
PO 3. Access information sources (e.g., CD-ROMs, encyclopedias,
pre-bookmarked Internet sites)
Language Arts:
· 3T-F3. Use prescribed technology tools for publishing and presenting information
PO 1. Use a pre-designed template or stationery to publish a
document (e.g., newsletter, slide show, greeting card, certificate)
· 4T-F2. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative communication activities to share products with audiences inside and outside the classroom
PO 1. Plan, design, and present an academic product to the
classroom or community (e.g., slide show, progressive story,
drawings, story, illustrations, video production, digital images)
·
5T-F1. Recognize electronic information sources
PO 2. Locate information in a resource selected by the teacher
(e.g., Web page, CD-ROM)
Reading:
· R-F3. Use reading comprehension strategies such as drawing conclusions, summarizing, making predictions, identifying cause and effect, and differentiating fiction from nonfiction:
PO 2 Restate information from a reading selection
Writing:
· W-F2. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage, and good penmanship to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks.
· W-F5. Locate, acknowledge and use several sources to write an informational report in their own words.
PO 1 Use resources (e.g., video tapes, magazines, informational
books, reference, materials, interviews, guest
speakers, internet) and report information z
PO 2 Write an introductory statement, followed by details to
Support the main idea
PO 3 List resources used by title
· Standard 3: LISTENING AND SPEAKING (Students effectively listen and speak in situations that serve different purposes and involve a variety of audiences.)
PO 3 Prepare and deliver information by generating topics;
identifying the audience; and organizing ideas, facts or opinions
for a variety of speaking purposes such as giving directions,
relating personal experiences, telling a story or presenting a
report
· Standard 4: VIEWING AND PRESENTING (Students use a variety of visual media and resources to gather, evaluate and synthesize information and to communicate with others.)
PO 2 Plan and present a report, using two or more visual media
This unit will be approximately 4-6 weeks in length. Students will research the Internet as well as books for information on Native American tribes.
The class will be divided into 8 groups of approximately 3 students per group with each group having students of various achievement levels. Each group will learn about a Native American tribe representing one of the eight main areas of Native Americans: Northeastern Woodlands, Southeastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, California, Plateau, Northwestern, and Far Northwest. The main topics to be researched will be shelter, food, and clothing of the tribes. Additional topics that may be researched are art, customs, famous people from this group, or tools. Each student within a group will research at least one topic and write a paragraph with a word processor on that topic. The group members will then prepare at least one PowerPoint slide on their topic. These slides will then be combined into a group presentation on the shelters, clothing, food, and other adaptations of a particular tribe of Native Americans.
These cooperative groups will then prepare a diorama depicting a typical Native American village and its environment. The teacher may wish to also integrate art lessons into the unit as well. The making of cornhusk dolls, masks, and totem poles are a few of the possibilities.
Students will study Native American Legends and they will compare and contrast these legends using a chart.
A word processing software such as Microsoft Word
PowerPoint
Internet access
Websites as listed in the WebQuest
Encyclopedias
Suggested Resource Books:
Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend
Little Firefly: An Algonquian Legend
Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend
Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend
Clamshell: A Makah Legend
Ka-ha-si and the Loon: An Eskimo Legend
Song of the Hermit Thrush: An Iroquois Legend
Brave Bear and the Ghost: A Sioux Legend
First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend
Red Hawk and the Sky Sisters: A Shawnee Legend
Sunflowers Promise: A Zuni Legend
Coyote and the Grasshoppers: A Pomo Legend
Native American People: The Apaches
Native American People: The Navajo
Native American People: The Pueblo
Native American People: The Sioux
Native American People: The Iroquois
Native American People: The Cherokee
Native American People: The Algonquian
If You Lived With the Sioux
If You Lived With the Iroquois
If You Lived With the Hopi
If You Lived With the Indians of the Northwest Coast
If You Lived With the Cherokee
PowerPoint Rubric
Each student’s PowerPoint slides will be scored using the following scores:
1(Beginning), 2(Developing), or 3(Exemplary).