Fourth Grade Native American LessonBy: Alyssa Baughman

ELMT 7130

Instruction as Reference Service

Instructional presentation for fourth grade students Introduces the Big6 information skills model for kids to

help students with an assignment about Native Americans. The class will be divided into 6 groups and assigned a tribe

to research. Each student will be given a worksheet for taking notes

while researching their assigned tribe. The Media Specialist will introduce resources and

demonstrate how to use them to complete the assignment.The group will use their notes from their research to make

a poster about their tribe and present it to the class.

Lesson Overview

SS4H1: The student will describe how early Native American cultures developed in North America.a) Locate where the American Indians settled

with emphasis on Arctic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plateau (Nez Perce), Southwest (Hopi), Plains (Pawnee), and Southeastern (Seminole).

b) Describe how the American Indians used their environment to obtain food, clothing and shelter. (GeorgiaStandards.Org)

The Standard

Students will learn where early Native American tribes settled and how they used their environment to obtain food, clothing and shelter.

Students will enhance their library and research skills by using print and/or online reference resources to complete the assignment.

Students will work in groups and present what they learn to the rest of the class.

The Objectives

The Big6 Skills Model for Kids1. Task Definition:

What Needs to be done?2. Information Seeking Strategies:

What resources can I use?3. Location and Access:

Where can I find these resources?4. Use of Information:

What can I use from these resources?5. Synthesis:

What can I make to finish the job?6. Evaluation:

How will I know I did my job well?(from www.big6.com/kids/3-6)

The class will be divided into 6 groups. Each group will be assigned one of the following tribes: Inuit, Kwakiutl, Nez Perce, Hopi, Pawnee and Seminole.

Each student will be given a worksheet for taking notes on their tribe. The worksheet will include the following questions:Where did the tribe settle?How did they use their environment for shelter?What did they eat?How did they use their environment for clothing?

The group will use their notes to make a poster about their tribe and present it to the class.

What needs to be done?

Encyclopedia of Native American TribesWaldman, Carl (1999). The encyclopedia of

Native American tribes. New York: Facts on File.

GALILEO KidsEncyclopedia Britannica OnlineNative American Tribes and LanguagesKids Search (EBSCO)

The Media Specialist will show the students how to access the online and print resources in the Media Center and demonstrate how to do the research using the Cherokee tribe as an example.

What resources can I use and where can I find them?

What can I use from these resources?

Where did they settle?

How did they use their environment for

shelter?

What did they eat?

How did they use their environment for

clothing?

Tribe:______________

Name: ________________________ Sources: ________________________

What can I make to finish the job?Each group will make a poster using the

combined notes from the students in the group.

The group will present their poster and what they learned to the class.

I will show an example of a finished poster using the Cherokee tribe.

Example of completed poster

Where did they settle?In Southeastern U.S.

Georgia, No. Carolina, So. Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia

and Tennessee

How did they use their environment for shelter?They made homes using

trees and vines.The house were like log

cabins. The roofs were

made of bark.What did they eat?

They grew corn, beans & squash.

They gathered berries, nuts & fruit.

They hunted deer, bear & elk.

How did they use their environment for clothing?They made clothes from

deerskin or fur that they got from hunting deer, bear and

elk.

Cherokee

Category of Assessment

Exemplary Very Good Acceptable Unacceptable Total Points Awarded

Individual Research:• Found answers to questions on note sheet•Listed sources used

10 pointsMeets all listed requirements

including complete and well organized answers to the

questions.

9 pointsMeets all listed requirements

including complete

answers that are fairly well organized.

7-8 pointsMeets most of

the requirements,

but not complete.

0-6 pointsDoes not meet

most of the requirements. ______

Poster:•Answered all questions•Neat and clear•Group effort

10 pointsMeets all

requirements.Very detailed and well organized.

9 pointsMeets all

requirements.Neat and organized.

7-8 pointsMeets most of

the requirements and is fairly well

organized.

0-6 pointsDoes not meet

most of the requirements

and lacks detail.

______

Oral Presentation:•Organized•Used clear speech•All members participated.

10 pointsGroup worked

exceptionally well together and spoke

clearly. All members participated.

9 pointsGroup worked

well together and spoke clearly. All

members participated.

7-8 pointsGroup worked

fairly well together and

most members spoke clearly.

0-6 pointsGroup did not

work well together or

speak clearly. Some members

did not participate.

______

Total Score: 29-30 26-28 21-25 0-20 ______

How will I know I did my job well?