This week in class we researched and investigated important information about 5 different tribes: The Lakota tribe, The Muscogee Tribe, The Mohawk/Iroquois Tribe, The Tlingit Tribe and the Dine Tribe. Each group was responsible in finding information about the culture, geography, history, food, houses/shelters, culture, important leaders etc. about each tribe. We used the Jigsaw method in order to learn and teach others about our tribe. My group was responsible for the Muscogee tribe. We made a powerpoint that showed the ways in which the location of this tribe, greatly affected the life that the Muscogee tribe lived. Each group was also responsible to make a generalization statement. Attached below are the powerpoints for each of the groups:
Before doing this project I had very little knowledge of Native American Indian Tribes and was actually unaware that these tribes even existed. The only ones that I recognized were the Mohawk and Iroquois tribes. It is interesting how those tribes are so popular and that many people who live in America are not knowledgeable of the other tribes. I am glad that I was able to learn about the various tribes that existed and the living conditions/culture of these people through this project. The Jigsaw Method was very helpful in learning about the tribes. I was able to learn many details about each one from my base group members. Although it was hard to learn a lot of the information ahead of time, I have the links to each presentation that was created so I can revisit them and research more! From the class reading I was able to learn about the Indian Removal Act as well. The website Dr. Smirnova provided is linked here. The Indian Removal Act was passed in the 1800s when Andrew Jackson was president. Jackson believed that removal was the only way to save Native Americans from "extinction". The Indian Removal Act gave the president the permission to set up districts within the Indian Territory and provided for the general re-settlement of Native Americans west of the Mississippi River. Over 60,000 Native Americans were forced to migrate and as stated on the website "Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became known as the "Trail of Tears." This information was not covered in our projects but was very interesting to learn about. It is such a tragedy that these Indians were forced to move west and that so many died along the way. I could not imagine what it must have been like to live during this time period! On the page that Dr. Smirnova provided there are also links for teacher's pages on the Removal Act and teaching it to students.
Overall I learned some important information from each of my group members when we proceeded back to our home groups. The Dine tribe relied heavily on their land and environment for shelter, food and clothing. They used stones and logs for there shelters and animals for food and clothing. The logs were used to cook the meat from the animals and the skin and fur was used for clothing.
Overall I learned some important information from each of my group members when we proceeded back to our home groups. The Dine tribe relied heavily on their land and environment for shelter, food and clothing. They used stones and logs for there shelters and animals for food and clothing. The logs were used to cook the meat from the animals and the skin and fur was used for clothing.
The Tlingit tribe was known for being a tribe based on seafood due to its close proximity to the ocean. The ocean provided fishing and gave this tribe a symbol as the whale. Cedar trees, lush forests, and wildlife were all important to the Tlingit Tribe. The cedar trees influenced art especially totem poles and provided shelter and clothing. The lush forest and wildlife were important because they provided food such as deer and berries and also provided clothing such as the use of deer hides.
Geography influenced the way the Lakota tribe lived because of the resources available to the Lakota were buffalo. Because this source was available, it became the main source of food for them and was also used for clothing.The Lakota tribe was a nomadic tribe which means that they moved with the buffalo herds. They used horses to follow the herds and also had houses that were light an potable so they developed Teepees.
Finally the Mohawk and Iroquois tribe was affected by its location because they used animals in their region as a source for clothing and food. The Eastern Woodlands region made longhouses convenient for this tribe. More permanent living locations due to prime water sources were around the Great Lakes region. The seasons in the area also influenced the growing seasons which in turn affected their food.
Overall, the Jigsaw method was once again a great tool to teach one another about information we each researched. Through this project I learned so much about my given tribe and all the other tribes. I truly enjoyed this jigsaw project. I feel that the jigsaw assignment was very beneficial and informational. I had to become an expert on my tribe and teach my peers about my tribe. The same for my classmates. Jigsaw enables all of us to learn about a variety of tribes in a small amount of time. Each person in the group was responsible for the overall outcome and success of the project. If each person didn't do their part, then it would reflect in the presentations. In our group we were unfortunate to have two members of the group who did not help work on the assignment so the other three of us were responsible for the whole powerpoint which was really tough. However, I am happy that by doing more work I winded up learning more. A group processing form would have been helpful in evaluating our group members. I learned so much about teaching about geography and Native Americans! I learned about the 5 themes of geography which are: Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement and Region. All of these concepts were researched and taught within our individual PowerPoints. I was also not aware of the fields of Geography which are physical and cultural. By reading further in depth about geography and the American Indians and also by completing this project I learned information that I will one day use in my classroom. I also learned a great method for an inquiry instruction lesson - The Jigsaw Method!
Technology was very helpful in completing this project and can be very useful in the classroom. Technology permitted the different groups of students to create various representations for their project. Some students used glogster, some used PowerPoint, and many other websites. This is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom and teaches students about tools/websites that may be used as well. The teacher can even include a mini online quiz afterwards on the information that was learned as a form of post-assessment. The lesson should be active, meaning that students should be involved and engaged in the lesson. With this lesson, the students will get an approach of actually taking their own action and in a way, teaching themselves through research much like our class did! The lesson can also integrate other disciplines into it. An English lesson can be based off the lesson and the research found. The students can write a paragraph about what they learned or they can each write on a sticky note what they learned on lino.com. The information that being taught should be related to the student's lives in some way in order to to make the information meaningful to them. When students are learning they sometimes don't absorb the information because it means nothing to them and does affect their own life. However, a great assignment would be to have each student write a letter to a friend in another tribe including information about their tribe. Or they can write a letter trying to appeal the Indian Removal Act displaying their fears and thoughts in order to give them an experience of how the people on the trail of tears must have felt! This project can also be changes for the various elementary grades. The students at a higher level would most likely be able to write the letter/paragraph but for students at the lower level learning about this topic can get a more hands-on approach. Maybe by creating mini houses as a class, with mud and sticks would be a good idea to teach the students. The students can create longhouses or tee-pees! This will teach the students a small portion of information since they will not be able to retain all the information at a young age. Under the National Standards this project could relate to the theme: Time, Continuity and Changes. This theme states: "Through a more formal study of history, students in the middle grades continue to expand their understanding of the past and are increasingly able to apply the research methods associated with historical inquiry. They develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for differences in perspectives on historical events and developments, recognizing that interpretations are influenced by individual experiences, sources selected, societal values, and cultural traditions. They are increasingly able to use multiple sources to build interpretations of past events and eras. High school students use historical methods of inquiry to engage in the examination of more sophisticated sources. They develop the skills needed to locate and analyze multiple sources, and to evaluate the historical accounts made by others. They build and defend interpretations that reconstruct the past, and draw on their knowledge of history to make informed choices and decisions in the present." (NCSS) Through this project the students would get a better understanding of the changes that occurred from then to now and understand more about this time in history. In addition it also uses many of the Social Studies Practices for New York. Through the inquiry method of learning this information and using the jigsaw method the students would be "Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence". In addition the students would be using "Geographic Reasoning" in order to learn how geography is important to each tribe! The Practices are outlined here on the engage.ny website.
Overall, I really enjoyed this project and will definitely implement similar activities in my future classroom!
Technology was very helpful in completing this project and can be very useful in the classroom. Technology permitted the different groups of students to create various representations for their project. Some students used glogster, some used PowerPoint, and many other websites. This is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom and teaches students about tools/websites that may be used as well. The teacher can even include a mini online quiz afterwards on the information that was learned as a form of post-assessment. The lesson should be active, meaning that students should be involved and engaged in the lesson. With this lesson, the students will get an approach of actually taking their own action and in a way, teaching themselves through research much like our class did! The lesson can also integrate other disciplines into it. An English lesson can be based off the lesson and the research found. The students can write a paragraph about what they learned or they can each write on a sticky note what they learned on lino.com. The information that being taught should be related to the student's lives in some way in order to to make the information meaningful to them. When students are learning they sometimes don't absorb the information because it means nothing to them and does affect their own life. However, a great assignment would be to have each student write a letter to a friend in another tribe including information about their tribe. Or they can write a letter trying to appeal the Indian Removal Act displaying their fears and thoughts in order to give them an experience of how the people on the trail of tears must have felt! This project can also be changes for the various elementary grades. The students at a higher level would most likely be able to write the letter/paragraph but for students at the lower level learning about this topic can get a more hands-on approach. Maybe by creating mini houses as a class, with mud and sticks would be a good idea to teach the students. The students can create longhouses or tee-pees! This will teach the students a small portion of information since they will not be able to retain all the information at a young age. Under the National Standards this project could relate to the theme: Time, Continuity and Changes. This theme states: "Through a more formal study of history, students in the middle grades continue to expand their understanding of the past and are increasingly able to apply the research methods associated with historical inquiry. They develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for differences in perspectives on historical events and developments, recognizing that interpretations are influenced by individual experiences, sources selected, societal values, and cultural traditions. They are increasingly able to use multiple sources to build interpretations of past events and eras. High school students use historical methods of inquiry to engage in the examination of more sophisticated sources. They develop the skills needed to locate and analyze multiple sources, and to evaluate the historical accounts made by others. They build and defend interpretations that reconstruct the past, and draw on their knowledge of history to make informed choices and decisions in the present." (NCSS) Through this project the students would get a better understanding of the changes that occurred from then to now and understand more about this time in history. In addition it also uses many of the Social Studies Practices for New York. Through the inquiry method of learning this information and using the jigsaw method the students would be "Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence". In addition the students would be using "Geographic Reasoning" in order to learn how geography is important to each tribe! The Practices are outlined here on the engage.ny website.
Overall, I really enjoyed this project and will definitely implement similar activities in my future classroom!
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