Native American adventure

Introduction êTask êProcess êResources êEvaluation

Native Americans have lived throughout North America for thousands of years. This was long before Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World and named them “Indians”. He had mistakenly thought he had reached his destination of India.

During your study of Native Americans, your class takes a field trip to Illinois State Museum. While exploring, you and your group notice an exhibit of a time machine. Quickly checking to see that no one is looking, you sneak into the capsule of the time machine. A red button is flashing. Before you realize the danger, curiosity gets the best of you, and the controls are engaged. A low rumbling, doors slam shut, seatbelts lock around you and the engine begins to roar. You and your group are traveling back in time! After frantically hitting buttons, the time machine stops. The doors open and you find yourselves in the middle of an Indian village hundreds of years ago.

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Task

Come along on a journey to travel back in time to discover Native American cultures from the past. A culture is the way of life of a group of people. The language you speak, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and the religion you believe in are all part of your culture. Groups that shared the same culture had the same way of finding food and building their homes depending on the natural resources available.

As an Indian brave or maiden living among a tribe during

this historical journey, your tasks will include:

1. Keep a travel log that documents your experience.

2. Visually display graph data.

3. Decode a message from the Navajo language.

4. Design a wampum belt.

5. Calculate probabilities of winning an Indian game.

6. Construct a model of an Indian dwelling.

7. Compare/contrast the five Indian cultures.

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Process

1. First, you will be assigned to a group of students.

2. Each member will select a job: a reporter, designer, decoder, and mathematician.

3. Then follow the daily schedule below.

Day 1

Start your travel log by opening a new Word document. In your first paragraph, use sentences to tell today’s date, who is in your group, and what job each has chosen. Then click on the handout for the graphing, use it to record the populations of Native Americans, and follow the directions there to make your graph. (Don’t forget to save to your folder on the “S” drive before printing, and then turn in the handout & the graph today.) Record in your logbook about what you learned today. Save this also in your folder. For extra credit, you may print and complete the “By the Numbers” sheet with the populations.

Day 2

Record today’s date in your log. Go to the Code Talkers link to learn more about these people. Click on the handout for the Navajo message, and then minimize it. Then click on the Message link. Go back & forth between the two in order to decode the message and record it on the handout. (At the beginning of each blank is the first letter of the word.) The handout will be saved in your folder on the “S” drive, printed out, and turned in today. Don’t forget to write in your logbook about what you learned today. For extra credit, write your own Navajo message.

Day 3

Record today’s date in your log. Read about Wampum beads. Click on the Wampum belt link. Create a design using one dark color (representing the purple beads) and one light color, not white, (representing the white beads). Using a value of 2 for the dark beads, and 1 for the light beads, your total design should have a value of 300. Save to your folder on the “S” drive, then print out. At the bottom of the page, write the number of each color of beads, their value, and the total value, then turn in today. Remember to write in your logbook about what you learned today.

Day 4

Record today’s date in your log. Click on the handout for the Indian Game and print it out. Then click on the Indian Game link. Please read the history and instructions for the game before beginning. Three of your team members will play the game while one keeps score. Be sure to fill in all the blanks on the handout. This will need to be turned in today. Also write in your logbook about what you learned today. Be sure to tell whether or not you feel it is a fair game and why.

Day 5

Record today’s date in your log. Click on the Shelter sites to find information (these three plus the last three listed under shelter) on the types of shelters used in different regions. Using “Geometer’s Sketchpad”, draw a diagram of the frame of four different shelters the Native Americans would have used in the 1400’s to 1600’s. Label them as to the basic shapes used, and also tell which region of Native Americans would have used each one. Save to your folder on the “S” drive, print and turn in today. Then using straws and pipe cleaners, make a model of each of the four frames. For extra credit, you may cover the frames with natural materials the Natives would have used. Don’t forget to write in your logbook about what you have learned about shelters. Save !

Day 6

Record today’s date in your log. Click on the Culture (click on each of the listings on the right) sites (click on any of the pictures). Read about the different regions (click on tribe names), how they were alike and different. Print out the blank chart (go to file, page set up, and landscape orientation before printing), and record information about the regions. (Use info from all three links above.) When your chart is complete, you may turn it in. You will make a last group entry in your logbook about what you learned today about Native American cultures. Save in your folder, then print out your group logbook and turn in today.

Day 7

Today you will first do a double check to make sure you have everything in your folder:

1. Travel log for 6 days

2. Population graph

3. Navajo message handout

4. Wampum belt design

5. Four different shelter sketches

Make sure you have turned in all necessary sheets:

1. Graphing handout & graph (extra credit = “By the Numbers” sheet)

2. Navajo message handout (extra credit = your original message)

3. Wampum belt design

4. Indian game score sheet

5. Sketches of four shelters and their models

6. Compare/Contrast chart

7. Log of daily experiences

When you have finished checking these items, you will read the conclusion of this webquest. Each of you will individually write or type your own individual reflection (five paragraph paper) and turn in.

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Resources

Graphs:

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp2210_numbers.shtml http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/index.asp

Graphing handout

Navajo message:

http://www.lapahie.com/NavajoCodeTalker.cfm

http://www.lapahie.com/Navajo_Code_Talker_Original_Code.cfm

Student handout

Wampum Belt:

http://oneida-nation.net/wampum-exhib.html

http://oneida-nation.net/wampumexh.html

http://www.nativetech.org/beadwork/beadgraph/index.html

Indian Game:

http://www.nativetech.org/games/dicegame/

Score sheet

Shelters:

http://kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/housingmap.html

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/homes.html

http://nativeamericans.com/Wigwams.htm

http://www.mfx.net/~timfin/camp/wigwam.html

http://www.mfx.net/~timfin/camp/leanto.html

http://www.texasindians.com/wickiup.htm

Culture:

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/intro.html

www.u.arizona.edu/ic/kmartin/School/amer1.htm

http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/index2.html

Blank chart

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Evaluation

At the end of this quest, each task will be evaluated based on the rubrics given to you on the day the project began.

Rubrics

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Conclusion

Through this webquest you have learned a great deal about Native Americans from the five different regions. Along the way you have learned that each group had to overcome obstacles by using technology and the natural resources around them.

Reflect on what you have learned about the regions and explain (in a five-paragraph paper) in which area you would choose to live and why.

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Teacher Notes

The following Illinois State Standards are addressed

in this Webquest:

By Days:

Day 1 3A2 Day 2 3A2 Day 3 3A2

3C2b 3C2b 3C2b

10A2a 1A2b 6B2

10B2c 1C2f 8B2

9A2c

26B2d

27B2

Day 4 3A2 Day 5 3A2 Day 6 3A2

3C2b 3C2b 3C2b

6D2 9A2a, b, c 15A2a

10C2a, b 9B2 15D2a

17C2b

18A2

18C2

Day 7 3A2

3B2a, b, c, d

3C2a, b

5C2a, b

By Subject Areas:

Lang. Arts: 1A2b Math: 6B2

1C2f 6D2

3A2 8B2

3B2a, b, c, d 9A2a, b, c

3C2a,b 9B2

5C2a, b 10A2a

10B2c

10C2a, b

Soc. St.: 15A2a Fine Arts: 26B2d

15D2a 27B2

17C2b

18A2

18C2

The following rubrics will be used:

Grade	A	B	C	D	F
Graph	Appropriate type of graph to show info. Accurate info. Neatness Appropriate scale Title	Missing 1 item from “A”	Missing 2 items from “A”	Missing 3 items from “A”	Missing 4 items from “A”
Wampum Belt	Symmetrical design Use at least 2 translations (slide, flip, turn) Correct # of light/dark beads	Symmetrical design Use at least 1 translation Correct # of light/dark beads	Symmetrical design Correct # of light/dark beads	Not symmetrical Correct # of light/dark beads	Not symmetrical Incorrect # of light/dark beads
Navajo Message	Correct message Correct spelling Correct punctuation	1-2 minor errors in message or spelling Correct punctuation	3-4 minor errors in message or spelling	5 errors in message, spelling, or punctuation	6 or more errors
Bowl & Dice game	Score sheet completed Total score figured 1^st roll scoring marked Probability figured (4 forms) Entry in journal (fairness)	Missing/incorrect on 1 item from “A”	Missing/incorrect on 2 items from “A”	Missing/incorrect on 3 items from “A”	Missing/incorrect on 4 items from “A”
Shelters	4 sketches and models done Accurate angles Accurate sides Labels for shapes Labels for regions where used Neatness	Missing 1 item from “A”	Missing 2 items from “A”	Missing 3 items from “A”	Missing 4 items from “A”
Compare/Contrast chart	All boxes filled in More than 1 item in some boxes Neatness	1-2 empty boxes Only 1 item/box Neatness	3-5 empty boxes Only 1 item/box Neatness	6-7 empty boxes Only 1 item/box	8 or more empty boxes Only 1 item/box
Logbook	Entry for every day Complete sentences Correct spelling & punctuation At least 5 sentences/day Feelings and/or opinions included	Missing 1 item from “A”	Missing 2 items from “A”	Missing 3 items from “A”	Missing 4 items from “A”

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(last updated 8/6/02)