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Native American unit 3rd grade with CKLA and social studies

Content Focus: Native Americans through the lens of literacy, social studies, and art.

Language Focus: Reading, writing

Vocabulary Focus: Communication, prehistoric, regions, effigy mounds, petroglyph, modeling, weaving

Standards: Literacy Standards

  • R.3.3
    Describe a character (traits, motivations, and/or feelings) drawing on specific details from the text. (RL)
    Describe the relationship among a series of events, ideas, concepts, or steps in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. (RI)
  • R.3.9
    Recognize genres and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, identities, eras, personal events, and situations.
  • W.3.1
    Compose reflective, formal, and creative writing, which may happen simultaneously or independently, for a variety of high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.
  • W.3.3
    Create writing that utilizes:
    a. Organization: include an introduction that establishes a purpose and provides a concluding statement appropriate to the mode of writing.
    b. Transitions: use of prompts, words and phrases to signal event order and to link and build connections between ideas, text, and events.
    c. Word Choice (including domain specific): use words familiar to the student for emphasis, addition, contrast, or order to connect categories or information, and to convey meaning.
  • Art standards
    A.A.Cr.3.3: Make: Create works of art that introduce students to media, care of tools, and basic craftsmanship skills.
    A.A.Cn.6.i: Cultural, Social, and Historical Awareness: Explain how art and design are used to communicate ideas, beliefs, and values of groups and individuals
    A.A.R.9.i: Inquire
    Determine an artist’s intent by identifying the details, subject matter, and context of an artwork
  • Social studies standards
    SS.BH4: Examine the progression of specific forms of technology and their influence within various societies.
    SS.HIS3.3: Connect past events, people, and ideas to the present, use different perspectives to draw conclusions and suggest current implications.
    SS.HIST4: Evaluate a variety of primary and secondary sources to interpret the historical context, intended audience, purpose, and/or author’s point of view
    SS.GEO1.3: Use geographic tools and ways of thinking to analyze the world.
    SS.GEO2.3: Analyze human movement and population patterns.

 

Arts Integration:

  • Basket weaving- flat baskets from paper
  • Early Forms of Communication:
    Pinch pots
    Effigy mounds
    Rock carvings (on styrofoam)
  • Regions (village) maps

 

Lesson Objectives:

Reading:
I can notice main ideas when reading a chapter.
I can make connections between story and art, and ways of life.

Rock carving
I can make connections from the First Peoples rock carvings to my own carving
I can carve an animal native to WI in my styrofoam to show its shape
I can connect meaning and intention to my ‘rock’ carving

Effigy mounds
I can make connections from the First Peoples effigies subject matter to my model
I can model an animal form that relates to ones I have seen in the WI First Nations unit.

Pinch pots
I can make connections from the First Peoples’ pottery designs and process to my own clay pot.
I can carve symmetrical, geometric line designs into my pot.

Region maps
I can use my knowledge of the 4 regions of Native Americans described in the unit to create an imaginative map that represents a thriving community.

Basket Weaving
I can use paper and an over-under weaving pattern to create a woven creation.

 

Activities: 

Rock Carving
uwlax.edu/mvac/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/
-Looking at rock art examples from Wisconsin
-Students will pick something from nature to sketch on paper
-Model how to carve into styrofoam
– Students will create their carvings onto the styrofoam using a wooden stick or dull pencil
-Writing about what their piece communicates to others.

Effigy mounds
-Review of animals and shapes from the effigy mounds
-Modeling vocabulary
-Modeling is a way to create a 3 dimensional shape: Form
-Choose your animal shape
Roll out the Model magic for a smooth surface
Pinch for extremities
Carve your name on the back with your pencil

Regions map (artic, southwest, northeast, southeast)
-Students identified features of each region as we learned about them and viewed visuals of what they may have/still look like today. Noticing different housing styles, landscapes, water sources and if it was permanent or migratory.
-Students used their knowledge to create their own map of what a village in that region may have looked like.

Pinch pots
-Review of symmetry and geometric designs
-Pottery vocabulary
-Managing clay, tools, and art space
-students will sketch their designs
-Model how to create the ball and pinch pot
-Walk through step by step
-let harden over night
-carve/add designs on day 2

Basket weaving
youtube.com/watch?v=-wJbzJV_Q5c
-Students will watch tutorial
-teacher model as students work through the steps to cut their papers and begin weaving
-gluing down loose ends at the end.
-optional to add a handle

 

Engagement/Introduction: Students will spend literacy gaining an introduction to the topic of Native Americans throughout the Literacy lesson through read-alouds as well as readings from their curriculum reader (CKLA).

Students will be introduced to early communication through a reading and discussion, looking at pictures of Effigy mounds, native rock art and native pottery. Discussing what they see in each image and what they might have been communicating.

Students will be introduced to basket weaving by reading a story called Almeda the basket weaver. In which a young native girl is learning to weave baskets from her grandmother.

Students were introduced to map making in the beginning of the year through making maps of their hometown. Students will expand on map-making concepts and apply them to what they learned about each region of Native Americans they heard about in read-alouds and readings throughout the Native American literacy unit.

Assessment Procedure:

Rock carving
Did they successfully carve a composition with meaning into styrofoam?
Students wrote a paragraph describing their piece and what it communicated.

Region maps
Students are able to create a visually appealing and accurate map that demonstrates their understanding of each region, as well as include map features.

Basket weaving
Students are able to weave using an over-under pattern to create a woven pouch.

Effigy mounds
Were they able to relate the modeled form back to the effigy mound shapes they saw?
Students wrote a short paragraph describing their effigy mound and its meaning,

Pinch pots
Did the student create a pinch pot with symmetrical, geometric designs on the outside?
Does their pot have a base, body, handles, and design?

 

Materials:

 

Modifications: These were all pieces that were integrated into our social studies but were taken and applied within our Native American unit in literacy to more closely relate to our learning as opposed to being done at a separate time/unit. These pieces were all spread out throughout various days throughout an entire unit.

Supporting Documents:

 

Contact: Ahna Doherty (ahna.doherty@oshkosh.k12.wi.us)

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