Despite my best intentions, when I teach my year-long overview of American history, it is simply not possible to cover all the thousands of cultural groups that lived in America before the arrival of European explorers. It would take a year of study on its own! As a result, when I introduce my young kindergartner to Native American Indians, I had to restrict our learning in some way. This is meant to be an overview, after all.
My main focus, then is that there were many groups that lived in North America, and that these groups were different, large, and all across the continent. They lived in homes and farmed or hunted according to the land they lived on. The Native American Indians that lived in America before Columbus arrived lived complex lives of their own.
Teaching about Native Americans
Lesson Objective: There were large communities of people in the Americas before Europeans arrived in 1492. (Copy sentence option: Many people lived in America before 1492.)
As I mentioned, the basic overview for an early American history survey simply accepts and introduces the fact that there were many different groups in America. When we get to this lesson, I may follow my child's lead after we read different books together. What is she most interested in learning about?
After we read one of the suggested books below, my daughter decided to make our own kid-sized tipi in our basement. We used empty wrapping paper tubes, but these proved far too small for successful tipi creation. My daughter wanted to make a tipi all the same, so we tried our hand at an adapted tipi: in other words, it ended up not looking much like a tipi. However, just as in the book we read, she insisted we pick it up and move it to a new location after a time of playing. That was the point of the tipi: it was portable.
We revisited the Native American homes ebook and matching set that I created years ago. It is a simple overview that introduces the concept as I hoped to introduce it. It has a focus on the homes that 9 groups used in their climates. My kindergartner was just the right age to appreciate the activities this year!
Books about Native Nations
Any lesson I offer for my children is going to have a strong book focus! Below are some of the books I seek out for a brief introduction to Native American cultures in the Americas before Europeans arrived.
D is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet by Michael and Debbie Shoulders. This alphabet book provides a depth of understanding to dozens of Native American groups and cultures. To be a read-aloud book, each page has a short rhyming stanza about each letter of the alphabet. Then, for the more attentive reader, each page also has a detailed sidebar explaining the concept in more detail, sharing the different tribes and cultures that the item relates to. Overall, D Is for Drum works as either a read-aloud story or as a instructional book about the variety of Native American cultures today.
Many Nations by Joseph Bruchac. The author of this book is from a Native American tribe himself. He has treated the variety of people that have lived in America with utmost respect. This book is an alphabet book, providing a different fact from a different tribe for each letter of the alphabet. It is clear to the reader how very many nations, indeed, there are to learn about!
Corn is Maize by Aliki. Aliki’s book explains the central role of corn to the Native American people. The text is accessible to a young reader, although there is a lot of text. Many pages have an abundance of details, such as how corn is fertilized, how it must be helped to grow, and how it was cultivated by the Native American Indians, who were excellent farmers.
My Street Remembers by Karen Krossing and Cathie Jamieson. This book travels back through time to show the different people who lived in the same place in which there is now a street. It shows pre-European people and then the harsh differences once Europeans came. Thus, it is an over-arching book to tie into the post-Columbian era as well.
More Than Moccasins (Activity Book) by Laurie Carlson. This books provides a lot of fun ideas for hands-on crafts related to many different Native American traditions.
Likewise, A Kid's Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities has more activities.
For background information: A First Americans Book series. This series is a set of well researched books detailing different groups of Native Americans throughout the North American continent, focuses on those in what is now the United States. See The Sioux by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve for an example. They are too detailed for the youngest readers but could provide a nice background for a teacher and the lovely illustrations can provide reasons for discussion.
For background information: Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann. Although this book is especially for young adult readers, it provides a thorough look at how the North American continent appeared before Europeans came. It certainly works as a background material for the adult teaching, but images and summarizes from the adult can help even young children understand the basics. That is, that many different people and cultures lived in the Americas before European contact.
Hands-On Activities to Learn about Native American Cultures
Nothing could be better than hands-on experience for learning. Learning about Native American Indian culture can be an eye opening experience
- National Museum of the American Indian lesson plans. Parents or teachers my find this site helpful for background. The lesson plans have suggestions appropriate for older children, but you may get ideas for your own students!
- Place the types of homes Native Americans made in the right place on a map of North America.
- Build a Model Wigwam.
- Build a snow igloo, a marshmallow igloo, or an ice cube igloo.
- Watch the “Native Americans Did it First” interactive at Scholastic.
- Sew a Native American Indian medicine bag.
- Visit (or learn about) the Apalachee Council House in Tallahassee, Florida.
- Make a lapbook: Plain Indians, Iroquois Confederacy.
- Compare Native American dolls.
Teaching about the Columbian Exchange
Objective: After Europeans came to America, the world changed in many ways due to the sharing of new foods, animals, and disease.
Given the vast differences between pre-Columbian America and the colonial era in the Americas, it is important to share how the mixing of the two cultures significantly impacted the world. My children liked learning about how animals and food were different before. It's not as pleasant to teach how disease impacted the Native populations, but obviously important.
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