Native Americans
By
Monica Valerio

 

Purpose:

  • The students will recognize and identify the different geographical regions that each Utah Indian Tribe lived in.  The Utah Indian tribes they will identify are Shoshones, Utes, Gosiutes, Navajo, and Paiutes.
  • Students will identify the types of shelters that these tribes lived in.  They will also be able to identify which tribe lived in which type of shelter.

Motivation:

  • Discuss as a class where the students live.  List the advantages and the disadvantages of their location on the board.  Do this as the students are telling you.  For example, an advantage may be their low population; a disadvantage may be their distance from shopping centers.

Method:

  • Split the students into 6 groups.
  • Give each group a paper with an Indian tribe name and a drawing of the shelter they live in.
  • Have the groups make the shelters that their specific tribe lived in.  Have them make the shelters out of papier-mache.
  • Have the students compare each shelter after they are finished completing their models.  Then have them compare the shelters to their homes they live in now.
  • Tell the students what each type of shelter is called:  teepee, wickiup, hogan, earth house, and cliff dwellers.
  • Draw an outline of Utah on the chalkboard.  Write the Indian tribe's name of where they were located at in Utah.  Give the students a paper that has the outline of Utah and the name of each Indian tribe on it.
  • Have the students go to each model and draw a picture of the shelter each tribe lived in.

Materials:

  • Paper with an outline of Utah and the names of the Indian tribes on it.
  • Supplies needed for papier-mache: newspapers, wheat glue, and paint.

Check Up:

  • The students will be able to identify which shelter a specific Indian tribe lives in.
  • The students will be able to label where each tribe is located in Utah.

Assessment:

  • The students will have a map with the Indian tribes labeled on it.
  • The groups will have a completed papier-mache of their Indian Shelter.
  • The students enjoyed learning about Indian shelters.

 

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