Download Where in Native America - Intermediate

Where in Native America?
Geography Unit – Intermediate Level
(Grades 6-8)
Teacher’s Guide
Overview:
In a videoconference program with educators at New York State Historical Association, students will learn about the
geographical locations and natural features of North American regions. The one-hour lesson will connect how these
elements shaped the cultures and traditions of various Native American cultures. They will do this by studying political
and physical maps, and by viewing objects in the Eugene and Clare Thaw Gallery of American Indian Art at Fenimore
Art Museum.
Objectives:
Understand the characteristics, functions, and applications of maps and globes.
Investigate why people and places are located where they are located and what patterns can be perceived in these
places.
Investigate how groups of Native Americans living in different geographic regions throughout North America interacted with and structured their natural environments to accommodate their varied lifestyles.
Before the Videoconference Program:
Print out the Videoconference Planning Guide and keep it handy. Be sure to review the “What is a Videoconference?”
section with your students before the program.
Videoconferences are most effective when your students have been exposed to the subject ahead of time. To this end,
we have prepared a fact sheet and a list of essential vocabulary to help guide your pre-visit lessons. Please prepare students for the geographic and cultural context of the program by reviewing the fact sheet of this packet. This program
includes examples of Native American objects from five geographical regions of North America.
The included pre-program activity is recommended, but not necessary, to be completed in the classroom before the
Videoconference lesson. It is designed to introduce students to the topic of the program, as well as to initiate critical
thinking skills related to Native American cultures and their environments. The Activity Sheet and teacher instructions are found later in this packet.
During the lesson, students can be seated in any arrangement so long as all the students can view the museum teacher
on the screen clearly, and vice versa. Students should have pencil and paper, and each should be supplied with the
five color-coded cards contained within the packet. These will be used during the interactive portion of the lesson.
Summary of the Program:
Students will be welcomed by a museum educator. He/she will introduce Fenimore Art Museum through photographs
on the document camera. The Eugene and Clare Thaw Gallery of American Indian Art will be highlighted.
The museum educator will then speak with the students about maps and the differences between physical and political
maps. Using a map scale, key, and compass rose, students will be asked to perform tasks such as identifying environment types (deserts, grasslands, boreal forests), determining the distances between regions, and learning cardinal and
secondary directions.
Next, the museum educator will play an interactive game with the students. He/she will show a map of North Amer-
ica with five labeled regions – Northeast Forest, Great Plains, Southwest Desert, Northwest Coast, Arctic Tundra –
each region a different color. The museum educator will speak briefly about each region and its climate. He/she will
also name some of the Native American cultures, animals, and plants that live in each region. At this point students
should be ready with the five colored cards that come with the lesson packet.
The museum teacher will place an image of an item from the Thaw Collection on the document camera for the students to view. It could be an image of an article of clothing, a weapon or tool, a bowl or basket, or even an image of a
type of shelter. The museum teacher will give the students clues as to the object’s place of origin, including the material the object is made from, how it was used, and finally if needed, the name of the culture that produced it. When
students think they know in which region the item was made, they will hold up the appropriate colored card that
matches the color on the map. Once the majority of students have guessed correctly, the image will be placed on the
map in the appropriate place and will be discussed. As more objects are placed, a discussion will begin regarding the
differences in objects and artwork between cultures and how environment affects each one. A question/answer and
conclusion session will wrap up the lesson.
Background Information:
Maps and Their Uses
There are many types of maps that can show different aspects of a place or region. Physical and political maps are two of
the most common.
Physical maps show the locations of landforms in a region, such as mountains, deserts, and plains. They sometimes
also show borders between countries or states, and label major cities.
Political maps show governmental borders between countries and states, as well as labeling many cities and towns.
Often, separate areas are colored differently to distinguish between them.
Map keys and scales are used to signify objects and distances. A compass rose signifies direction. A grid helps a user find
objects and regions faster.
Native American Cultures
Native Americans were the first settlers of North America. It is widely believed that the first Native Americans
reached North America from Asia through use of a “land bridge” connecting present-day Russia and Alaska.
Until European exploration and settlement of North America, Native Americans lived a completely subsistence lifestyle, using only natural resources to survive.
A subsistence lifestyle includes hunting, trapping, fishing, and farming. All tools, clothing, and shelters are created
using natural materials such as wood, clay, stone, and animal skins and bones.
Native Americans utilized established trade routes between cultures. These trade routes often were waterways, such
as rivers and coastal routes. These routes are much easier than climbing over mountains or walking across a desert.
Native American settlements can be found in every type of North American environment and climate, from the Arctic regions of Alaska and Canada, to the desert southwest.
Most Native American settlements were created near large, reliable water sources. This allowed not only for reliable
drinking water and water for farming, but also for ease in travel and trade.
In different regions, natural resources may vary due to climate and environment. The animals of the Arctic differ from
the animals of the Desert Southwest. There are fewer trees in the Great Plains than in the Northwest Coast region. As natural resources change from region to region, so do Native American cultures and their methods of
subsistence.
As European settlement began, Native American life changed. Europeans brought with them items Native Americans
did not have and could not produce. These include metal pots, guns, and glass beads for clothing and as currency.
Certain items Europeans brought with them were more useful to some cultures due to the regions they lived in.
Horses introduced by the Spanish allowed for much easier transportation to the Great Plains Indians. Horses
were less useful to cultures of the Northeast and Northwest Coasts because the large animals could not easily negotiate the dense forests in these areas.
Northeastern Woodlands Fact Sheet
The Northeastern portion of North America includes present-day New York, New England, the middle-Atlantic states,
and parts of the Northeastern Canadian Provinces.
This region is heavily forested with both conifer and deciduous trees, with many layers from the tall trees to the understories. Temperatures range greatly from winter to summer. This type of area is called a temperate forest.
Native American cultures in this region during the 1700-1800s include the Iroquois, the Huron, the Penobscot, and the
Micmac.
One of the greatest natural resources in the area is wood. The Iroquois lived in bark or log houses. Canoes were dug
out of wood or created with birch bark. Baskets were made from bark.
Some important foods of this region were caribou, deer, and moose meat, and the Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash).
Cultures from this region were some of the first to come into contact with European settlers. Therefore, the materials
used for tools in this region changed rather early. Metal, cotton, silk, glass beads, and other trade items are seen
regularly by the 17th and 18th centuries.
Great Plains Fact Sheet
This region includes much of Central North America, from Texas to the middle Canadian Provinces. It extends eastward to Indiana and westward to Wyoming and Montana. The region is known as a grassland.
Major plant life in the region is perennial grasses. Native fauna includes bison (buffalo), antelope, coyote, and prairie
dogs. Temperature varies greatly from season to season, and precipitation amounts are relatively low. Much of
the precipitation falls as snow.
Native American cultures in the region during the 1700-1800s include the Lakota (Sioux), Cree, Crow, Nez Perce, and
Cheyenne.
The open grasslands make for easy transportation. As bison and antelope herds moved across the plains, groups of
Native Americans followed them. Bison was the most important natural resource to the Plains people. From
bison, Native Americans attained:
-meat
-hide (for clothing, shelter, etc)
-bones (for tools)
-misc. (bladders for canteens, etc)
Plains Indians lived in tipis, which were made from wood and bison skins. They were meant to be portable.
Horses were introduced to the Plains Indians in the 1600s, when Spanish settlers moved north from Mexico. The
horse eased transportation, but also created territory conflicts between cultures.
Plains Indians were displaced in the 1800s to make room for American settlers who wanted the Plains’ rich soils for
farmland and for cattle ranching.
Desert Southwest Fact Sheet:
This region includes the arid portions of Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Nevada.
The desert regions of North America receive less than 10 inches of precipitation a year. During the day temperatures
can reach well above 100 degrees F, but can drop off by 20 to 30 degrees at night. Frost can occur occasionally in
winter.
Major flora of the desert is mesquite and cacti. These plants have adapted to the dry climate by growing long taproots
or by storing water inside their parts. Native fauna includes various reptiles and migrating birds.
Native American cultures in this region during the 1700-1800s include the Hopi, Zuni, Apache, Navajo, and Pueblos.
These cultures survive the punishing climate with many creative uses of natural resources. Homes are made of thick
mud to act as an insulator. The Hopi and Zuni invented a “step” form of irrigation that took full advantage of
falling rain to water their crops of corn. For containment of drinking water, large clay pots were produced with
many beautiful colors and designs.
The Navajo raised sheep, introduced by the Spanish. They made fine silver jewelry, a process also taught to them by
the Spanish.
Northwest Coast Fact Sheet
This region includes the coastlines of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, northern California, and southern
Alaska.
This region is known as a taiga or boreal forest. Long, severe winters and brief but hot summers bring a wide range
of temperatures to the area (-50 to 90 degrees F). Annual precipitation is 15 to 20 inches, with a high humidity
level.
Conifer forests make up most of the flora of the Northwest Coast region, including cedar, Douglas fir, giant sequoia,
and western hemlock. Short summers do not allow time for deciduous trees to shed and grow new leaves. The
understory is sparse due to high acidity levels of conifer needles.
Fauna include many species, including lynx, weasels, squirrel, elk, moose, beaver, and many types of birds including
ravens. Coastal animals include seals, whales, and walrus.
Native American cultures in this region during the 1700-1800s include the Tlingit, Haida, and Kwakiutl Indians.
As wood is an abundant resource in the region, many items were made from it including homes, canoes, bowls, and
various masks and other artwork. The massive size of conifers found here allowed for large objects to be made,
such as totem poles.
An important part of Northwest Coast cultures was the potlatch. It was at these large events that food would be
served from large wooden bowls, and a family’s wealth and possessions would be redistributed throughout the
community.
Northwest Coast cultures created a unique style of art called formline. These designs incorporate sleek, solid shapes,
often forming the images of eyes and animal faces.
Important foods in these cultures included fish, berries, nuts, and deer and bear meat.
Arctic Tundra Fact Sheet
The arctic tundra spans the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere in a belt around the Arctic Ocean. It includes
areas of Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Weather in this area is extreme. There is only a 6-10 week growing season, surrounded by a long, cold, dark winter
where mean temperatures are below freezing. Less than five inches of precipitation falls per year. The ground is
primarily a layer of permafrost. No true soil develops here.
Fauna in the area is minimal. Along the coast, seals, walrus, and whales can be found. Inland, musk ox, arctic hare and
fox, and some birds such as the ptarmigan and raven reside. Caribou arrive during the short growing season.
Flora is even sparser due to the lack of soil. Grasses, alpine flowers, and sphagnum moss are all that can survive.
Native American Cultures in this area include the Inuit, Aleut, and Yup’ik. The distribution of these cultures in the
Arctic is the most extensive of any single ethnic group on earth.
People in these cultures survive by studying and understanding the movements of ice flows, weather patterns, and animal migrations. The majority of hunting, fishing, and gathering is done during the brief growing season. Meat is
frozen to remain preserved during the long winter.
Cultures in the region live either in above-ground igloos, or in homes dug out from the frozen ground.
Coastal cultures rely on seals, walrus, fish, and whales for food and clothing. Inland cultures live almost always near a
large body of water, such as Hudson Bay.
Extreme conditions led to some very creative uses of natural resources, including the seal gut parka, which protected
the wearer from water when fishing.
Key Vocabulary:
Boreal forest (taiga): n. The forests of northern North America, dominated by conifers such as fir, spruce, and pine.
Cardinal direction: n. One of the four basic directions, north, south, east, or west.
Climate: n. A region of the earth having particular weather conditions.
Compass rose: n. A device on a map used to find geographical direction.
Conifer: n. A usually needle-leaved, evergreen, cone-bearing tree, such as a pine or fir tree.
Deciduous tree: n. A tree that sheds or loses its leaves at the end of the growing season, such as a maple or oak tree.
Desert: n. A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.
Environment: n. The combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of living things.
Fauna: n. Animals of a specific region.
Flora: n. Plant life of a specific region.
Grassland: n. An area, such as a prairie or meadow, of grass or grasslike vegetation.
Intermediate direction: n. A direction in between two cardinal directions, such as northwest or southeast.
Irrigation: n. A form of farming where dry land is supplied with water by means of ditches, pipes, or man-made
streams.
Key: n. An explanatory table or list of the symbols appearing on a map or chart. Also called a legend.
Latitude: n. The angular distance north or south of the earth’s equator, measured in degrees.
Longitude: n. Angular distance on the earth's surface, measured east or west from the prime meridian.
Native: adj. Originating and living naturally in an area or environment.
Natural resource: n. A material such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and
has value to humans.
Physical map: n. A map that shows natural features of the earth's surface, including land formation, climate, currents, and distribution of flora and fauna
Political map: n. A map that shows man-made features such as cities, towns, roads, and borders of countries, continents, and states.
Scale: n. a feature on a map which relates distances on a map to distances in the real world (such as, 1 inch = 100
miles).
Subsistence: n. To survive using the bare minimum of resources.
Temperate forest: n. A forest with moderate temperatures, where growing seasons are long enough for deciduous
trees to grow, but cool enough for conifers to grow also.
Tundra: n. A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.
After the Videoconference:
Using the knowledge they have learned during the videoconference on how region and climate affect cultures, students
can apply this to a creative undertaking. Attached is a sheet that can be copied and distributed to students, directing
them in creating their own culture. They can choose a region in which for them to reside, give their culture a name,
and create objects for them to use made from natural resources around them. When all students have completed this,
these “cultures” can be placed on an appropriate location on a map of North America, and students who have created
cultures for a certain region can “interact” by trading objects, performing ceremonies, etc.
New York State Education Standards Addressed:
Social Studies
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States.
Mathematics, Science, & Technology
Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions,
seek answers, and develop solutions.
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and
living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to
satisfy human and environmental needs.
English Language Arts
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding.
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation.
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction.
The Arts
Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts
in various roles.
Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to
other aspects of human endeavor and thought.
Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how
the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.
WHERE IN NATIVE AMERICA?
PRE-PROGRAM ACTIVITY SHEET
Use the map above to answer the following questions.
1. Use a pencil to label the United States, Canada, and Mexico on the map.
2. Draw a compass rose in the circle at the lower left, correctly labeling all of the primary
and secondary directions.
3. There are five boxes on this map. Each one represents a region talked about during the
program. Label each box with the correct letter:
A. Northeastern Woodlands
B. Desert Southwest
C. Northwest Coast
D. Great Plains
E. Arctic Tundra
4. This map has a scale of 1,000 miles = 1 inch. Can you locate where Alaska and Florida
would be on the map? Use a ruler and the map scale to find the distance between the northernmost part of Alaska and the southern tip of Florida.
WHERE IN NATIVE AMERICA?
PRE-PROGRAM ACTIVITY ANSWER SHEET
E
CAN
C
ADA
D
UNITED
A
STATES
B
M
NW
N
NE
S
SE
W
SW
E
EX
IC
O
1. Use a pencil to label the United States, Canada, and Mexico on the map.
2. Draw a compass rose in the circle at the lower left, correctly labeling North, South,
East, and West.
3. There are five boxes on this map. Each one represents a region talked about during
the program. Label each box with the correct letter:
A. Northeastern Woodlands
B. Desert Southwest
C. Northwest Coast
D. Great Plains
E. Arctic Tundra
4. This map has a scale of 1,000 miles = 1 inch. Can you locate where Alaska and
Florida would be on the map? Use a ruler and the map scale to find the distance
between the northernmost part of Alaska and the southern tip of Florida.
Approx. 5,000 miles
Where in Native America – Intermediate
Post-Program Activity Ideas
The following is a list of possible activities and projects you can do with your students after your visit to the museum to reinforce what they have learned during the program.
1. Assign each student one of the five regions discussed during the program (Arctic, Southwest Desert, etc.) and
separate the students by these regions, so that there are five groups. After reviewing the basic information for each
region (climate, native flora and fauna, etc.), have each group create their own native culture for that region. The
students in the group should work together to decide what types of homes their culture would live in, what kinds of
foods they would eat, what materials they would use for clothing and tools, and what kinds of ceremonies and cultural events each group would perform. They should give their culture a name, make drawings of some of the
tools/clothing/homes they would create, and then share a presentation at the end.
Invite the students to imagine that they have taken a time machine to the land of their hometown, 500 years in the
past. They will stay in this place and time for one year, and the only things they can use to survive are what they
find in nature. Each student brought along a pencil and pad of paper to record their activities. Have the students
write journals describing how they would survive in this place during each season of the year. What did they do
when it became cold? What if there was a forest fire? How successful were they at hunting animals, and what did
they use?
2. Invite the students to imagine that they have taken a time machine to the land of their hometown, 500 years in
the past. They will stay in this place and time for one year, and the only things they can use to survive are what
they find in nature. Each student brought along a pencil and pad of paper to record their activities. Have the students write journals describing how they would survive in this place during each season of the year. What did they
do when it became cold? What if there was a forest fire? How successful were they at hunting animals, and what
did they use?